# Need some advice from you Planters!



## Sanctum38 (Oct 2, 2011)

Hey friends,

So I want some nice experienced advice from some of you planters!

I have my 20 gallon that I want to beautifully plant.

I already have some Amazon Swords and what appears to be Wisteria (corrects signature) 

*What fish I will have in the tank:*


2 GBRs
12-18 Cardinal Tetras
6-8 ghost shrimp.
(any other suggestions? some sort of cory maybe?)

*Plants that I am intrigued by:*


Dwarf Baby Tears (hemianthus callitrichoides)
Micro Sword (lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae)
Cryptocorynes
Ludwigia Peruenis
Dwarf Saggitaria (saggitaria subulata)
(any other suggestions?)

NOW. All I have right now is a crappy 15 W Sun Glo 18"
24" bulbs will fit over my tank as my tank is 25" long. 14" deep.

What sort of fixture should I get? What sort of lights?
I read about 5000-7000k, 4wpg full spectrum.

I am limited by a budget, but still give me your ideas so I can figure it out.

I also have a nice chunk of Mopane wood, if that matters.

PIC:









Thanks guys.


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

Your tank looks pretty darn nice just as it is. A background, perhaps medium blue, would make it look that much better.
You still have room for a reasonable number of extra plants, but imo it looks really "simply elegant" just the way it is, giving lots of swimming space for your fish, and better viewing capacity for the stock.
Your positioning of the bulk of plantings & hardscape on the left side is attractively 'dramatic'.
I would simply consider adding a Red Lotus for example, somewhere near center to right side, and call it a day - (or your mentioned micro sword or dwarf saggitaria), unless your preference is to give it a rain-forest, jungley look.
If you limit your Cardinals to about a dozen, you could add 4 or 5 Sterbai Cories, which I think would be nice.
And your lighting seems reasonably good - doesn't appear to be a need to change it.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Agree with Emile. Also give room for the plant to grow out. If you want more light, check out HomeDepot to see if they of double T5 in 24". That should be plenty for that tank. But then you have to hang the light or rig up a canopy.


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

On a side note, there is a dispute about rams, and any cichlid for that matter, with shrimp. A lot of people say that rams will eat shrimp, and a lot also say they won't. Personally, I've had cherry and amano with blue rams without a problem, but no shrimplets ever survive; also, if a shrimp is dying, my rams tend to pick it off.

Onto the plants... I'd say you're pretty much good to go. Maybe some kind of cryptocoryne or dwarf val on the right side for a little carpeting, but aside from that I think you're pretty much done. Sometimes, more is not better; it's better to have less of something, but make it look awesome, than to have a ton of something that looks like you just threw it in and let it settle where it does.


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## Sanctum38 (Oct 2, 2011)

Thanks for all the wonderful comments.

The thing is, I want to have my tank have the natural full planted look.
Something like this:
(Which is a 20 gallon as well)









Yes, the tank in the picture is a taller tank, while mine is probably just the standard dimensions.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Rams with Shrimp would probably end up with the shrimp being eaten...considering I've had female guppies take out shrimp before. Perhaps grab some free plants (if there are any) from local members, such as here, Sunset Hygro, Water Sprite, and Hornwort are given away free on many occasions and all grow tall and don't require very high specs.

(That tank looks alot bigger then 20 gallons :0)


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## Sanctum38 (Oct 2, 2011)

Momobobo said:


> Rams with Shrimp would probably end up with the shrimp being eaten...considering I've had female guppies take out shrimp before. Perhaps grab some free plants (if there are any) from local members, such as here, Sunset Hygro, Water Sprite, and Hornwort are given away free on many occasions and all grow tall and don't require very high specs.
> 
> (That tank looks alot bigger then 20 gallons :0)


Iunno, I googled "20 gallon planted tank"
and stole that pic from a tank journal on fishforums.com
I read, and he says its a 20 gallon, just tall.

As for getting plants from here. I am situated in ontario, so not sure how I would get them :/
--

As for a Co2 system, I am looking to go with this for the 20 gal:
Amazon.com: Hagen Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System with CO2 Activator and Stabilizer: Pet Supplies


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Well...I ment look around your area's classified, those plants I mentioned grow like weeds  and for the CO2, try a DiY setup? Thats basically what that kit is.

