# 20g freshwater planted tank... HELP PLEASE!



## SnakeBlitz33 (Sep 1, 2011)

I have kept freshwater tanks for years and years, and at one point I did have a few planted tanks set up for a few months before I took them down. I am ready to set one back up again. 

I have a 20g reef tank that I am breaking down and putting everything into a larger saltwater aquarium, so my 20g will be free to use as I wish. I would really like it if I could inspire my daughter to get involved with the hobby one day - so I am putting a freshwater planted tank in her bedroom. 

I have a nova extreme 4x24 watt T5HO unit - which is awesome for corals - so I am assuming that if I replace the lights for freshwater plant grow lights that it should do the job. 

1. Are there any specific bulbs out there that I should look for to replace my bulbs with? Any specific combinations on lighting that I should look for or avoid? 

2. What brand or type of HOB filter should I be going for? I would like to use a HOB filter for ease of maintenance and putting the heater in the back of it. 

3. Substrate - yeah... You all probably get this a lot. Since it is going to be freshwater planted - I have been doing research of substrates for it. I came across some calcium bentonite (special kitty) at my local Walmart. (yes, I did run the test) I was wondering if I could wash some of this and put it as a base layer in my tank and top it off with some black florite. Should I use peat in the bottom of the tank under the calcium bentonite or not? 

4. I know that plants in freshwater tanks are usually arranged in highest in back to lowest in front - I was wondering if anyone could recommend some pretty cool easy going and growing plants to make a nice beginner aquascape? I'm not a big fan of Java ferns or moss... 

5. I don't want many fish - maybe just a school of neon tetras or maybe even a school of male guppies. Anyone know another really cool schooling fish that is easy to take care of and does well in small tanks? Would a corydora catfish or some type of bottom feeder be ok? 

Thanks for the feedback in advance!


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Someone here should be able to help you with the lights - I got help here with the CFL's I added for my tanks.

The substrate you are talking about, I'm not sure. In one tank I have regular gravel and in the other I have regular gravel mixed with Eco Complete. Both tanks are heavily planted and the plants in both tanks are doing great!

As for HOB's, I am a HUGE fan of Aqua Clears!! For your 20g, I would get the Aquaclear 50, as it is enough for a 50g tank (and you usually want to have double filtration.) If the AC 50 seems too pricey, then I'd go with the 30, as it is suitable for a 30g tank. They have a large interior space to house various media. Currently, in all of my AC's I have 2 sponges and the Biomax. My AC's are totally silent - and I even have one that's around 20 years old. The newer ones were a bit noisy for the first few weeks, then once they "broke in" they were completely silent. They also have adjustable flow, but I prefer to keep mine on high, to maximize the amount of water that gets filtered per hour.

Plants will depend on your lighting. But easy plants (and low light plants) would be: Anubias Nana (various types), Crypts (various types), Wisteria, Giant Hygro, Dwarf Hygro, Sunset Hygro (the Hygros are fast growing stem plants, so they will help eat up ammonia and nitrates.) As for the Anubias, anchor it to rocks or drift wood - don't bury the rhizome.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

hope your plant tank does good. I got a 20 gallon long tank I set back up about 12 weeks ago. I bought some plant bulbs to try. I put a breeder cage in my tank and put the bulbs in there til thay start. never tried bulbs before. thay are cheaper and don't have to worry about snails. I have a led light and did a DIY co2 system. its very cheep. check them out on YouTube. I think its a much have for plants. I also ordered a drop checker to check co2 levels in the tank amazon has them.


