# Low Tech 29G - Few Questions



## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

I'm pretty new to planted tanks. This is my second planted tank, but only the first one where I did a lot of research, preplanned the layout and really put in a lot of effort. 

So far I think it turned out pretty well and I'm on my second day of cycle. One thing I noticed is that one of the pieces of drift wood turned white. The other piece looks fine. Here's a pic of the tank. As you can see, the piece on the left is fine and the one on the right has a white tinge. It was not like this the first day I put it in. Any ideas on what's wrong with it?

17W Flora Sun bulb
200W heater (temp set at 78*, but I think it needs to be replaced because the temp is currently reading 84)
Penguin 200 Bio Wheel Filter
Eco Complete substrate
Tap water with added dechlorinating water conditioner
Java Fern (in the front)
Anubias (in the back right)
Banana plant (attached to the left drift wood)
Moss (not sure exactly which kind - attached to the white colored drift wood on the right)
and I can't remember the name of the last plant attached to the coconut husk behind the zebra rock

Let me know if you need any other details to help diagnose the issue.

Thanks in advance and Happy New Year!


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Driftwood will grow white stuff when first put in the tank, it is harmless and will go away in a month or so. I just put some Mopani driftwood in my tank tonight, I did some searches on here to try to learn the variables of adding wood beforehand. White stuff is very common.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> Driftwood will grow white stuff when first put in the tank, it is harmless and will go away in a month or so. I just put some Mopani driftwood in my tank tonight, I did some searches on here to try to learn the variables of adding wood beforehand. White stuff is very common.


Thanks. I was primarily worried because only one of the pieces turned white. Hopefully it clears up in a few weeks then.


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## karce87 (Dec 6, 2012)

It looks like you have marimo moss balls or something.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

karce87 said:


> It looks like you have marimo moss balls or something.


That sounds right, thanks.

It looks like the white stuff is already starting to subside/die off on the drift wood. Can't wait until I can start cycling the tank with a few fish and add some more plants.

Any critiques on the tank setup itself?


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## cookfromscratch (Aug 10, 2005)

My first planted tank was 29g and I loved it. I personally prefer one type of wood/rock feature etc, but that is preference. That being said, it looks nice! I never had mosses in my first tanks but I was limited in what I could get locally. Starting over (after a five year hiatus) and I cannot wait to get started. Oh, love the Eco!


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks. I was hoping to find a large enough piece of DW to only need 1, but was unsuccessful. Since I'm pretty new to planted tanks I didn't want to go overboard on the plants, so with the 2 medium sized pieces in there (or 1 large if I could've found it) it covers more surface area, which I like. Also since it's such a low tech tank the plants won't grow very fast which is good for me since I don't want to have to trim them and perform a lot of maintenance.

I'm hoping to learn a lot from this setup and once I feel more comfortable I may step it up a bit.

Do you have any pics of your tank(s)?


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## Icegoalie32 (May 8, 2012)

I also have a 29 low tech, I'm sure you'll enjoy the adventure as much as I have.

I don't know for sure what that plant is on the coconut husks, but it looks like a terrestrial plant, not a submerged aquarium plant. Where did you pick it up?

As has already been mentioned, don't worry about the white stuff on the driftwood. It will go away.


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

I think it looks pretty nice. Much better than my 29g. I would think you'd need alot more light though. I've got 2 t8's on mine and very little grows. Once I'm done with my shrimp tank I'm going to redo my 29g with the outcast Angelfish


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Icegoalie32 said:


> I also have a 29 low tech, I'm sure you'll enjoy the adventure as much as I have.
> 
> I don't know for sure what that plant is on the coconut husks, but it looks like a terrestrial plant, not a submerged aquarium plant. Where did you pick it up?
> 
> As has already been mentioned, don't worry about the white stuff on the driftwood. It will go away.


The DW has already lost it's white hue, so I'm happy about that. Yesterday I tested the water and all looked good, so I added a Betta to continue the cycling. When I picked up the Betta Petco I tried to find out what kind of plant it is that's attached to the coconut husk, but the sign only says "plant on a coconut husk," haha. My buddy who works there didn't know either and he's pretty knowledgeable, so I'll have to keep digging around.



The Dude said:


> I think it looks pretty nice. Much better than my 29g. I would think you'd need alot more light though. I've got 2 t8's on mine and very little grows. Once I'm done with my shrimp tank I'm going to redo my 29g with the outcast Angelfish


Thanks! What kind of plants do you currently have in that 29? It definitely needs more light, but if I add more light I'm worried the plants are going to grow too much and I really don't want to have to trim them very often or do much maintenance. Was looking at maybe going LED if my plants don't grow at all. I have a couple fixtures in mind, but curious what you and anyone else who wants to offer their opinion think would be a good solution considering my direction.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

The tank is finally ready for some more live stock! I have had a betta and oto in there for about 2.5 weeks and all of the levels look good and stable. So I just put in 3 Cardinal Tetras and 1 Assassin Snail (didn't clean one of the driftwood pieces well enough and have a small infestation of snails).

