20gh Planted, Tropical Community

[soritan]

So this is my 20gallon High. I've been working on it for ages, and I think it's finally looking less like the wrong end of a horse. I wish I could take better pictures of it, my camera is quite old and generally only works when it wants to. Almost didn't share the pictures at all, but was in a sharing kind of mood, you know?

I have 3 more images, but decided not to post them and make the thread too image heavy.

If you're interested in the other 3, you can view them here:
http/s4.photobucket.com/albums/y144/sori...ent=20gH_05.jpg


However, they're very simmilar to the two I posted here.

I have a huge watersprite and a tangle of anacharis floating on top. I'm thinking of removing the bogwood from the bottom and planting the watersprite, instead.

Flora:
Anacharis
Watersprite
Hornwort
Marimo Balls (moss balls)
Cryptocoryne wendtii, red
Cryptocoryne wendtii, green
Anubias, Coffeefolia
Anubias, Barteri
Anubias, Nana

Fauna:
Harlequin Rasboras
White Cloud Mountain Minnows
Schwartzi Cories
Betta Splendens (female)
Otocinclus

Hardware:
Perfecto full hood (it sucks)
Penguin Bio-wheel 125
Aquaclear 20
Hydro I sponge filter

 

[phlawed]

So this is my 20gallon High. I've been working on it for ages, and I think it's finally looking less like the wrong end of a horse. I wish I could take better pictures of it, my camera is quite old and generally only works when it wants to. Almost didn't share the pictures at all, but was in a sharing kind of mood, you know?

I have 3 more images, but decided not to post them and make the thread too image heavy.

If you're interested in the other 3, you can view them here:
http/s4.photobucket.com/albums/y144/sori...ent=20gH_05.jpg


However, they're very simmilar to the two I posted here.

I have a huge watersprite and a tangle of anacharis floating on top. I'm thinking of removing the bogwood from the bottom and planting the watersprite, instead.

Flora:
Anacharis
Watersprite
Hornwort
Marimo Balls (moss balls)
Cryptocoryne wendtii, red
Cryptocoryne wendtii, green
Anubias, Coffeefolia
Anubias, Barteri
Anubias, Nana

Fauna:
Harlequin Rasboras
White Cloud Mountain Minnows
Schwartzi Cories
Betta Splendens (female)
Otocinclus

Hardware:
Perfecto full hood (it sucks)
Penguin Bio-wheel 125
Aquaclear 20
Hydro I sponge filter

I like the natural look you have given your tank. Some people go to far into making it look all neat and uniform this looks nice and natural in my opinion

 

[soritan]

Thank you. I quite dig it, as well. It's taken ages of tweaks for me to make it enjoyable for me to look at. It's relaxing to look at, almost because I keep thinking, "Almost done! "

Once I added the sand, it made a gigantic improvement. I'm definately a pro-sand person.

 

[karen84]

Very nice, i love the anarcharis it looks great

 

[soritan]

Thank you. I think my fish enjoy the cover. The stuff grows very quickly, though, and needs to be constantly hacked back. Same with the watersprite. Kind of a nice problem to have, actually.

 

[Luke_e]

The watersprite and a tangle of anacharis looks awesome like that .

What improvement did the sand make for you? Plant growth or just making it look better?
I think it looks sweet with the sand.

 

[soritan]

I've had the sand just shy of a week, so I can't comment overly much on the plant growth. The looks, definately better. It's more orderly in there. I also don't lose as much frozen foods into the gravel, and my cories have a chance to actually scavenge.

I do actually think it did improve my plant growth, but it's been such a short amount of time I almost feel like it's in my head. My algae growth seems to have suddenly stopped, and vanished. All my crypts are uncurling their leaves and regaining their color, and my Anubiases are sending out new leaves. I had a tiny spot of BBA on top of the tank that seems to have vanished.

My guess is... first that my crypts, with their sensitive roots, appreciate being anchored and unbothered. Second, that the light colored sand has added some type of nutrient to the water that was lacking before or is reflecting the light a wee bit. My old colored substrate is visable under the sand. It was black, and my new substrate is basically white sand.