20 Gallon Re-Do Diary

catfishcity

AC Members
Dec 19, 2008
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Ok here is my 20 gallon tank that i just started to "re-do" today. Hopefully there in a couple weeks i will have about 20-30 plants in there and maybe some fish if it is cycled by then. ok so i replaced my gravel, lights, took out all decor, and replaced 3/4 of the water. kept 1/4 of the water, filter, and put some of the gravel in to seed the new gravel. when should i take the blue gravel out? also, when i go to get the plants i plan on getting some wood and rocks, do i need to do anything to the wood, like boil it? my plans for fish and plants are:

anubias batari
anubias nana
red cryptocoryne
micro sword
wisteria
java fern
green myrioi
onion plant
lucky bamboo

10-14 neon tetras
1 neon blue dwarf gouami
5 cory cats

(1st pic is before, 2nd is after)

100_0063.jpg 100_0066.jpg
 
You may be able to add fish right away assuming the filter is still seeded. How long since you removed the previous occupants? It would't hurt to leave the gravel in a couple of weeks at any rate.
 
The dark gravel looks cool...cant wait for the finale...
 
Nice start. Like the new gravel. You don't have to wait to add the fish with the seeded gravel in there, especially if you're using the same filter media from before.
 
Get malaysian driftwood. It doesn't need to be boiled, just rinse it off really well, and doesn't need a slate base because it sinks on its own. Leave the seed gravel in for a couple weeks.
 
ok thanks gmh and nolapete. so i will leave the gravel in for a couple weeks, will get some plants and fish when i get back from my cruise which is this upcoming weekend. so i will hopefully have a lot of plants and fish in about two weeks. will my tank be ok without fish for that long. as of now, there has been no fish for 3 days.
 
I have to disagree with you Nolapete. No ammonia source in your tank for 10 days will starve your good bacteria, meaning that you will have to cycle your tank when you get back from your cruise.
 
Yeah, it would be better to have an ammonia source in there sooner rather than later. I'm not sure how much bacteria you would lose in 10 days. Maybe most of it.
 
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