# 30g low-tech journal. (Updated 7/22!)



## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

So I went on a two-week vacation out west and when I got back I looked at my current 20g long and saw this...








The bga was even worse than it looks in the pic. I removed as much as I could but I still knew it was time to start up the 30g I had gotten off of craigslist. I thought that the six NDR's that I had in the 20g deserved better, so I drew up what I wanted the 30g to look like and what plants I was planning to have.








Besides the NDR's, I'm not sure what other fish to add. So suggestions are very welcome.
For substrate I was planning on using flourite or something similar and either leonardite or aquarium peat.
Here's the tank as it is. (Devo poster and all.)








I'm getting around $120 for my grades (straight A's!) so that should be able to cover everything. I bought a 65 watt, 10,000K PC for the fixture that came with the tank. I figure it shouldn't be too much light since the tank is so deep. Correct me if I'm wrong though.
Updates to come once I start to buy stuff. The point of this thread is both to show the progress and to get advice so if you have any please share.


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Looks like you have it all planted out.
Best of luck to you! Keeping an eye on this thread.
Can't wait for more updates


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Hellooooo algae (BGA, whatever...)! :icon_eek: 

Were the lights on the whole time you were gone, or were they on a timer?


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## Ishar (Oct 30, 2007)

I did that once- left my lights on for the whole week. Total hair algae takeover :/


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

The lights were on a timer, I even had someone there to dose ferts. It's just that before I left I hadn't figured out a dosing schedule and obviously the one I layed out wasn't right. Oh well, live and learn I guess. 
My ramshorns prospered well though. I think they had a lot of food. 
I'll probably be going to the LFS this weekend to at least get substrate and some equipment I need. I need a new heater and some filter media. So I'll update then.


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## seAdams (Jun 2, 2008)

Can't wait to see how this progresses!

I'm sure your rainbows will be thrilled too!


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

Okay. So finally an update. 
After going to my local LFS and seeing that flourite was 28 bucks a bag I decided to go the cheaper route with Schultz Aqua Soil. So I went to Home Depot today and bought three bags of it along with a bag of playsand. (I've decided that I'm going to have cories of some sort.) this all came out to under the price of one bag of Flourite at 25 dollars. So I rushed home and started the tank set-up.









Tank with my array of substrates.









First went down a layer of aquasoil. I bought three bags but only ended up using one and a half. Oh well, I was planning on a pond sometime anyway.









Then a thin layer of regular pea gravel I already had to help keep my crypts rooted, help seed the bacteria, and keep the aquasoil and sand from mixing.









And finally a layer of regular old playsand for the cories to root around in.









You can even see the different layer through the glass. It's like looking at the layers of the Earth's crust!









My hidden powerhead. Sshhhhhhh...

Then it was time to fill the tank. I filled it very slowly over the course of about an hour in order to not disturb the sand and cloud the water.

















And ta-da! The tank is filled and cycling away. The rock on the driftwood is only there to keep it from floating and (hopefully) wont be there long. I also still need to get some more rocks in order to create my rock-pile in the left corner on which I will grow a bunch of Anubias. Maybe I'll bike down to the lake tomorrow to see if I can't find any good ones.
I will be ordering some plants online either tomorrow or the next day. Mostly Anubias but also some fast growers to get it started and allow me to sort of silent cycle the tank. All of the other plants will be transferred from my current 20 gallon. After a good wash in a bleach solution first to get rid of the algae.
Any comments or recommendations so far? Feel free to fire away. Also, I said I would be getting cories but I'm not sure as to what species so recommendations there would be well appreciated.


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## boredouttahell (Jun 29, 2008)

you should add some sort of back or blue background.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

get 8 dwarf cories. theyre cute as a button and are really active.


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

I will be adding a black background as soon as I can make one. 
Thanks Chris. I was thinking either dwarf cories or schwartz's cories. It'll probably come down to whatever my LFS has.
Which reminds me, stocking list so far.
6x NDR's (M. Praecox.)
4x Otocinclus
5-8x cories of some sort.
Any suggestions for other fish?


