# 29 gallon log



## kingofnod (Jul 25, 2012)

Hey everybody, I'm new here, and relatively new to fish and plant keeping. This is a timeline/log of my 29 gallon aquarium that I started back in June. I've been reading this site for awhile, but never really posted before. So far I've learned a lot from reading other people's experiences, but I still have a lot to learn.









Tank was established in middle of May 2012, first plants added. Tank is relatively small due to my current living situation, only 29 gallons. Since this was my first dive into a true planted setup, and my first attempt at an aquarium since gradeschool, I started with a basic assorted plant pack. Amazon Sword (center), several Java ferns, Cryptocoryne (left/center foreground), Anubias (foregr
ound/right), Water Sprite (backround), Ludwigia (backround, can barely be seen in this photograph), Also came with some other bunch plants, Cabomba (right backround, behind driftwood), Anacharis. Substrate was a mixture of medium gravel and Ecocomplete Red. Lighting is a twin fixture T5 setup. As of current I am NOT running a C02 injection setup, only dosing with Flourish Excel (liquid Carbon supplement). However, as the system matures I am strongly considering compressed C02 injection.









This was taken on June 7th. The plants had really taken well to the environment. Ludwigia really took off like a weed (center backround). Amazon sword filled in nicely. Many of the shorter foreground plants however failed to flourish, probably due to the depth of the tank preventing the light's full strength from reaching the plants.










This photo was taken july 22 after a significant pruning and replanting. Pruned Ludwigia and replanted stems in the left backround. Removed all Anacharis and Water sprite. The Cabomba in the right backround has been slow growing but steady. After flourishing for several weeks, the plants began to suffer from nutrient deficiencies. I began a comprehensive EI fertilizing regiment using Seachems line of products. I ran this setup for several weeks and the plants bounced back, but I have since changed to PPS due to the cost effectiveness of making your own solutions vs. commercial products.









Side shot from the the left side showing the replanted sections. You can also see the numerous sprouts from the Micro Chain sword spread along the side. Current fish inhabitants are 2 Opaline blue Gourami's (Blue, and Big Tuna). 3 Pinapple Swordtails (of which one of the females has already produced fry, but none survived to my knowledge). 2 Otocinclus catfish (Want to add more at some point, as this species enjoys more of its own kind)


















Taken 8/5/12. The tube is for a homemade snail trap (in the center of the tank). Have a bit of a pond snail issue, so this is my population control method for the mean time, works pretty well actually. Also had some issues with the fish population. One of the Swordtail females wasted away after having no issues for a couple months. I'm thinking one of the Gourami's brought a parasite into the tank, and the fish died from a secondary bacterial infection, but I can't be sure, as I'm not very experienced yet. I had to seperate the two Gourami's due to aggression, so I moved the smaller bullied one to a hospital tank to help avoid him getting sick due to the extra stress. I guess I learned my lesson about quarantining new fish, and will be doing it with any additions from now on. Still not 100% sure how to handle the fish population as everyone seems healthy. I guess I just need to wait it out and observe them for trouble symptoms.










Taken today (8/27/12). Cabomba finally reached the surface over the last week or so. Replantings in the left rear are starting to spurt up. The back round plants are severely overgrown though, and way overdue for a pruning.

Any comments or suggestions would be great as I'm still learning everything I can!


----------



## m4gichat (May 22, 2012)

needs some trimming but besides that its looking pretty good


----------



## kingofnod (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks! Yeah they were getting a little out of hand. I ended up removing that bunch, and was really surprised how much root structure they had formed under there. Most of the lower stems had shed their leaves so I didn't feel so bad about removing them. I also moved the Amazon sword plant further in the back because of it's size. Moved around the driftwood a little bit also.


----------