After doing a lot of research I'm going with the following, but do have a question about my "centerpiece fish". See below.

School #1:
11 total
Cardinal Tetras

School #2:
11 total
Rummy Nose Tetras
(I'm also very much into cars, so I especially dig them because their tails look like checkered flags)

School #3:
5 total
Silver Hatchetfish

Centerpiece fish:
3-5 total
Undecided, but considering:
-Praecox Rainbow - http://www.liveaquar...059&pcatid=1059
-Boesemani Rainbow - http://www.liveaquar...053&pcatid=1053
-Really wanted some kind of discus, but don't think they would do well since they prefer a tank without many other fish and it needs to be very acidic (low PH)

Any other suggestions for my centerpiece fish??


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## amajoh (Jan 10, 2013)

Just got a 29g but I haven't set it up yet. Looking forward to seeing how yours comes along!


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I think you will be overstocked with that much in a 29g. Here's a nice tool to help figure things out. http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php


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## mitchfish9 (Apr 30, 2012)

I agree with wannaberooted. Your stock seems a little excessive, and you definitely want to look into aqadvisor and also check back with us as well. I think you can do two schools and then a centerpeice. Not boesmani's though because they get way to big and active for a 29 gallon. Also rainbows like to be in schools as well. Discus would also not be comfortable in a 29g. A pair of GBR would be a great choice for that tank IMO. Maybe consider cories as your 2nd school as well.

So 12 Cardinals
8 Cories 
Pair of GBR
Clean up crew


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

amajoh said:


> Just got a 29g but I haven't set it up yet. Looking forward to seeing how yours comes along!


Hope the info discussed in here is helpful. Feel free to ask questions if they come up.



Wannaberooted said:


> I don't want to burst your bubble, but I think you will be overstocked with that much in a 29g. Here's a nice tool to help figure things out. http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php


This site is amazing! Thank you for sharing. Looks like you are right about overstocking. 



mitchfish9 said:


> I agree with wannaberooted. Your stock seems a little excessive, and you definitely want to look into aqadvisor and also check back with us as well. I think you can do two schools and then a centerpeice. Not boesmani's though because they get way to big and active for a 29 gallon. Also rainbows like to be in schools as well. Discus would also not be comfortable in a 29g. A pair of GBR would be a great choice for that tank IMO. Maybe consider cories as your 2nd school as well.
> 
> So 12 Cardinals
> 8 Cories
> ...


I like the idea of having 2 different shoals for the low-mid level and then the 5 hatchets up top. How come you suggest the cories as opposed to the rummy nose tetras?

Definitely think 8 of each shoal will be sufficient. Is there any specific reason for the numbers you suggested? GBRs are nice looking fish. The LFS has some BRs, but not sure if they can get GBRs. Any reason why I only should have 2 and not 3, 4 or 5?

What exactly did you have in mind from a cleanup crew perspective?

Sorry for all of the questions, but you seem to know what you're talking about, so picking your brain.


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Yup. Corys are great, they stir things up on the bottom and leaves so the filter can get them. They are also very active, and I think cute. 

Personally, a Beta would be a nice centerpiece fish for a tank that size for me. Overstocking is not worth it, ever. It only brings heartbreak and sorrow.


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## mitchfish9 (Apr 30, 2012)

Don't be sorry about the questions! Its awesome that you think I am knowledgeable enough to answer them for you. 

The reason I put cories instead of rummynose because cardinals and rummies school kind of on the same level in the same kind of way. Plus they both have red in them. So cories dwell the bottom and keep the substrate fresh and turned over and add another dimension of fish to the tank. But really for your main schooler you can choose rummies or cardinals, whatever you prefer, then add a school of cories instead of another tetra. Which looks better IMO. 

2 GBR or BR(same thing I think?) is what you should put in a 29 because they are cichlids who do well in a male-female pair and fight with other pairs unless your aquarium is about 50 gallons or more. This is what I would do for a centerpiece.

Not sure about the Hatchets. Stock them at the very END and decide if they would be a good choice for your tank. Also stock them last on aqadvisor and see what it says. They are great jumpers and might want more room than a 29g. Not sure though.

Clean up crew would probably be amano shrimp. They are awesome. Maybe add some nerite snails for the glass too? But i never owned nerites so I'm not sure.

Hope I helped a little.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> Yup. Corys are great, they stir things up on the bottom and leaves so the filter can get them. They are also very active, and I think cute.
> 
> Personally, a Beta would be a nice centerpiece fish for a tank that size for me. Overstocking is not worth it, ever. It only brings heartbreak and sorrow.


I am going for more of a vibrant color scheme for this tank, hence the initial stocking selection. However, I'm posting up my plan because I want to make sure it's copacetic prior to pulling the trigger and am glad I did because I'm learning a lot.