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## Jamjumba (Aug 6, 2012)

1. Are there any specific bulbs out there that I should look for to replace my bulbs with? Any specific combinations on lighting that I should look for or avoid? There arent ant light combos u should avoid ummu can look into LED lights but the light u already have is already pretty good 

2. What brand or type of HOB filter should I be going for? I would like to use a HOB filter for ease of maintenance and putting the heater in the back of it. HOB? idk what of filter that is but i use Eheim filters there really easy to access and they do a good job and all the professionals usually use them like Aquarium design amano and Aquarium design Garden vibe You should check out there site Aquarium Design Group

3. Substrate - yeah... You all probably get this a lot. Since it is going to be freshwater planted - I have been doing research of substrates for it. I came across some calcium bentonite (special kitty) at my local Walmart. (yes, I did run the test) I was wondering if I could wash some of this and put it as a base layer in my tank and top it off with some black florite. Should I use peat in the bottom of the tank under the calcium bentonite or not?  idk how well u did ur reserch u should just use regular gravel or ada products or flourite i mean u dont need super good substrate i now someone who uses play sand from walmart and just liquid fertilizers and they have amazing growth they use flourish 

4. I know that plants in freshwater tanks are usually arranged in highest in back to lowest in front - I was wondering if anyone could recommend some pretty cool easy going and growing plants to make a nice beginner aquascape? I'm not a big fan of Java ferns or moss... I would reccomend some Jungle vals umm dwarf hair grass or dwarf saggiterria or crypts idk you have to reserch all of them are begginer plants AquariumPlants.com is a great site and it has many catagories like begginer and low light plants check it out i love there site

5. I don't want many fish - maybe just a school of neon tetras or maybe even a school of male guppies. Anyone know another really cool schooling fish that is easy to take care of and does well in small tanks? Would a corydora catfish or some type of bottom feeder be ok? if u dont want many fish then idk  get some flame tetra and somedrift wood they would look awesome with some panda corys


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## Redtail84 (Jan 23, 2012)

1: plants tend to do very well under 6700 Kelvin bulbs. you probably have 10,000 K bulbs and actinics. from what I understand, the actinics won't do much for plant growth.

2: I second the suggestion of AquaClear HOB filters. They are excellent products. Quiet, reliable, large media capacity, and relatively affordable. I currenlty run one AquaClear 30 and one Penguin Bio Wheel 100 on my 20 long. I like using two smaller filters rather than one large filter to keep the current moving on both sides of the tank

3: I'm not familiar with the substrate you mentioned, but anything with calcium in it would probably raise your pH. this isn't a terrible thing, but a lot of plants and smaller schooling fish prefer a neutral to slightly acidic pH. you can use anything from standard petstore gravel, to pool filter sand, flourite, Eco Complete, or even regular playsand. be careful with playsand as it can contain sharp silica pieces that could potentially harm bottom dwellers

4: Jungle and corckscrew vals are really nice background plants. I also like wisteria because it can grow nice and bushy, but still get tall enough to cover background area. It also grows like crazy. I have some red crypts in my mid groudn that I really enjoy as well as some dwarf subulata. I've never had luck with micro sword or dwarf hair grass, but they do look really cool in the foreground if you can get them running.

5: Neons are awesome in a planted tank. The larger the school, the cooler they look (within reason - 50 neons in a 20 gallon would just be crowded). Guppies are much more active and fun, though. A nice group of cories would also look great together in this type of setup.


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## i4yue (Jul 5, 2010)

like was said earlier get 6700k bulbs or even a few in the 8000k area for a brighter cleaner look. amano uses higher K bulbs than what is scientifically recommended and his tanks are baller nice.


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## fishenthusiast123 (Aug 22, 2012)

as far as your substrate goes the kitty litter is fine but instead of using peat, mix coal(not charcoal, but coal thoroughly rinsed) mixed in with your substrate(25-35%mix) and use sand substrate under that(will provide aeration and clarity in tank) as far as your tetras and things of that sort, corydoras are a fantastic and ideal(they dont suck on the fish like plecos do) and some good schooling fish are your danios, guppies, platys and even the occasional swordtail or sailfins. If you really go all out i suggest getting your neon tetras, glofish and things of that sort and get an led light so they glow in the dark(your daughter would love it) as for your plants you can go for hornwart or anything like that and they dont go crazy in your tank like java fern would.
If you are looking for a good bulb, you can get the grow lights(DONT GO TO AN AQUARIUM STORE!) U can get the same exact light at a fraction of the cost at home depot. aquarium stores sometimes are rip off cuz they market the same thing under a different name so they can charge more....fun secrets i learn from running an aquarium and pet store


