My 2 20g Long Tanks

[ICEEGRL]

Thanks for the suggestion, but even if I added the swamp thing... you wouldn't be able to see it.
There is horn wort in there that would add to the eerieness, but again... you can't see it!

I don't see much change yet. Hopefully it will be looking better by morning. I don't think all this could be coming just from not rinsing... There is what looks like gray/white powder in the sand, and with any disturbance at all the tank goes foggy like this. Then it takes forever to clear. Is there anything I can do to make it better?

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[jollysue]

I did that with the red Flourite. It is a rusty red color. Every time I plant something or move something it gores muddy red. m I have fish in there, so I can't really do much but let the plants grow and settle it down. rinse the

But if it didn't have fish I would take the plants out and rinse the substrate. I would probably try using a Python to fill and empty. But if it is a 20L you could perhaps get most of the water out, take it in the back yard and rinse the soil while it is still in the tank.

It is not a big issue for me. I figure it will sort itself out. The fish no doubt have such stuff happen in the wild and several of the fish are wild caught.

But I will rinse next time.

I HATE RINSING!!!! That is one reason I get Eco Complete so often. And play sand doesn't need much rinsing either.

 

[ICEEGRL]

It is starting to get where I can sort of see the plants in front, but nothing else. I will probably break it down and clean it. I can't stand it like this. It looks so nasty.

I still have the other one to do. I am going to wash the substrate for that one and see how it comes out. If it does a lot better I will definately be breaking this one down and washing it.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[lljdma06]

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This is an ADA winner for sure! The composition is amazing and the plant health is quality! You go, girl!

llj

 

[ICEEGRL]

Yay!!! I have finally got a quality tank that shows my natural ability with scaping and plant care!! This will show the world... I am going to be the new Amano... Every one will want this tank in their living room!!

I can finally see the plants... I didn't quite get them where I thought I did. It isn't as bad as it could have been though considering I could not see anything while planting them. I was guessing at where to stick them. I am going to leave it as is for now. I am going to wash the flourite for the top tank and set it up and see how it does. I can't see messing with this one if I am going to take it apart to clean it any way.

I will take pics and let you know how things go as I progress with these tanks. The top tank is meant to be a breeding tank for my julii cories. The foggy tank is meant to house cuttings and plants getting them growing for other tanks and extra plants... it will have my betta in it eventually. This is the plan right now, but with me things change quite often...

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[ICEEGRL]

The foggy tank finally cleared, and is currently full of hornwort. I had no other place to put it at the time. I will get it distrubuted around the other tanks and get this one planted right soon. I ordered one bunch of hornwort and got enough to completely fill a 20g long tank and a 10g tank!!! I had no idea there would be so much in one bunch...
The top tank is now planted and looking fairly good. I rinsed the flourite for it, and got no fog at all.
I took pics, but I have not gone through them yet. I will try to find a good one and will post it in the next day or so.
I got some plants I have never had before, so I am excited to see how they do.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[lljdma06]

Ok, waiting for pics...

By the way, if I'm successful breeding my pygmies, want some?

llj

 

[ICEEGRL]

This is the top tank...
View attachment 52006
View attachment 52007

It still needs to fill out. There are several plants in there that are small and don't show up in the pics. These pics were taken not long after planting. I washed the flourite before adding it to this tank, and it never did cloud up.

I would love some pygmies. I want some of those little red fish too. What exactly are they? Are they really that bright red? How big do they get? They look really pretty swimming around in all the green plants.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Oh... I almost forgot... The bottom tank has cleared now... finally. It isn't really planted yet though. It is still just like it was. It is housing a bunch of hornwort waiting to get distributed around other tanks, and a few little cuttings and pieces.
It will hopefully get planted out the right way soon. This is what was behind the fog...
View attachment 52008

 

[ICEEGRL]

And this is the whole thing. It is impossible to get a decent pic of it. The top tank has 2wpg and the bottom has a little less than 1. My camera can't figure that out, so it always comes out with the top one looking washed out and the bottom one really dark when I try to get a pic showing all of it. I hope to solve the lighting issue soon.
View attachment 52009

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[lljdma06]

Those tanks, especially the top, are looking good. Not loving the blue gravel too much though, but what do I know? That's wierd about the camera lighting, but I'm not a big techie, so I can't help you much there.

I would love some pygmies. I want some of those little red fish too. What exactly are they? Are they really that bright red? How big do they get? They look really pretty swimming around in all the green plants.

Which red fish? I have several. I have the cherry barbs, serpae tetras, and the platies. Actually, up close the platies are a bright orange with a little shading to a lighter bright orange, but it depends on the fish. Yeah, they are that bright. My largest female is about 1.5", including the tale. The children are quite a bit smaller, but I don't know yet if the females are fertile. I know that the young males are.

llj

 

[goin_all_out]

really nice, great to see more people with these "smaller" tanks. considering im limited to a 25 gallon and no bigger (significant other doenst want anything bigger. not even a 40) i love seeing tanks of this size for inspiration. good job.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Again... bad lighting... the substrate is black flourite mixed with black flourite sand in both tanks. In person it is very black. I don't like blue gravel either.
The bottom tank is just holding extra hornwort and a few cuttings. This is not technically planted yet... I am still working on getting the plants that will actually go in the bottom tank. None of the plants in there now will be staying. Maybe one or two stems may stay, but not like that. I am not sure yet.
I will have to find the pics again to see which fish it was. I just remember tiny bright red fish swimming around plants looking so pretty.
I have added a lily to the top tank. I don't know how it will work though. I have too many plants that don't like their light blocked, so it may have to come back out. It looks really nice right now though... I am glad you like it. That means I am getting better. This is a good thing. Any suggestions to make it better? (besides a camera that isn't color blind... )
Enjoy the 25g. I love my smaller tanks. You can do more in them. The big tanks are harder to reach things and there is so much more work to a bigger one. It is hard to try something new in a big tank, and the cost of changing a big tank is unreal. I really like the little ones so much more. I can change or move anything in a few minutes, and if I want to just make a few adjustments... it isn't a major undertaking like in my bigger tanks. You can do just as much with a small tank... you just need smaller amounts of things.

Thanks for looking and posting.

 

[ICEEGRL]

It has been a long time. The top tank is a breeding tank for my julii corys. The bottom tank is holding the over flow from Shay's tank. It is full of guppies. I will try to take some pics and post again before too long.
The bottom tank still has a fog problem most of the time. I am learning to live with it.

 

[aaronnorth]

22nd june, i didnt realise it was that long ago! i was thinking about your tanks the other day.