I chose the betta due to the suggestion of my LFS to help cycle the tank. I think the little guy's personality is pretty cool, so there's no way I'd take him back. He seems way too happy in his new home. That said, I don't think he's enough of a focal point to be considered the "center piece" of the tank. I'm going to keep stocking a few cardinal tetras at a time and just see how it is all coming together once I've got a total of 8 in there. Right now I've got 3.



mitchfish9 said:


> Don't be sorry about the questions! Its awesome that you think I am knowledgeable enough to answer them for you.
> 
> The reason I put cories instead of rummynose because cardinals and rummies school kind of on the same level in the same kind of way. Plus they both have red in them. So cories dwell the bottom and keep the substrate fresh and turned over and add another dimension of fish to the tank. But really for your main schooler you can choose rummies or cardinals, whatever you prefer, then add a school of cories instead of another tetra. Which looks better IMO.
> 
> ...


You're clearly a lot more knowledgeable than I am!  

It makes sense about the different "levels" of stocking. That's why I liked the idea of the Hatchets because they are a top dwelling fish. As far as a bottom dweller goes I'll look into cories and see if there are any other cool options. I was thinking the rummy nose would be cool to have with the cardinal tetras because there would be 2 different schools hanging around, but I'll put some more thought into it.

I'm not worried about jumpers because the tank lid is secure with only a small gap for the filter. I think my LFS stocks amanos, so I'll double check tomorrow when I go back. I looked up nerites and it says they are marine, is there a freshwater version I just didn't see?

When I looked up BRs, there were both GBRs and BRs. The GBRs seemed to have a little more color, but it may just be BS. My LFS has BRs and they are pretty cool. Like I said, I'm going to do some more research and put some thought into this. I have time since I'm only stocking a few fish at a time. 

Thanks again.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

I was just reading up on cories and saw that eco complete (which is the substrate I have in my tank) would be too abrasive for them. Thoughts?


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Yet more conflicting information on the web about this after reading a bit, so I don't know. Some people said no problems after years, some not. I also read somewhere that water quality is the biggest influence on barbel health, so maybe that was the problem for the people with short barbels, not the Eco-Complete. How's that for a non-answer?


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

I use Flourite, no problems here for the Cory whiskers. After comparing the pictures here
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9087
and here
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4870
they look very similar. If anything the Flourite has more sharpness. Hopefully someone that uses Eco-Complete with Corys will chime in.


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## mitchfish9 (Apr 30, 2012)

Plenty of people have had cories with eco complete. It is definitely more of a water quality issue.

There are freshwater nerites for sure, but I have never owned them so that research is up to you.

Blue rams are just another name for german blue rams. They are the same thing. Electric blue rams on the other hand are bright blue over their whole body. If you do 2 schools of tetra, my advice is to do rummynose/cardinal with a tetra that compliments their red good like pristella, lemon, or black neon tetra.


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## thebuddha (Jul 16, 2012)

here is how i am planning on stocking my 29g:
12x rummy nose tetra
10x marbled hatchet fish
1x german blue ram
then either a bristlenose/cories/or ottos


I have noticed that these fish seem to be pretty popular for 29 gallons; a bunch of threads with very similar stocking


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## mitchfish9 (Apr 30, 2012)

Great stock^^


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> Yet more conflicting information on the web about this after reading a bit, so I don't know. Some people said no problems after years, some not. I also read somewhere that water quality is the biggest influence on barbel health, so maybe that was the problem for the people with short barbels, not the Eco-Complete. How's that for a non-answer?





Wannaberooted said:


> I use Flourite, no problems here for the Cory whiskers. After comparing the pictures here
> http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9087
> and here
> http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4870
> they look very similar. If anything the Flourite has more sharpness. Hopefully someone that uses Eco-Complete with Corys will chime in.


Thanks for looking into it. Maybe some others will chime in with their experience.



mitchfish9 said:


> Plenty of people have had cories with eco complete. It is definitely more of a water quality issue.
> 
> There are freshwater nerites for sure, but I have never owned them so that research is up to you.
> 
> Blue rams are just another name for german blue rams. They are the same thing. Electric blue rams on the other hand are bright blue over their whole body. If you do 2 schools of tetra, my advice is to do rummynose/cardinal with a tetra that compliments their red good like pristella, lemon, or black neon tetra.


Water quality issue? In what sense?

My LFS used to carry them, but not anymore. Now they just have black mystery snails. I asked them to order some for me, so we shall see.

Ok, wasn't sure if I missed something there. EBRs are crazy looking, but I may like BR/GRRs a little more. I already have started stocking the tank with CTs, so RNTs might be out of the picture. My LFS has some Juliis, so when the time comes I may just stock the tank with 6-8 or those.

I'll check out the other tetras you mentioned.


thebuddha said:


> here is how i am planning on stocking my 29g:
> 12x rummy nose tetra
> 10x marbled hatchet fish
> 1x german blue ram
> ...


