My 20 gal long planted tank

[Chickadee32 52]

So excited to get back into the aquarium hobby! I'm still in the planning stages of this tank. I've ordered some supplies and my driftwood just came in. I'm especially happy with the arched piece that the fish can swim under. The other I'm not so sure about yet. I may put it in another tank. I also got some Caribsea Ecocomplete in black. I just tested the GH and got a reading of 180. This concerns me as I wanted to put snails and shrimp in this tank. I still plan to plant it, however, and will just have to work with what I have. Cycling it soon. I've always jumped into my fish and snail keeping without much planning and want to do it right this time. Stay tuned!

 

[Chickadee32 52]

My tank so far. I have a rock resting on one of the driftwoods which refuses to sink.

I went with a smoother gravel that I already had. I added a section of sand and made it look like a pathway under the driftwood arch. I wish the color wasn't so stark white, but maybe I'll get used to it. I have river pebbles to add, but waiting for my tongs to arrive. Afraid my clumsy fingers will mess up what I already have done.

Plants: Malaysian red plant, two types of cardinalis, dwarf hairgrass, anubias, white ribbon, which is semiaquatic and may get moved. I wanted a more lush look in the back. The anubias isn't attached yet. I'm waiting for the driftwood to become more stable. I also started a 10 gal with the Eco-Complete substrate, so these plants may get shifted around.

The tank is currently cycling and I'm starting to think about fish and snails. My water is very hard. I have a GH test kit on order so I can't give the exact parameters yet. On the test strips the GH was off the chart. I added distilled water but it had no effect. I think I'll just make this a hard water tank as suggested previously. It will be too hard to maintain without an RO system.

Thoughts and suggestions welcome!

 

[Chickadee32 52]

I've made some changes. Swapped out the white sand for beige. I wish it was a bit lighter, but I'll have to live with it because I am never doing that again! I also moved some plants around and attached the anubias. The driftwood is finally sunken but very touchy. I want something tall and lush in the back. I am not sure the cardinalis 'roseafolia' in the middle will do well in a low tech tank. The center needs something. A rock formation maybe?

The water got a little dark from the driftwood, but it's clearing up. Still impatiently waiting for the tank to cycle. I lowered the GH with distilled water to 10 and will probably keep it there. I'm making a list of fish that can tolerate hard water.

 

[Chickadee32 52]

Added more plants. Still not cycled!
I bought some black posterboard from the dollar store to put on the back and will get to it soon. The rubberbands are ugly, but I'm not ready to super glue anything yet. Will snip them away as soon as the anubias attaches. Happy to see the alternanthera reineckii 'roseafolia' in the middle is growing. I hope it gets taller though.

 

[GaryE12 10]

If you as securely as you can sit a large rock on top of wood in a glass aquarium, and something shifts... my tank didn't break when I learned that, but that was a rare bit of luck.

 

[Chickadee32 52]

If you as securely as you can sit a large rock on top of wood in a glass aquarium, and something shifts... my tank didn't break when I learned that, but that was a rare bit of luck.

My biggest fear was the rock would fall off and ruin my sand pathway. I didn't even think about the tank potentially breaking! Thankfully the driftwood finally sank and the rock is now gone.

 

[Chickadee32 52]

I now have inhabitants! I got 2 bronze cories and 6 pristella tetras. The LFS only had 2 cories, but I plan to get more. All seem happy and are doing well. My plants, not so much. The hygrophilia cordata 'Red' is dropping leaves like crazy. I added fert tabs and ordered an LED light which should be here soon.

This tank is sitting on a built-in desk in my kitchen. The desk rests on the floor on one end, but the other is attached to the wall. I had a horrible thought that I have no idea how securely attached this end is. I propped a support board underneath it, and bought an aquarium stand (which I should've done in the first place). I plan to move the tank this weekend. I'll have to take out the driftwood, fish, and most of the water and get help moving it. We have a sturdy board to carry it on and only have to go 15 feet. I'm very nervous about it, but it has to be done. After that, I'm adding more plants and the 3 guppies from the 10g.