Planted 15h With Dwarves

[Fish'InMN]

Hi all,
I've been planning this aquarium for a while now, and just picked up the tank this weekend, so its time to lay down some plans. Hopefully I can find a digital camera to record the progress, if and when I make some.

The tank is a 15 gallon High, dimensions are 20" x 10" x 18". I chose this over a standard 10gal because the extra 6" of height lets me add a larger (deeper) substrate and also gives some extra swimming room. And its the only tank that fits my bookshelf besides the 10gal.

Substrate: Layer of peat moss (1/4" - 1/2"), laterite + sand mix (1" - 1.5"), sand (1" - 2"). This will be sloped, so the larger values are the back of the tank. As far as what kind of sand, I'm not sure yet. I would love to use a black sand, but Tahitian Moon sells for $30+ for a 20lb bag around here. The only other (not online) option is 3M's Colorquartz, and they happen to be headquartered in Minneapolis. I have not called around to see who has it, but their website says there is at least one vendor in the Cities.

Lighting: AHSupply retrokits, unless I get lucky on eBay. Most likely 36W, or 36W + 13W = 49W.

Ferts/CO2: PMDD & extra Iron supplement. The Vals hate Flourish, so that is not an option (Half melted with a half dose = D'Oh). Will use DIY CO2 until I get the money/find a deal on pressurized.

Filtration: Powerhead with modified intake. Once the plants get going, I shouldn't need much biofiltration.

Plants: Dwarf Sag. and Dwarf Hairgrass in foreground. Midground has driftwood (~6") with Anubias nana var. petite, set off to one side, with a large Java fern on the other side (tied to "slate"). Corkscrew vals and cabomba fill out the back. Might replace cabomba with blyxa japonica once the tank gets established, but we'll see how it looks.

Fauna: One male "Fire" Dwarf Gourami, two female D.G., a trio/quintet of Pygmy Corys. Still open to suggestions here for some bottom dwellers.

I am concidering doing a background for this tank that hides the heater and powerhead.

So, what do you think?

Thanks,
Marty

 

[sylvia]

I think that sounds great but would suggest you add some more pygmies - perhaps bring it up to a group of 6. Depending on exactly which species you plan on getting, you'll find the cories are not your typical 'bottom'-dwellers. Pygmies tend to swim in the middle as well. IMO, this is a good thing because it means you have activity both in the middle and lower levels without needing any 'typical' schooling fish which would interfere with your gouramies' space.

 

[modernhamlet]

Sounds like you've really thought this out, Marty. Should be a great tank!

Some feedback for you...

Substrate: You only need a VERY small amount of peat on the bottom. Basically a sprinkle so that you can still see plenty of glass under it. I've heard good things about the 3M Colorquartz, at least in African Cichlid tanks. Let us know how it looks, feels and works with the plants and fish. It would be a great alternative to the more expensive products like Tahitian moon and Onyx Sand. If it turns out you're gonna spend big on black sand, the Onyx Sand seems to have a good following here. I personally use Eco-Complete, which is a multi-sized small black gravel that is very plant friendly and looks great.

Lighting: The old WPG rules break down a bit for smaller tanks. 36-49w should be totally fine for your currently planned (low-mid light) plants, but if you move up to b. japonica or other more light needy plants, consider a 2x40w 20" CF fixture.

Ferts/co2: Sounds about right for the moment. Read zig's post on the Estimative Index if you haven't already. Good read.

Filtration: Just curious, what's the mod on the powerhead?

I like the plant selection. Definitely looking forward to seeing this tank develop.

Good luck!

 

[Fish'InMN]

Thank you both for the advice and information so far!

Bag of peat moss on sale at Home Depot for $3.47, a huge bag mind you, but I guess I can try my hand at non-aquatic plants. I've yet to call the Colorquartz distributor/retailer but I'm 140 miles away anyways, so I couldn't swing by and check it out until I get off for Christmas break. As far as Eco/Onyx, the only in-town LFS doesn't carry it and I dread to ask what it would cost to special order it. (After all, they quoted me a price of $45 to order a 15H!) And since online purchasing would be nullified by shipping, unless I got really lucky, I'm going to stick with the Colorquartz. If that fails, then pool filter sand.

AHSupply sells the 1x36W and the 1x55W kits for the same price, so I have been planning for the 55W. It is a tad longer at 22" (reflector), but the bookcase with the tank in it is 23.5" long. So I should be able to attach the fixture directly to the top of the bookcase, which is roughly 7" above the tank. I could even add a little winch and pulley to raise and lower the lights, but we'll see what I have laying around.

The powerhead is an Aquaclear 201, at about 86gph. Still a little much turnover for my needs (and the gourami's), but we'll see.

Glad to know I can/should add more cories! I hear they like to rest more on plant leaves and flatrock, rather than the substrate, which suits me just fine. Might give me a reason to use all that slate I have lying around.


- Marty

 

[Fish'InMN]

I thought I’d resurrect this thread, since I finally found the time to move everything this past week. It was a long process, and took about 2 hours to move everything, then another 1-2 to plant and fill. Here are a few pictures…

Here's how the 5gal looked before the change.

This is the new 15gal in its place. Without flash.

With flash.

A cherry red shrimp. They're very vibrant on the new substrate.

The 15g has a 1 inch layer of laterite/silica sand mix, and then another 1-2 inches of sand. In the back are corkscrew vals, a ton of java ferns in the midground, attached to a small piece of driftwood and rock. The front is all dwarf sag because my solo dwarf gourami liked to munch on the dwarf hairgrass. Not sure if he was actually eating it, but never stayed planted in the 5g. There is a ton of riccia floating, nearly baseball sized, and the dwarf loves to lunge into it to find snails.

I'll be adding (slowly!) two female dwarves when I find somewhere that sells them. Also expected are a school of corys, probably 6 corydoras pygmaeus, as I find them.

Mechanical filtration by the powerhead on its lowest setting, its also on a timer so there are two one-hour-long rests. Don't know why I did that, I just had the extra timer lying around. Bio filtration is just the plants. They'll hand the solo dwarf, and the trio when I add them, easily and should have grown considerably by the time I add the corys.


Regards,
Marty