Sounds like a nice variety. Thanks for sharing. Very similar to what I'm looking at doing. Please share some pics!


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## Saxtonhill (Dec 28, 2012)

Gootz said:


> Since I'm pretty new to planted tanks I didn't want to go overboard on the plants, so with the 2 medium sized pieces in there (or 1 large if I could've found it) it covers more surface area, which I like. Also since it's such a low tech tank the plants won't grow very fast which is good for me since I don't want to have to trim them and perform a lot of maintenance.
> 
> I'm hoping to learn a lot from this setup and once I feel more comfortable I may step it up a bit.


I like your tank set up! And I'm doing the same thing...learning and putting in only a few plants at a time.

Look forward to seeing how your tank progresses


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

*Bad News! Need Help!*

Here's the latest scoop:

After cycling the tank for ~4 weeks, all levels tested good. I stocked it with a betta and an oto after the first week of cycling to help jump start it. I went to Petco last Friday and picked up 3 cardinal tetras and this is when the trouble started. The CTs kept dying, so after taking them back and getting 3 more, I was left with only 3 alive. Before the second to last one died I noticed it's tail started to become discolored and turned almost a white color. The entire tail was gone after a matter of a day or less. I managed to take a pic of it (middle one), but it's not a very good one.










That one died and I was left with 2 healthy looking CTs. That was up until this morning when I checked the tank and found that only 1 was left. And even worse than that, I noticed my betta, who was completely healthy and happy the day before, was very sickly looking. I snapped a pic of him too.










I really want to save the betta and the other 2 still alive before whatever it is that's killing them take a toll on my entire livestock. I took in the betta along with some tank water for testing. The levels all look good, but they think the betta has a fungus, so they gave me Pimafix (won't kill my plants) to treat the fungus outbreak.

The betta is not doing well. He is just laying pretty much face down in a crevice in the drift wood and is literally missing nearly his entire right fin. He's still alive, but barely. Should I turn off the filter for now to let the water current calm down and hopefully make it more peaceful for the betta? What is going on with my tank?!? Is it a fungus? Anyone experience anything similar? Advice?


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## Saxtonhill (Dec 28, 2012)

Oh no!


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Has anything improved?


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks for asking. Unfortunately my betta and the last CT died, so all that's left is the oto. Another sad thing is I can't find the assassin snail in the tank anywhere. I looked under all of the plants and decor so he must've dug into the substrate. 

The good news is my master (liquid) test kit came today. I tested the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Ammonia and Nitrite were both at zero and the Nitrate was reading around 25-30. So all is good there! Just running the filter with the carbon in now for another week to help clear out anything else that shouldn't be in there (leftover fungus spores, etc.).

Then it's time to start restocking (slowly).


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## karce87 (Dec 6, 2012)

I notice you have your java fern buried. Tie it to the driftwood might be a good idea. The rhizome will melt if buried


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

karce87 said:


> I notice you have your java fern buried. Tie it to the driftwood might be a good idea. The rhizome will melt if buried


Hmmm, thank you for the info. The java fern in my other tank completely died out and it seems now I know why! :icon_sad:

What other options do I have for planting it in this tank?


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Sorry to hear about your losses. Have you considered the place you are buying your fish might not have healthy fish to begin with? It's hard to say, but look at all the tanks closely and look for fish that are unhealthy or already dead. I won't buy from one store in town here as there are always dying fish in at least one tank.


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## Meganne (Sep 3, 2012)

add more plants that will help water quality and remember small weekly water changes (10-20%)


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## karce87 (Dec 6, 2012)

Gootz said:


> Hmmm, thank you for the info. The java fern in my other tank completely died out and it seems now I know why! :icon_sad:
> 
> What other options do I have for planting it in this tank?


crypt wendtii is fun. More java fern I guess. Anubias is also a good addition.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> Sorry to hear about your losses. Have you considered the place you are buying your fish might not have healthy fish to begin with? It's hard to say, but look at all the tanks closely and look for fish that are unhealthy or already dead. I won't buy from one store in town here as there are always dying fish in at least one tank.


 I have indeed. I typically buy from Petco because I love their 30 day return policy and I know the aquatics guys there which means they treat me well, put in special orders whenever I ask and allow me to return no questions ask. However, there are 2 major problems with Petco. First is that their stock sells out quick, so unless I go in and either pick up what I want the day it comes in or I ask my guys to set aside what I want, it's gone pretty quickly. Which means that the fish don't have time to settle in and destress from the shipping. That is a PITA. The second thing is that they order from the cheapest possible breeder and this does in turn affect the quality of their livestock sometimes. Certain breeders who are giving the lowest price are cutting corners and/or have inferior "products". 

So sometimes I will go to my other LFS, which has a better variety of fish and I have yet to buy a fish that died shortly after "adoption". However, there are 2 downsides with them too. One, they don't offer any sort of warranty. And two, they are more expensive.