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Schultz Aquatic Soil is great.
I also bought more than needed. Thought I need 2 for my 20 long but only ended up using 1. Gave me a good 2 inches 
Can't to see updates on this tank! Drift wood looks awesome.


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

Well I just placed a plant order with aqua botanic for a java fern, about 4 anubias, amazon frogbit, and a bunch of wisteria for a fast grower. Not exactly sure when they're going to get here, but there will be an update when they arrive.


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

So I finally went and got some rocks from the local river/ stream thing. They needed a good cleaning but in the end I think they look good. But they'll look even better when there's java fernand anubias on them. There's also a small peice of driftwood on the rocks.








I needed a way to mount the light above the tank so it would be above the driftwood. So I went to the hardware store and bought some steel to make a sort of rack that fits into the inside of tank's rim. It still needs to be painted but it still looks good in my opinion.
















My plant order from aqua-botanic is apparently still "processing." Hopefully that'll be over with soon and I'll get my plants!


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

So my plant order finally came in. I spent a good hour and a half planting and tying anubias to rocks. 
Anyway. Pictures!



















It still needs a lot more plants. I will be transferring the crypts and some java moss from the 20 gallon and still need to buy some. I plan on having this thing chocked full of plants.


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## youareafever (Mar 18, 2008)

great build just one thing, is that huge rock in the front there for good?


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

No. It's just holding down the driftwood until it sinks on it's own. It's annoying, I know.
The six rainbows from the 20 will be added tomorrow along with the plants. Hopefully they'll like it. 
The 20 will be redone to be a shellie tank and placed on the bottom rack of the 30's stand. I found out that it gets much too hot during the summer to keep a tank in my room. I was constantly battling the heat with an array of fans just to keep the tank at 80F. This tank is in the basement where it is much cooler.
I was going to make a little clay pot cave (Used for planting.) in the back right corner but whenever I put the pot in water it makes a wierd noise and sends off little bubbles. Is this just air escaping or is the pot no good?


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## Tex Gal (Mar 28, 2008)

Looking good! Like your rock pile. Very natural looking.


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## youareafever (Mar 18, 2008)

bose_man said:


> No. It's just holding down the driftwood until it sinks on it's own. It's annoying, I know.
> The six rainbows from the 20 will be added tomorrow along with the plants. Hopefully they'll like it.
> The 20 will be redone to be a shellie tank and placed on the bottom rack of the 30's stand. I found out that it gets much too hot during the summer to keep a tank in my room. I was constantly battling the heat with an array of fans just to keep the tank at 80F. This tank is in the basement where it is much cooler.
> I was going to make a little clay pot cave (Used for planting.) in the back right corner but whenever I put the pot in water it makes a wierd noise and sends off little bubbles. Is this just air escaping or is the pot no good?


oops i missed that part of ur thread.....whenever i put ceramic frag plates into the water it bubbles and sizzles for a while and then it stops. im guessing its just releasing air?


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

Tex Gal said:


> Looking good! Like your rock pile. Very natural looking.


Thanks, I'm going for a darker river bottom look. Hopefully it works out that way.

Thanks, youareafever. So you've never had any changes in water perameters because of the ceramic? Maybe I'll put it in a dish of water and test it out before adding it to my tank.


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## p3purr (Nov 11, 2006)

Looks very nice. the driftwood may take a lot of time to sink and it will give off lots of tannin in the process. I was at a workshop and the person giving talk on planted tanks said he drills a small hole or two in the wood and attaches a suction cup to hold it to the back or the tank. 

Tank looks like a 29 to me, not a 30. 

Make sure there's no possibilty that the rock pile will fall or trap fish. I know some super glues are used in SW tanks to hold frags onto rocks. That might work to secure the rocks in one stable pile. Silicone would also work.


