Need some advice from you Planters!

[Sanctum38]

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.

[discuspaul]

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.

[gklaw]

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.

[BelieveInBlue]

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.

[Sanctum38]

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.

[Momobobo]

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)

[Sanctum38]

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

[Momobobo]

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)
4 Gallon Planted Rimless

[Sanctum38]

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)
4 Gallon Planted Rimless

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.

[cdsgo1974]

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!