So it's a tossup. My guys at Petco really try to help me out and go the extra mile for me, so I like to give them my business and support. But my guard is definitely up with them.

Thoughts? 



Meganne said:


> add more plants that will help water quality and remember small weekly water changes (10-20%)


 Absolutely. Will probably do about 20-25% weekly.



karce87 said:


> crypt wendtii is fun. More java fern I guess. Anubias is also a good addition.


So far I've got some Java, 1 anubias, 1 banana plant and this unidentifiable fern tied to coconut husk (see pics on first post). I didn't want to add any more plants until the tank was humming along nicely. Would it be bad to add some now that all of the levels are evened out or should I wait until after I have added some fish? I do have some Crypt in my other tank. Could I just pinch off a little and add it to this tank (at least I know it's coming from another healthy tank haha)?


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Boy, that is a tough choice then, but generally, you get what you pay for. My brother used to be the district manager for S. CA Petco's and he said it varies wildly on the death rates of fish depending on who took care of the fish at each store. Hopefully your buddies are in the good category. I've never had a fish die inside a warranty so I don't really consider it. I just watch the fish for a while before I buy them to make sure they are acting normally, and don't have any Ich or anything. 

I'd say go ahead and add some plants.

Good luck!


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> Boy, that is a tough choice then, but generally, you get what you pay for. My brother used to be the district manager for S. CA Petco's and he said it varies wildly on the death rates of fish depending on who took care of the fish at each store. Hopefully your buddies are in the good category. I've never had a fish die inside a warranty so I don't really consider it. I just watch the fish for a while before I buy them to make sure they are acting normally, and don't have any Ich or anything.
> 
> I'd say go ahead and add some plants.
> 
> Good luck!


I know the manager well and he genuinely cares about the department. But he's not there 100% of the time and not all the employees who work in the aquatics dept are as caring as him. Out of the 5 who work it, I'd say 3 of them care. Without going into too much of the details sometimes things happen and now I just try to be more cautious. 

I'm probably going to transplant one of the crypts I have in my other tank after I do my next water change this weekend. Any other suggestions on other plants that would work well in my (very low tech/low light setup)?


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

From what I can tell it's a banana plant on the rock. I've never heard of a banana plant attached to anything though. Does it have those things that go down at the bottom? A pic of the plant might be useful.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Django said:


> From what I can tell it's a banana plant on the rock. I've never heard of a banana plant attached to anything though. Does it have those things that go down at the bottom? A pic of the plant might be useful.


I'm talking about the fern attached to the coconut husk, not the banana plant. Thanks though.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

I picked up the rest of the shoal of Juliis, so now I've got a total of 6 along with the oto and 1 assassin snail. I'll let the tank adjust for another week or so before adding anything else. 

After adding new fish, how long should I wait until I do my next water change? I did one 3 days ago and added the fish last night.


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

I'd check ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates every day for a few days, and if you show any ammonia or nitrites, or nitrates get to 40, do a change. If nothing shows, don't bother. Maybe others would do something different.


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

I wasn't very clear, you should do a weekly water change regardless, but you may need to do one earlier if your raising the stock level starts showing ammonia or nitrites, or 40ppm nitrates. Sorry about that.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> I'd check ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates every day for a few days, and if you show any ammonia or nitrites, or nitrates get to 40, do a change. If nothing shows, don't bother. Maybe others would do something different.





Wannaberooted said:


> I wasn't very clear, you should do a weekly water change regardless, but you may need to do one earlier if your raising the stock level starts showing ammonia or nitrites, or 40ppm nitrates. Sorry about that.


Thanks for advice. Levels are all perfect! Ammonia and Nitrate readings are at 0 and Nitrates are around 25-30. Considering these levels, should I still do the weekly water change tomorrow?

The Juliis are looking very content. They are eating well, active and swimming around together a lot.


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

I'd still do a water change on a regular basis, I do 25% a week. My nitrates show about what yours does right before a water change. It goes down, and slowly creeps back up through the week. I've found that with my water supply here in Eau Claire, a big water change effects almost all my plants in a bad way. I have a high pH from the tap, which the tank lowers. I top the tank off due to evaporation with distilled water once and a while. You want to strive for stability, wild swings in anything is bad.

Depending on a lot of things, like what you use for water, plant density, stocking, fertilizers, light levels, oxygen levels, CO2 levels, and the boogeyman in your tank, you will have to change things slowly and observe what happens. Keep reading everything having to do with any problems that occur, and then read some more.

I'm glad you like your julii's, they should be very happy in your tank. They don't get very big, and they will keep things tidy. Just don't overfeed, that might be the hardest part of keeping a tank. The fish always seem hungry, but they are gluttons.

