Suggestions for equipment for a planted tank

[chkltcow]

Today at lunch, I'm gonna go pick up a 20gal long to setup as a planted guppy tank. I want it to be heavily planted, a little guppy forest... and a blanket of riccia, java moss, dwarf sag, etc for the ground. I was gonna go with a biowheel filter so I could really jump start the cycle by just moving a wheel from my existing tank to this new one.... but the wheel from my 330 won't fit into anything except another 330, it would seem... and that's MAJOR overkill for a tank this size.

So, tell me if this sounds good or I'm shooting myself in the foot here. For the substrate, I'm thinking a layer of flourite with either sand or some of the SeaChem Onyx Sand I already have. I'll take some of the larger gravel out of an existing tank and spread it around sparingly to help start the cycle as well. For a filter, I'm leaning toward a Fluval 104 canister instead of a HOB filter, so it will cut down on surface agitation and CO2 loss. If I'm gonna have lots of plants and I'm not planning on CO2 injection in this tank, that would be the better bet, right? And lighting... a dual tube 30" fixture (2 24" bulbs I think) will probably be the only thing that's available. And what about a heater.... what's a suitable wattage? Since it's a 20gal long, only 12" tall, I need to get a fully submersible one, right? And for the hood, I'll probably end up making a plexiglass hood like the one I did for my 55g (pics are in the DIY section). It turned out looking good, so I think I can do it again.

Anything you guys would add/change? Guppies will probably be the only thing I keep in here, unless there's some type of bottom feeder that can deal with a carpet of plants like I want.

 

[Colin_BC]

If your looking at the 30" fixtures (24" bulb) most readily available at pet stores, they run 20W per bulb. that would give you 2 Watts per gallon which is considered medium lighting. I believe the riccia requires high lighting, closer to 3-4WPG, and it is one that would definately benefit from CO2. High lighting is still do-able though if you wanted, although after going above 2WPG you'd want to consider something like the Nutrafin Natural CO2 system. I have seen high output flourescent fixtures the same size, but each bul put's out 2-3 times the wattage of the regular fluoro's. As well, depending on how much your willing to do yourself, there are many DIY versions posted on this site.

Colin

 

[chkltcow]

Well, here's what I have so far. I bought the tank the other night, along with a HOT Magnum filter rated at 250gph..... more than enough. The substrate is a lower layer of flourite, covered with a top layer of Onyx Sand.... both are Seachem products sold as specialty plant substrates. The Onyx sand raises the hardness just a bit which is okay since it'll be guppies and just a few cories in the tank.

The lighting.... well... here's the deal. Nobody around here has a dual tube 30" fixture. That means I'm gonna have to order one from Big Als or something. Is the "2-3wpg" rule absolutely mandatory when growing in shallow water? Remember, a 20g long tank is only about 12" tall, not 17"+ like some tanks get. It's shallow enough that the crappy 18" 15 watt I have sitting on top of my hacked together lid right now looks like it puts down tons of light on the plants. Will a dual tube flourescent put out enough light in only 12" of water.... or would I do better spending the extra money on a power compact rig? Also, which power compact? Big Als has a 55watt for $64 as opposed to $38 for a standard flourescent.... and it doesn't seem like that good of a deal for an extra 15 watts of lighting. They also have a 65 watt, but this seems like it's aimed more at reef keeping than live plants, with a 10,000K and actinic bulb:
http/www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...id1=1843;pcid2=

And finally, the plants. I've rulled riccia out because I can't find it anywhere. Right now, I have a few large clumps of lilaeopsis and dwarf sag, 1 cryptocoryne wendtii, and 2 pieces of jungle val that are in there now kinda as a guide for where I want to put the driftwood around it, once it's cured. Assuming I can finally get the java moss I ordered too, there will be java moss on the driftwood. None are high light plants, I don't think.... nor are any of those high CO2 users either. I've built a DIY CO2 rig for my 55g community and it's doing well, so I could do another one for this eventually if I need to.... but I don't much think these plants will require it.

I'd like to get my order in by this evening at the latest, so hopefully it will ship tomorrow morning. Thanks in advance.

Edit: Measured the actual depth of water with the substrate I have down and the water line up top.... 10" of actual water in the tank.

 

[Nisha]

I just bought the 55 Watt compact light for my 25 Gallon and it's wonderful. It has a very high spectrum and is much brighter too. The plants seem to be liking it.
It might be a bit too much for a 20 gallon though, so it really should be based on whether you're going to have very high light plants or not. Seems like you don't so maybe you'll be fine with just a single flourescent.

 

[Colin_BC]

I'd still suggest at least doubling your lights. As for the riccia (if still interested) I've found that with many of the aquarium plants I've purchased, I had to give the name of it to the LFS and have them bring it in on their next shipment. I've started with glossostigma for the carpet effect, but it had to be brought in special. You'll find most LFS' will bring in the basic low-light plant assortment with a couple more common medium-light demanding plants. I was told by all the LFS around here that they neve bring in glosso because of it's high demands no one wants them. I convinced them to bring some in. They got 25. I took 5, the rest were gone within a week.

You say you're curing your driftwood. I added a big piece to my 10G a week ago without curing (just gave it a quick rinse), and the water has already cleared. I just made sure to replace my carbon the same day that I added the driftwood. The water went pretty cloudy for the first 5 days, but small daily water changes and the carbon fixed this. The water is now clear with a very light brown hue to it.

Colin

 

[chkltcow]

Well you've already got one up on me as far as LFS and plants. Around here, most just look at me like I'm insane when I ask for any plants. The only things that I can find with any regularity are amazon swords and java fern. And forget about asking for anything by its scientific name... they just get a "deer in the headlights" look to them. There's one more place I can try, but I'm gonna have to make sure I get off work early one day to go by there before they close.

The driftwood is gonnna have to soak for a bit longer.... no other way around it. It's still not waterlogged enough to sink, and I'd rather not have to tie it down inside the aquarium. I can wait a few more days to put it in

 

[Colin_BC]

I got the deer in the headlihts look as well. What I did that got me the results is wrote down the scientific name on a piece of paper with my name and phone number, and asked them to show it to their supplier. Once I gave them the name on paper, they found it on their order sheet and eventually got some in. I've had results this way with one big LPS and a tiny LFS.

Colin

 

[chkltcow]

Finally got that light strip yesterday and got it on my 20g.... AGA dual tube flourescent... 2 24" 20 watt tubes..... and already everything in there is growing beautifully! The lileaopsis has already lost the few yellow-ish strands it had and has reached a beautiful green color... the hairgrass is showing signs of improvement, and the watersprite has big beautiful leaves. I still think 40 watts is plenty for this shallow aquarium

Oh, and I've heard reports from my grandmother that the LFS I ordered plants from most recently is going to be shut down due to the owner's arrest. I haven't confirmed it yet, but that really sucks