New 20 Gallon Long Tank

Erik

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Kailua, Hawaii
Hi, I just picked up two 20L tanks and would like to set them up as planted tanks and I've got lots of questions.

A little background. I'm in Hawaii and we don't have much available locally for plants, filters or lighting so I'll
have to order most things. Plus for me to bring in plants, I'm required by the State to have an Import Permit to Import plants at $ 20 per order. My tap water is soft at ~ 100 tds with a pH of ~ 8 but I plan on keeping Cories with RO
at ~ 70 tds and a pH of 7 or less. I'm not currently planning on using CO2. I'm planning on using small sandblasting
sand for the substrate.

Filtration: I'm trying to decide on a filter type. I've read here that HOB filters tend to blow off CO2. Is this a myth? If not, is it because of the additional turbulence caused from the HOB filters? What would be a good filter?

Substrate: Should I initially be adding anything to my substrate at setup?

Lighting: I've been looking at one a or two tube T5 lighting strip. Would this be a good idea? How much light should
looking to have?

Plants: What types of plants will work for my setup (low tank height, low TDS and pH of 7 or less)? Should I be planning
on adding nutrients and if so, what types?

Thanks,

Erik

Edit - My tank temps. are ~ 78 - 80 degrees.
 
I strongly recommend a low light setup if you don't plan co2 or nutrients. And its also the easiest way. Low light tanks have about 0.3 - 0.4 W/L (Watts per liter) of normal fluorescent lighting. More light means more co2 and more nutrients, that can also lead the imbalances and algae. So don't go T5HO. For example the Coralife 24" Freshwater Low Output Aqualight T-5 - Double Linear Strip could do the job. For the filtration is really up to you and depending your budget. For the plants Anubias, Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia, Cryptocoryne x willisii 'lucens they ask low light. I have a 15 gallons low light I never added any nutrients. For the substrate you could get some Root Tabs to start youe plants that could help a lot.
 
Thanks blesser13. I think I'll go with the Coralife 30" NO T-5 double strip. It's 36w compared to 28w. Hopefully that's not too much. Filter looks like a AC HOB, I can't see buying a canister for a 20 gallon.

Any other plant choices would be appreciated.
 

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