Good luck, pretty soon you can fill in your middle and top levels of your tank with fishies.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> I'd still do a water change on a regular basis, I do 25% a week. My nitrates show about what yours does right before a water change. It goes down, and slowly creeps back up through the week. I've found that with my water supply here in Eau Claire, a big water change effects almost all my plants in a bad way. I have a high pH from the tap, which the tank lowers. I top the tank off due to evaporation with distilled water once and a while. You want to strive for stability, wild swings in anything is bad.
> 
> Depending on a lot of things, like what you use for water, plant density, stocking, fertilizers, light levels, oxygen levels, CO2 levels, and the boogeyman in your tank, you will have to change things slowly and observe what happens. Keep reading everything having to do with any problems that occur, and then read some more.
> 
> ...


Got it! Will be doing a 25% WC today and retest my water levels. I strive to do weekly WCs to, as you said, keep things more stable. I always cringe when I talk with friends who have tanks and don't do regular WCs (we're talking not even once a month). 

I have a high PH (~7.5) as well as hard water too. I do have a water softener installed at my house, but it's not hooked up currently. I have to get it serviced as it was turned off when I bought the house 3 years ago and has never been used (my fault for waiting so long, just busy with family and life). 

The Juliis are very fun to watch and have quite the personality. Love their eyerolling. Not very good eyesight though! I've seen them swim right by food when I know they are hungry and looking for it because they find or have found food at this time. I only feed them enough so they eat where there isn't any food remnants left over after a short time. 

I'm finding the fishkeeping to be very peaceful. I'll keep updating as I go and will hopefully get some good pics to share. Thanks again for your help.


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Yup, I've been a big Cory fan since I was like 12 years old, and a lot of that probably has to do with their wink. Plus they do so much good stirring up the substrate and debris wherever it might be. I wanted to get julliis in my tank, but there were none in town, so I got Peppered instead. Any Cory is a good Cory.

My ph is 8.4 out of the tap, but mid 7's in the tank. I have to be very careful I have learned. Being I have a 20g, there isn't much room for error. You will find a happy medium where everything, light, CO2, stock, etc. balances out and your plants will grow slowly, you won't have a bunch of algae, and the fish will be happy. Patience, patience, and dilligence, dilligence.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Wannaberooted said:


> Yup, I've been a big Cory fan since I was like 12 years old, and a lot of that probably has to do with their wink. Plus they do so much good stirring up the substrate and debris wherever it might be. I wanted to get julliis in my tank, but there were none in town, so I got Peppered instead. Any Cory is a good Cory.
> 
> My ph is 8.4 out of the tap, but mid 7's in the tank. I have to be very careful I have learned. Being I have a 20g, there isn't much room for error. You will find a happy medium where everything, light, CO2, stock, etc. balances out and your plants will grow slowly, you won't have a bunch of algae, and the fish will be happy. Patience, patience, and dilligence, dilligence.


The blink/wink is a very nice surprise, very funny to watch. They are more than likely false Juliis since real Juliis are hard to come by and these guys were only $5 each. Either way, I like em a lot. Since I picked up this new tank I've been much more into proper fish keeping and learning about all of the different species. 

Woah, that's crazy! The driftwood in my tank helps lower the PH a tiny bit, but not much. How do you get yours down so much? BTW, my tank is really low tech, no CO2 and only 1 single T8 bulb. Maybe one day I'll go full throttle, but right now, with a 3 y/o and hopefully another on the way I don't have as much me time as I'd like.


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

I was generalizing a bit, my water out of the tap isn't always 8.4, sometimes it's lower, and the water in the tank isn't always mid 7's, sometimes it's 8.0. I don't really check it very often anymore, as there isn't much I can do to it to change it much without risking a wild swing. I feel that as long as any changes aren't drastic, the occupants of the tank will deal with it. Ammonia and such are a different story.

I do have a piece of Mopani driftwood in my tank, but otherwise, I'm not sure why the tank is lower in pH than my tap water, besides maybe by having a couple plants that absorb calcium from the water in the tank.

You might not even need to add CO2 with your light. The more light, the more hassle. As long as the plants are growing slowly without dying off, it's easy. If the plants are melting or dying off like mine did last October, I found a potassium and iron fertilizer and some liquid CO2 turned things around. The fish food supplies the rest of the ferts. It really all starts with the light, but you should be low light with yours, maybe even too low. Read all you can written by Hoppy and Diana, my experience using their advice is very positve.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Makes sense. I don't like the idea of adding a PH lower additive. I've read that it can cause more issues than it potentially solves. I'm just avoiding any fish that need more acidic water.

I love the Mopani driftwood. I wanted to go that route, but I couldn't source a large enough piece and I didn't want to have to soak it for several weeks.

I'm definitely not going to be adding CO2. I'd like to keep the plant growth relatively low, so I don't have to worry about trimming maintenance. Also, higher tech tanks don't appeal to me because above the plant maintenance, it's an even higher level of maintenance and monitoring requirement which I don't have time for at this point in my life. I have started adding some fert after each water change to help provide the plants with any missing nutes. I've also considered the API CO2 booster, but am waiting to see how the plants react with the fert first before adding anything else. I'd like to know how each additive helps individually. 

