# 20g tank



## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

6 months after starting my first tank, which consisted only of bacopa caroliniana, lilaeopsis brasiliensis (microsword), and a single anubias, I've gotten my tank to a point where I can lose myself for several hours just staring at it.

A big thank you to all who helped me here at APC, I joined only a couple months ago, but I've learned a lot and now my plants look happy!

So here are some specs:

Tank: Standard 20L, 30"x12"x12"
Light: 1X65W Coralife Aqualight using a Power Compact bulb at 6700K, 10 hours a day (11AM - 9PM)
CO2: DIY with two 2L gatorade bottles and two diffusers
Filtration: Eheim ECCO 2234
Substrate: Two bags of Eco-complete

Plants:
Anubias nana
Bacopa caroliniana
Bacopa sp. "Colorata"
Blyxa japonica
Elatine trianda
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Lindernia sp. "India"
Rotala macranda "Green"
Rotala sp. "Green"
Rotala sp. "Colorata"
Tonina fluviatilis

Livestock:
20 Paracheirodon axelrodi (cardinal tetras)
2 Otocinclus sp.
5 Caridina japonica (amano shrimp)
Lots of Neocaridina denticulata sinensis "red" (cherry shrimp)

I'll add some water parameters later.

Anyway, here's a picture of the full tank. You can see the breeder tank that I'm using to float a couple pieces of HC. *edit* There's a thumbnail below for easier viewing.










Right now I am hoping to grow out a carpet of elatine trianda for my foreground, with the blyxa japonica acting as a fence. If that doesn't work out, I'm floating some small pieces of HC to utilize later on. The right side looks bare now, but hopefully it'll fill it out once the Rotala macranda "Green" and Rotala sp. "Green" kick in. I'm also thinking about adding a Micranthemum umbrosum bush to the right midground/foreground area. Any suggestions for plants that would fit into the empty space by the Anubias nana?

Anyway, thanks for looking and feel free to comment


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Nice Tank James! Everything looks so healthy. I'm jealous. 

On the right side, maybe a bigger leaf plant like a Java Fern, to give it some height on that side, and also to give that aquascaping Triangular effect on that side. Just a thought, and adding some input. But then again, the stem plants might grow out to give you that height and depth later on anyhow. Oh, and I'm not sure how the pairing of blyxa and E.trianda will fair. Right, now the blyxa is overpowering everything.

Again, no aquascaping skill whatsoever here, just commenting outloud. I think it's funny how the HC is in the breeder. 

-John N.


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

Some shallow moss-covered stones near the anubias might work. You might want to top the stems on the right and plant more densely back there.


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## ranmasatome (Aug 5, 2005)

Nice work there.. i think the left side is looking mighty fine.. time to work on that right side..
Looking forward to updates..


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Wow, very nice first tank :supz: ... The left side is nice and full, I would add some more plants to the right side to balance the scape out. Also adding some moss or fern to the wood would be nice.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Hey thanks for the comments and suggestions. Do any of you guys think a bush of micranthemum umbrosum will work on the right side? I'm planning on doing that or just growing out the rotala green and rotala macranda green to fill up the whole side.

The java fern and moss-covered rock both are good ideas! Is java fern the plant that needs to be tied to driftwood? Also, the elatine trianda doesn't look like it's going to work out, and I guess I'll be replacing it with HC soon. I'm actually against putting any moss on my driftwood because I like the texture of the wood.

Again, thanks for the suggestions and comments


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I think those plants would work, though I think you might want to consider a fat leaf plant to contrast with all the other stem plants in there, and the blyxa foreground.

-John N.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Update

http://www.silentaura.com/uploads/max/DSCN2034.JPG

Once the Rotala sp. 'Colorata' and Rotala macranda 'Green' fills in, I'll take another picture.


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## FobbyBobby23 (Mar 8, 2005)

yo man niiice tank!

haha 

is the plant in the middle the aromatica?? or the p. stellatus?

hahaha its nice man gone a LOONG ways since the early pics you showed me

i like the black background too, what are you using for it?


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Be careful with the anubias like that. Too much rhizome in the substrate and you'll get mush


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Hey man, yeah definitely looks better than when my only plants were the Bacopa caroliniana, microsword, and some other plant haahah. Middle stem is L. aromatica. The P. stellatus is in my 10 gallon right now and it's purpling up yeahh! I went to Tall Mouse and they sell thick posterboards that are 20" x 30" for 5 bucks. I bought circular sticky velcro stuff too and that's how I keep the background in place. Place the fuzzy part of the velcro on the trim, and the claw part on the background.

Mike, yeah, I've made sure that the rhizome is all up. I'd try tying it to the driftwood but then it'd look sort of strange in a small tank like mine.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Have you considered maybe a long flat piece of wood or rock?

Anyway...I like the tank. Here's inline:


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Yeah, I want to try those long, thin ADA type driftwood sometime. As it is, I was looking for a new piece of driftwood after I sold my old one to Kurtis, and just bought the first one that looked good to me =]. I'd only use rock with an iwagumi tank, which I'll hopefully try in the near future.

I actually like how the big and small pieces work to unify the tank in a way. The small one reminds me of Pride Rock from Lion King haha.

Thanks for putting it in the thread itself, and if you look closely, the thin-leaved, bronzed plant in the middle foreground might look familiar to you, haha. Got it from the first meet!


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Probably some of the E. tennelus someone gave out. 

Played with the picture a little.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Lets see your tank now... Update please....


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## foofooree (Mar 11, 2007)

Tex Gal said:


> Lets see your tank now... Update please....


x2


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Maybe in a few months =]

The tank's been idle while I've been at college, but I'll be taking the tank up with me to my apartment when the new school year starts! For now, all I've got are plans that are starting to be set in motion. New substrate.. new plants.. new livestock.. the works!

I promise I'll update this a few months from now!


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Been a while, but here's a peak at what the tank looks like now:










Hoping to put up some more pictures by tonight.


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Oops, I think I put up a blank frame up earlier!


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## erijnal (Apr 5, 2006)

Dang, tough crowd! Anyway, here are the rest of the pictures. I can't wait to see what the tank will look like when the dwarf lilaeopsis on the left fills in. Also, somewhere down the line I'm going to have to break up the Midifleur sword. Right now it's 4 plants bunched up together haha


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## Veloth (Jun 25, 2008)

Nice setup! Thanks for the update. Looks like the sword taking over but it looks good.


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