My planted 20L, suggetions!?! (56K i think)

[kyle3]

I just have to share the drastic improvement my tank has had in the past 2 months! The project never ends so let me know what suggestions you have for my tank!
2/5/09:

2/18/09:

3/1/09:

3/17/09:

(this picture has one light turned off to cut down on reflection, the shots with all lights on are really washed out. any tips?)

up and running since 12/05
AGA 20 gallon long

hagen Co2 ladder with DIY (1 20oz.(approximately) bottle changed every other week or when the bubble count gets low)

36 watts of t-5 (1colormax bulb, 1 6700K bulb)9hrs
20 watts of t-8 "life-glo" 9hrs

ferts: all seachem: root tabs for the swords and lotus, excel every other day, flourish every 3 days, iron every 3-5 days

eco-complete and small black gravel, aquaclear 50 HOB, 75 watt jager heater, AGA glass top

FAUNA: 4 rummy nose tetras, 2 Aeneas corys, 2 Julii corys, 4 otos, 4 amano shrimp

FLORA: Dwarf Sagittaria, Amazon sword(2 varieties, I think black and melon?), Hygrophyla difformis, Bacopa monnieri, Rotala indica, Nymphaea pubescens(lotus)

water parameters:
PH 7.2, KH 4, GH 9, Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5-10, (tap PH is 7.6-7.8)

water change once a week, 50%

I trim 1-2 times a week I try to do it somewhat frequently so i can do just the hand full of stems that are tallest so the tank (especially the rotala) doesn't have that mowed lawn look.

did i miss anything?

I'm really happy with the rapid improvement I've gotten in plant health. In November i had rescaped dramatically and pulled all of my fast growing rotala. by January I had brown algae and a number of my slower growing plants didn't make it, (that's why the tank looks so sparse in the feb. photo). So I'm very glad i won my battle!

I am still intending to build up my school of rummys- thinking 8 of them- what do you think?
also considering a pair of german rams- over stocked?
I need advice on this as i tend to air on the side of caution and keep my stocking rate low but I'd like to grow the community in this tank if i can.

aquascaping suggestion?, photo advice(i don't know if this is 56K or not-can my pics be improved?), tell me what you think- i swear i won't be mad

by the way I have a similar thread on the planted tank- sorry for any redundancy


I look forward to your comments and criticisms!

cheers-K

 

[Fish-Addict]

20 liters? Are you sure its not 20 GALLONS? Haha it looks huge compatred to the thermometer!!

Anyway, lovely tank!! :thumbsup: Id love one like that

 

[Bubbles2112]

Wow!! Glad you won your battle with the algae! Your tank looks terrific!!

I would keep this tank as it is and I would not add the german blue rams. Your tank is definately to small for them.

 

[mellowvision]

looks great

 

[kyle3]

lol it is a 20 gallon, the L stands for "long", the lower "breeder" dimensions, instead of the standard 20 gallon.

thanks for you comments. Any one else want to weigh in on the rummy head count?
cheers-K

 

[irishspy]

You've done a beautiful job with that tank. :clap:

(Forgot about the rummies. :duh

I think you can add four easily, but I might stop at that. Adding the rams would be pushing it, I think.

 

[kyle3]

I tend to agree about the rams - in addition to the danger of being over-stocked I've done a little reading and discovered that rams prefer 81-86 degrees F so they aren't ideally suited to share a tank with my other fish so if i decide i have to have some I'll set up a separate tank for them. . .the LFS has some beautiful golden rams so. . .my MTS might flare up again soon lol

my nitrates are building up faster the last week or 2 they're at 15ppm usually they stay bellow 10ppm, and I'm having some paleness in the dwarf sag. and i think it's a sign of a potassium deficiency. so i got some flourish potassium today hopefully that will restore the nutrient balance.

I got some Hemianthus micranthemoides today too, I'm intending to try to grow it on the driftwood

cheers-K

 

[fineexampl]

I love this tank. How did you combat your algae? I have a 5g and just picked up a 20Long i have yet to set up (pending a stand, free tank) and want to have a setup quite similar to yours.

 

[addicted2fish]

your sag could' be reacting to the other ferts, usually sags, & vals mostly vals can get tempermental with excel, & a few others, just watch your plants, they will tell you what they need, and if your potassium was out or low, then yea dose it ~

I would add the xtra rummys, I love to see fish when I look into my tanks, they are heavily planted so I like alot of fish, as long as your doing your weekly water changes, you shoudl be fine . Great growth !!

YOu say your diy co2 is a 20 OZ ???? I use a 2 liter, how do you get your stuff in thier , what is your recipe ??? because my cup & 1/2 of sugar would not fit in a 20 oz bottle , would love to hear more on this one .....

 

[kyle3]

Photo update

fineexampl, here's a link to my thread about my algae and it's defeat- i outline exactly what i did- hope it helps!

Here's a shot of the Hemianthus micranthemoides (pearling weed) right after i tied it on the driftwood:

and here's a shot of it 5 days later on 4/10, looking better

I'm having some Green spot algae so I've shortened my photo period to a flat 8 hours (it had been creeping over the timer setting because i'm always turning the light back on for my viewing enjoyment) I'm getting some seachem phosphate too. I also have changed my lighting set-up a bit.

here's a shot of the tank with just the T-5 raised up 3 inches and no lid:

do i dare keep it like this? I know others have done it but the legs are not designed this way(i bent them) and i have a cat who could possible knock the light fixture over. . .it lowers my watts per gallon but higher intensity T-5 light is hitting more of the plants . . . i'd be really cool to see the lily flower and the bacopa grow emmersed. . .

for now I've put the glass lid on - the tank looks dimmer with it on but the light seems more stable and i know the cat won't get wet

what do you guys think about the lighting? should i be bold and go lidless, keep the lid on? or go back to the original lighting arangement?

thanks for looking!
cheers-K