Thanks again for all of the info and advice. I'm definitely open to learning.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Quick update, tank is running really smoothly with no further setbacks. It's currently stocked with 5 silver hatchets, 6 juliis, 1 oto and 1 assassin snail. The tank needs some more plants which I'll be picking up this week. Between the juliis and the hatchets there isn't a whole lot of color, so I've decided to try my luck with CTs instead of the RMTs. Pics to follow...


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## Wannaberooted (Jun 24, 2012)

Great to hear your tank is stable, it's a wonderful feeling when that happens. 

Just a quick thought on Mopani wood, it doesn't need to soak for weeks. It is naturally heavy so it sinks right away. I soaked my piece for a week, changing the water daily, and have had no issues since adding it to my tank. It didn't even grow any white fuzz. My only complaint is all the pieces seem to be small and chunky, I'd like to find a thinner piece around 16" long.

I'm looking forward to your pictures.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks for following the thread and for the advice. Definitely feels good to finally have the kinks worked out! 

I found someone on another fish board who basically creates their own decorative "trees" using fallen dead oak tree roots and affixes moss to them. They are seriously amazing looking, so I've asked him for one and am excited to put it in my tank. 

As you can see from the below pic, it's a work in progress and needs some more landscaping. The tree will go between the 2 pieces of driftwood and then I will be adding some more plants. Some hornwort or similar to the rear left and some low profile grass to the front right and maybe a little in the front left.

*Older, but higher quality pic:*










*Crappy quality pic from today:*










The tank now has 5 silver hatchets, 6 juliis, 1 oto, 1 assassin snail and the LFS just gave me 14 guppy fry for free, so we'll see how that turns out. I'm sure I'll lose several of them, but if they look nice I may keep them. Otherwise I'll let them grow and trade them in for some CTs.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

I went to my LFS to pickup some red ludwigia and anacharis, which I did, but on my way up to the register they had this BEAUTIFUL male betta that caught my eye. The icing on the cake was the bettas were on sale, so I picked him up along with the 2 new plants. Here's a pic of the tank with the new plants and the betta. Like my last one that fell to an untimely and sad death, when I first put him in he is flashing at his reflection in the tank as you can see in the pic. In 1-2 days I'm sure he'll stop, but I definitely admire his beauty when he does flare. Also, something weird happened after I put the new plants in. I thought the first assassin snail I got a couple months back had died because I hadn't seen him for about 1 month, so I went and got another one to help keep the (bad) snail population down. Well, low and behold this morning when the light goes on I see BOTH!!! He must've had a nice loooooong nap! A little while later I noticed that the two are intertwined and am curious if they are mating, fighting or what? Pic below.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

I'm having some issues with my plants and think it has to do with the poor lighting currently being used. The water levels are great, I dose both a liquid fert and CO2, so I know they are getting proper nutes, so it has to be the lighting. I've looked into both LED and Dual T5 HO options and am looking for some advice as to what would work better for my setup. Options below...

Option 1: LED
30" Freshwater Bright LED by Beamworks 3rd Gen
The Beamworks Freshwater Bright LED fixture provides a high quality, energy efficient light fixture that replaces the typical single tube fluorescent light. Use the 10000K white LED during the day and the Actinic Blue 460nm LED during the night. The Beamworks LED is a sleek and contemporary light fixture that will make any other aquarium light look boring. Long lasting LEDs with no bulb replacement required.
Extendable brackets - 30"-34".
Super energy efficient freshwater aquarium lighting. No bulb replacement required.
Features:

Dimensions - 28.50” x 5.00” x 1.00”
Brackets add 0.65" in height
Includes 99 LEDs
1700 Lumen
Super energy efficient .20 watt LEDs
90x 10000K LEDs
9x Actinic 460nm LEDs
Uses 26 watts
Slim and contemporary light design
2 mode on / off function for day and night use
Extendable bracket - 30"-34" max extend
Extendable bracket - 75-85 cm max extend
Non-corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
Splash guard
110V - 220V

Option 2: Dual T5s
30" T5 Dual 48W - Plant 6500K version
Excellent for freshwater and planted setups. Or supplement lighting for your existing system.
Features:

Dimensions - 29.50” x 5.00” x 1.70”
Supports 2x 24W T5 HO fluorescent lamps
Standard T5 sockets
Extendable bracket - 34.00" max extend
Quick disconnect ballast
Non-corrosive powder coated aluminum housing
Acrylic splash guard
Reflector
CE Certified


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## Ben! (Nov 11, 2012)

On my low tech 29 I have a 30 inch zoomed aquasun dual t5ho suspended about 8 inches above my tank and I think it is the perfect amount of light. Another benefit to hanging it is you can adjust it up and down to fine tune your light.