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## youareafever (Mar 18, 2008)

bose_man said:


> Thanks, I'm going for a darker river bottom look. Hopefully it works out that way.
> 
> Thanks, youareafever. So you've never had any changes in water perameters because of the ceramic? Maybe I'll put it in a dish of water and test it out before adding it to my tank.



well these ceramic frag plates are small, around 1/2" to 1". safe for saltwater tanks straight out of the bag. other non-ceramic frag plates requires a curing time in tap water to cleanse it as it has a tendency to lower pH. so i would assume the ceramic pot is safe to place in your tank. key word assume.


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

Thanks p3purr. I might try the suction cup thing. The rock pile is secure, they fit together quite nicely. And you're right, it is a 29. It was sold to me as a 30 so that was what assumed it was, but after measuring the dimensions it became apparent that it was a 29.

I actually wouldn't mind if the pot lowered my pH some. It's at about 7.5 right now but I would like it lower.


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

Time for the most exciting update of them all! I got back from a weekend away, checked the ammonia and nitrite levels, and they were zero! It was time to take down the 20 gallon and move the rainbows to the 30. So I moved the plants I wanted to the 30, then -after a good deal of frustration- caught the fish and put them in tupperware containers to be acclimated. After about a half hour of acclimation they were ready to be released. After feeding them today it became obvious that they absolutley love the new tank. They have a lot more free swimming room and more hiding places than before.

Full tank shot:









Left side:









Right side: (stupid rock.)









Middle:









I tried to get some pictures of the fish but they moved to fast and always came out as gray and red blurs.
I still need to add some more plants. Mainly java fern, but I'm thinking some Crypt spiralis would look cool. Suggestions are welcome.
For fish, I would like to up the number of rainbows to 10, but I haven't seen them in any of my LFS's for a while. I will be getting ottos once the tank matures and maybe some kind of loach. I have scrapped the idea of cories as I realized they wouldn't have much swimming room on the bottom. I would also love to keep an apisto pair but I don't know how well that would work out in this tank. Any thoughts?
More updates are to come as new things happen. In addition to livestock I also plan on adding an auto top-off system. So there will be a journal within a journal of that sometime in the future, whenever I get the money.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

those light legs are sweet


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## PooN (Jul 17, 2008)

Looks great, did u weld that metal light stand deal yourself or just get lums and find something to bend. I need to do something similar for mine but that looks great. I think my tank is the same size..


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

Thanks, I like the light legs too. I just went to the local hardware store and got some steel, cut to the lengths I needed for each piece and welded it together. It pays to have a dad with an arc welder. It only cost probably around 8 or 9 dollars. I bought a new bulb along with it so I don't know the exact cost.
Does anyone know if it would be possible to keep an apisto pair in this tank? I would be getting either agassizii or cockatoos.


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## p3purr (Nov 11, 2006)

bose_man said:


> Does anyone know if it would be possible to keep an apisto pair in this tank? I would be getting either agassizii or cockatoos.


What are the other occupants of the tank? I may have just missed it, glanced over the prior posts. I have 2 or 3 Apistogramma borellii left from a group of 5 very small fry and they do OK in my community tank of small, peaceful fish and small species of pleco. I put them in when they were big enough to fend for themselves. Other than Rams in the past, these are the only other chiclids I've kept so I'm not sure I'm doing as well as you would with them. They tend to be very shy which is the reason I don't know if there's 2 or 3 of them left. From what I understand they can be kept like I have them.


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## Coltonorr (Mar 12, 2008)

Tank looks really, really good!


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## bose_man (May 1, 2008)

The only occupants as of now are six NDR's and all I have planned for other fish are 4 or 5 otos. So if I did add the apistos that would be it for this tank. My main concerns are that my pH is a little high at 7.5 but I was planning on adding peat to the filter anyway. Also, I plan on making this a no water change tank, but I know apistos like their water changes and I'm not sure how big of a factor that is in keeping them. Although I have seen a guy who keeps discus in a no water change aquarium so I'm sure it could be done.
There are plenty of hiding places in the tank for them so I'm not worried about that and as long as they're healthy, the rainbows shouldn't pick on them. Although they probably will try and keep them in their place, they've gotten used to having a tank to themselves I think.
Does anyone else here have any comment on this?


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