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

As long as the bulbs are 5500-10000k it should be fine for plants. One bulb is not better than the other for growth, just comes down to prefence of how it makes your tank look (color). If you plan to re-use that light fixture, I would not put bulbs in the inner two sockets and leave them out. Otherwise, you'll just be making an algae grow factory or need things like CO2 to stay ahead of it. 4X24W T5HO is way too much for a FW planted 20g tank.


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## i4yue (Jul 5, 2010)

fishenthusiast123 said:


> as far as your substrate goes the kitty litter is fine but instead of using peat, mix coal(not charcoal, but coal thoroughly rinsed) mixed in with your substrate(25-35%mix) and use sand substrate under that(will provide aeration and clarity in tank)


where would u obtain ''coal'' and how is this any different than activated carbon as far as its purpose goes. what would the purpose of putting sand under all of that serve also...how does having sand under kitty litter provide aeration and clarity?


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## fishenthusiast123 (Aug 22, 2012)

charcoal is absorbent but lacks some of the essential minerals whereas coal filters algi better and more impurities get caught in it. as far as sand goes, its finer than kitty litter and kitty litter acts as a coarse first rough pass and the sand takes up the displacement, almost like vermiculite. what doesnt get caught in kitty litter is removed in the sand. it also helps to have a bottom filter and if you want you can run a sump pump hose underneath because it keeps debri coming up and being circulated in the water to be removed by your filter(whisper or economy) back to the sand is its tiny tiny granules but air molecules do pass through making it so you dont have to clean the tank so often.


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## fishenthusiast123 (Aug 22, 2012)

its easy for me to get coal because i live in the anthracite capitol of the world so i never had any issues finding it.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Glad your getting her into planted tanks! Ill give my answers to the questions.

1- I have a 30 inch nova extreme T5HO and I use the freshwater bulbs. One is TrueLumen flora, has a pinkish hue to it. It works very well. I was worried I would need to change it out when I bought the fixture but I tried it out and love the results. The other bulb was TrueLumen 12,000K White. I am sure you already have this bulb.

2- For a filter, I personally use canister filters. Ive an eheim 2222, its an older model. I use this on a 20 long and a 29. It filters well and is very simple to clean and maintain. Plus its super quiet and the face I dont have the water splashing down keeps the CO2 from dispersing too fast.

3- I myself would not add the peat. It loses its need way too fast. The special kitty is a good clay base, Ive read many use it. Flourite Ive never used so cant comment on this. What I use is Black Beauty Blasting sand. On my heavy root feeder I push a root tab fert under the roots. Many use the miracle grow fert sticks. Just cut them in thirds and place under the roots. 

4- As for plants, many stem plants are easy to grow. hygrophilias, ludwigias,cabombas are a few sub species of stems.

5- Fish. This can be very diverse. Neons or cards would do well i believe.


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## i4yue (Jul 5, 2010)

fishenthusiast123 said:


> charcoal is absorbent but lacks some of the essential minerals whereas coal filters algi better and more impurities get caught in it. as far as sand goes, its finer than kitty litter and kitty litter acts as a coarse first rough pass and the sand takes up the displacement, almost like vermiculite. what doesnt get caught in kitty litter is removed in the sand. it also helps to have a bottom filter and if you want you can run a sump pump hose underneath because it keeps debri coming up and being circulated in the water to be removed by your filter(whisper or economy) back to the sand is its tiny tiny granules but air molecules do pass through making it so you dont have to clean the tank so often.


thanks good to know


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