(bottom of first post)
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/4-gallon-planted-rimless-15076/


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## Sanctum38 (Oct 2, 2011)

Momobobo said:


> Well...I ment look around your area's classified, those plants I mentioned grow like weeds  and for the CO2, try a DiY setup? Thats basically what that kit is.
> 
> (bottom of first post)
> http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank-journals-16/4-gallon-planted-rimless-15076/


Ah, very nice. Yeah I have read up around the BCA about DIY Co2... The only thing I dont like is the clutter of the system.

Im thinking, $24 for a small Co2 system (which will look tidy), and then $7 every 1-2 months for refills, isnt too too bad.

AND as for classifieds around here, I have looked for everything! I live in a town of maybe 20,000 people, and its maybe hour and a half drive to any major locations.

Ive also checked their classifieds, posting wanted ads. No biters.


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## cdsgo1974 (Sep 25, 2011)

Hello,
I have a 20 G tank similar to yours. Here are some of the things I learned so far (set up my planted tank about a month ago):
1) Need to put a good layer of substrate for stem plants that take in nutrients from the roots
2) Start with a good number of fast growing plants to consume readily available nutrients in the tank to prevent algae (diatoms) to bloom
3) Need to apply fertilizer to tank (i.e. Nitrogen, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iron and Micro) to keep plants alive and growing... look into EI (Estimated Index) Dosing Method... using Seachem products but heard that dry ferts are more effective
4) Need to invest in good lighting... bought Coralife 24" dual T5 HO on eBay for US$32 (shipping fee inclusive)... which would have been around CA$120 in Canada
5) Need to inject CO2... as per previous comments, worthwhile to do DIY (sugar and yeast)... lot's of tutorial videos on youtube.
6) Proper amount of fertilizer, without sufficient lighting and CO2, will result to algae so don't start dosing with ferts without good lighting and sufficient CO2 saturation

Good luck!


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## Sanctum38 (Oct 2, 2011)

cdsgo1974 said:


> Hello,
> I have a 20 G tank similar to yours. Here are some of the things I learned so far (set up my planted tank about a month ago):
> 1) Need to put a good layer of substrate for stem plants that take in nutrients from the roots
> 2) Start with a good number of fast growing plants to consume readily available nutrients in the tank to prevent algae (diatoms) to bloom
> ...


Thank you very much. Very useful!
Do you have any pics / vid of your tank? Would love to see it!


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

The tank you posted is a 20g. I have the same tank. Its called a 20g TALL. They look great in a room because of the extra height. There is a bit of a down fall to them. They are 20inch in height so light penetrating all the way to the bottom can be a bit of a problem. Some people on here have givin some good advice. I suggest going to a library and getting some books from there. I found some good aquarium plant specific books. In my opinion and own personal experiences over the past year on my tank is the light is the biggest factor of the tank setup. Lots of light means your plants will grow faster, which means you will need to eventually inject co2 and ferts ex.... So if you dont want to get into co2 yet than stay with a less powerful light ex coralife t5 24w double strip light. I started injecting co2 into my tank 5 months ago. Before that all my plants did good but the co2 took it too a whole new level.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Hagen makes a new light called the hagen glow. I havnt used it but I was going to when I set up a tank at my dads house a few months ago. I found it wasnt cheap and it didnt include the bulbs so I bought a Coralife t5 double strip instead.It was $75. It comes with 2 bulbs a 6700k and fishcolor ehancing bulb which does nothing for plant growth. I asked to store to switch out the fish enhance bulb and put in a 10000k. They did. I have used and own a few different coralife lights and have never had a problem with them. The tank in the picture coralife makes one similiar called coralife compact flourecent it has 2x 56 w bulbs in it. I use that light on my tank. I run a 6700k and a 10000k. Again coralife makes a few different bulbs but the 6700k and the 10000k are the only two usefull bulbs to plants. Some people like only 6700 others like only 10k. I decide to go with both and it has worked well.


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## cdsgo1974 (Sep 25, 2011)

*My Setup*

Hello,
Sorry, I didn't realize until today that requested for pictures. Better late than never. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I just started a few months ago so I still have a lot to learn myself. I also need to buy Seachem Excel to get rid of some of the algae but all in all, can't be happier.

Enjoy!


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