20 Litre Setup

[Noahs ark6]

Hi all.

I setup my new 20 litre yesterday. I decided to have a go at aquascaping a small tank.

This is what came out of it-

It still needs to settle so it's abit cloudy.


Tank- Do!Aqua 20 litre cube.
Light- Arcadia arc pod 11w
Heater- Jad 50w (when i bought it (5 years ago) i didn't know about the one watt per litre rule )
Hardscape- Pebbles from Filey beach
Flora- Vallis torta, Lilaeopsis Brasiliensis, Pogosetmon Helferi.
Livestock (need to buy)- 7 cherry shrimp
Filter- AquaEl Micro Fan filter
Substrate- Argos Playsand
Ferts- TNC Complete fertiliser, 1 root tab

I'm planning on ordering some HC (Cuba) and placing it around the base of the inclination. I'm also going to get some wood coming from the bottom left and spanning the length of the tank and hopefully poking out of the surface a bit (suggestions appreciated).

That isn't how I want the wood to look, i just did it to get across the direction of it. (sorry, i'm hopeless at anything arty)

Suggestions on how to make it better and comments would be much appreciated

 

[minnnt]

Great start. I think the cobble needs to be replaced with a bigger one and I would also have gone with a black background, but that's just personal preferance.

 

[ZoddyZod]

nice beginning!

My only comment is around the 'mound' and the filter outlet position. Over time you might find that the sand making the mound is shifted out of place

 

[RossC]

Good start, I agree get a bigger pebble. Most people use rock as really good focal points

 

[Noahs ark6]

Would it solve the problem if i put the filter in the top left hand corner?

The blue background is reversable and is black, i'll see if it looks nicer black.

I was contemplating using mini landscaping rock, but it's quite big. Is there any rock like landscaping rock but is smaller? if not i might have to buy some larger pebbles

 

[Noahs ark6]

It looks nicer with the black background, thanks

 

[ZoddyZod]

I think if you put it in the left hand-side it would ruin the scape.

Give it some time and see what happens, it might not move the sand at all.

Will also depend on your stock choices though, any bottom dwellers will kick the sand around in no time.

 

[Noahs ark6]

I was thinking shrimp. I didn't think shrimp (with them being so small) could move the sand

 

[Noahs ark6]

Hi again.

I decided to add some, improvised, substrate supports, hopefully this has fixed my sliding sand problem. I chopped the little plastic cards you get with tropica potted plants into about 8 mm rectangles and hey presto. They work well (in a small tank at least) and are free, and thats always good. Not only that, the left over tag at the bottom can be used to smooth the sand out.

I'm not sure if you can notice on a picture, but the inclination is now more obvious, it looks better. I've also changed the background. (my camera makes the background look blue still, but it isn't.

I'm awaiting the arrival of some HC and I'll post some pics when it arrives

EDIT-- Sorry, one more q, how deep would the sand have to be for the HC's roots?, because the sand at the far right hand side is quite shallow (1.5cm ish), thanks

 

[Noahs ark6]

Anyone?

 

[Noahs ark6]

Waters cleared up today.

I was going to order some HC from AE but they're out of stock and only get them in stock again next friday
They're so cheap from AE, and i'm going to get some Liquid Carbon and some larger rocks from there aswell

 

[Neo8223]

looking good!! i like the appliance abuse with the tags!! cheap and effective.

 

[twingogeekeo]

Tank looks sweet i bought a 25L at the weekend and you've given me a few ideas

But is the heater meant to be up right i fought they was suppose to be at a angle?

 

[Noahs ark6]

If theres a good flow in the tank, the heater can be vertical

 

[m_attt]

I was contemplating using mini landscaping rock, but it's quite big. Is there any rock like landscaping rock

hit it with a hammer