Gootz said:


> I'm having some issues with my plants and think it has to do with the poor lighting currently being used. The water levels are great, I dose both a liquid fert and CO2, so I know they are getting proper nutes, so it has to be the lighting. I've looked into both LED and Dual T5 HO options and am looking for some advice as to what would work better for my setup. Options below...
> 
> Option 1: LED
> 30" Freshwater Bright LED by Beamworks 3rd Gen
> ...


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Ben! said:


> On my low tech 29 I have a 30 inch zoomed aquasun dual t5ho suspended about 8 inches above my tank and I think it is the perfect amount of light. Another benefit to hanging it is you can adjust it up and down to fine tune your light.


Thanks Ben. I'm actually leaning towards the LEDs just because the bulbs won't ever need to be replaced and I can just put the ballast directly on the tank. Hoping to make a decision soon, so any other thoughts from you or any other members is much appreciated.

Edit: After doing some more research, these LEDs @ 0.2W won't be sufficient enough for plant growth. All show, no grow haha. Rather than spend double for the LED I think I'll just go double t5.


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## Ben! (Nov 11, 2012)

I was thinking about doing LEDs too when I was setting up my tank but after doing some research like you did I found out that a 29 is just too deep for most LEDs. Although you will have to eventually replace t5 bulbs they last almost two years so it is not too bad and they aren't very expensive.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Ben! said:


> I was thinking about doing LEDs too when I was setting up my tank but after doing some research like you did I found out that a 29 is just too deep for most LEDs. Although you will have to eventually replace t5 bulbs they last almost two years so it is not too bad and they aren't very expensive.


Looks like our research has both uncovered similar info leading to the same conclusion. :icon_lol:

How'd you hang your dual t5 fixture? Do you have any pics of your setup? Curious how it looks and how it lights up the tank.


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## Ben! (Nov 11, 2012)

The Zoomed light fixture comes with cables to hang it, which is one of the reasons I bought it. The only thing you have to do is buy a couple of hooks to screw into the ceiling to hold the wires but other than that everything is included. The hooks should cost less than $10. Right now I don't have any pictures of my tank but with the light hung about 8 inches above the tank, it covers everything and there are now shaded areas on the sides of the tank.


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## thebuddha (Jul 16, 2012)

im using a coralife t5no fixture. very small/sleek and pretty cheap. bad news is that i have gone through a few bulbs. i would consider my lighting to be low-light, and my fixture is sitting right on the rim. 

I would choose a finnex fugeray if I were to buy a new light. that or a current LED set up (these might be too much light, but you can tone it down with window screen)


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Ben! said:


> The Zoomed light fixture comes with cables to hang it, which is one of the reasons I bought it. The only thing you have to do is buy a couple of hooks to screw into the ceiling to hold the wires but other than that everything is included. The hooks should cost less than $10. Right now I don't have any pictures of my tank but with the light hung about 8 inches above the tank, it covers everything and there are now shaded areas on the sides of the tank.


Appreciate the description. When you say there are now shaded areas, what do you mean by that?



thebuddha said:


> im using a coralife t5no fixture. very small/sleek and pretty cheap. bad news is that i have gone through a few bulbs. i would consider my lighting to be low-light, and my fixture is sitting right on the rim.
> 
> I would choose a finnex fugeray if I were to buy a new light. that or a current LED set up (these might be too much light, but you can tone it down with window screen)


I like the idea of the dual t5s, but having to get new bulbs every 2-3 years can add up and make LEDs more attractive.


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## Ben! (Nov 11, 2012)

Sorry I meant there are "no" shaded areas on the sides of the tank so there is even light throughout the tank. If you don't want to hang the light you could always run the Zoomed directly on the rim but use only one t5 bulb.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Ben! said:


> Sorry I meant there are "no" shaded areas on the sides of the tank so there is even light throughout the tank. If you don't want to hang the light you could always run the Zoomed directly on the rim but use only one t5 bulb.


Oh, gotcha. If you just ran it directly on top of the tank with both bulbs, does it cause shadows?


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## Ben! (Nov 11, 2012)

I am not sure if it will cause shadows but if you have it directly on top of the tank you have too much light and will have algae problems unless you run co2.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Ben! said:


> I am not sure if it will cause shadows but if you have it directly on top of the tank you have too much light and will have algae problems unless you run co2.


I only dose liquid CO2, so looks like I'll probably have to hang it after all. Did your fixture come with a reflector?


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

Pulled the trigger on the Dual T5HO. Should arrive 8/15. I'll be looking into some new deco too. Updates to follow shortly.


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## devilduck (May 9, 2012)

I had to unplug on of the bulbs when I was low tech and using a dual t5ho light on my 29g. It's definitely took much light.


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## Gootz (Dec 31, 2012)

devilduck said:


> I had to unplug on of the bulbs when I was low tech and using a dual t5ho light on my 29g. It's definitely took much light.


How do you have your light? Is it hung above the tank or is it sitting right on top?

What happened when you had both lights going?


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