# 20G Long FW Tank



## OspreyPrey (Apr 5, 2013)

Recently, I came across an add on craigslist offering 2 x 20 Gallon tanks for $50. I jumped on the deal but was slightly disappointed when I couldn't clean all the residue off the glass. *Lesson Learned: Never buy a dirty tank.* However I found out that Petco had a 50% off sale and a brand new 20 Long was $23! So i am in the process of selling the other tanks to see if i can at least make some of my money back. If you want one or both, keep an eye on the freshwater equipment for sale forum. So here we go!

So here is the tank!









I have been waiting (very patiently) for some of my equipment to come in the mail. I am still waiting on one more bag of sand, a pump for water changes and a filter. All of which my LFS either had sold out of or charged 2X as much.

So while I am waiting, I have been having thoughts about the scale of the items in the tank such as driftwood, fish, plants, substrate, etc. So I created paper mock-ups to get used to the size and help decide how much of what I am going to stock my tank with. The drift wood is 10" x 5" x 3", the fishes are 5", 3" and 2" respectively.









Then that takes me to my next thought. Currently I have a Marineland Single-Bright LED that makes the substrate look a little too cool-white for my eye. So i grabbed an Annibus from my brothers tank and threw it in there to see if adding more color changed how it looked.









Same... I am pretty sure that I will end up investing another $30 for the double bright as I am not in any position to get the $200 one just for a 20 Long. Interesting note, once I removed the plant, the water dripping from the plant made the sand darken to a better shade of tan. Either way, I won't return anything until I start cycling the water, and see how it looks with some driftwood and plants. Either way, the moon lights are sweet. *w3









So far my setup looks like this:
Aqueon 20 Gal Long (30" x 12" x 12")
Aqueon Versa Glass Top
Aqueon QuiteFlow 20
Aqueon 100W Heater
Aqueon ACP 500 Circulation Pump
Marineland Single Bright LED
CaribSea Naturals Premium Aquarium Substrate

And my stocking list is coming together slowly.
8 X Rummynose Tetras
4 X Dwarf Gouramis
2 X _Cleaning Crew_ Either Shrimp or a Pleco
1 X _Display Fish_ Something that is 4-5 inches or just stands out in the tank. It has been suggested that a ram would be great because it is docile, yet intimidating.

I plan to have several annibus, swords, and some moss planted on driftwood and petrified rock. I have heard some people use peat moss under the sand but I am unsure of how it would benefit.

Oh-Kay... So I think that is it for today... What does everyone think? I've been using AqAdvisor to help with my stock list. Anything that you guys have had happen to you that I should look out for? Also, what do you guys do to naturally lower your pH (Our tap water has a higher pH than i'd like)? I want to try to avoid chasing chemical imbalances with more chemicals.

Thanks Everyone!


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

4 dwarf gouramis could turn your tank into a war zone. If you get a pleco don't get a common, they grow to 16". Driftwood will help lower your ph.


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## OspreyPrey (Apr 5, 2013)

dalfed said:


> 4 dwarf gouramis could turn your tank into a war zone.


So then is it more of a solitary fish or should I keep it to 2? I was under the impression that they are a docile community fish?


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

Gouramis are very similar to bettas if you get 2 the same gender and thet don't get along they would fight constantly. Also, have you tried hydrogen peroxide or vinegar on your "dirty" tanks? They may just have hard water stains.


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## rtmaston (Jul 14, 2012)

I have a 20 gallon long tank to and really like it.you got a very good price on it.i know when its up and running you will like it.good luck


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

I wouldn't go with anymore than one gourami, they are in the betta family and will fight. And your "clean up crew" I would go with bristle nose plecos (they only get about 5") and a small group of corydoras 4-6.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Choose carefully and read about dwarf gourami disease before you purchase one.If you choose to still get one I would do that,only one.
Dwarf Gourami Fact Sheet
also use search on tool bar of this site to search dwarf gourami disease,there are too many post on this issue to just add one more.


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## OspreyPrey (Apr 5, 2013)

Hey All,

So a several days ago, I added water to the tank, let it run for a day to settle the dust. I also found that sifting sand through my hand released dust particles and air bubbles, as well as saturates the mixture with water which gave it that smooth sandy beach look that I have been trying to achieve.









I did a 100% water change to get rid of the dust, threw a used filter in the HOB, added my ammonia, annubius nana, malaysian driftwood, and plugged stuff in!









I love that when I dose ammonia in my 20GL, every 1TSP = 1PPM, SO EASY!

On a very sad note, when I was doing my 100% WC, the handle on my 5G Lowe's bucket broke dumping the entire 5 gallons of water all over my carpet. You'd think that a 5G bucket could hold 5G of water, but maybe it is only rated for packing peanuts... *Lesson Learned: NEVER TRUST THE HANDLE OF A BUCKET!* Thank goodness that it was only conditioned tap water and not nasty tank water.

Moving on... I returned my Marineland Singlebright 24-36" LED unit. I was looking online and found out that it cannot be used without a glass cover. While I do like the glass cover as apposed to a traditional hood, I do not like all the condensation droplets that form on it. I am going to try and see if raising it up on rubber feet helps, but if not, I may go with the DIY Screen Top from Bulk Reef Supply. I also found that the marineland was made of rather flimsy materials and was easily warped. Lastly, I found the 10,000K to be too cool for my tank. Long story short, it is not worth $80 to me. I am going to continue to look online, but in the meantime, I am using my girlfriends old makeup light that was cannibalized to work without it's stand. At this point it looks like I may end up creating my own LED light.

The jury is still out as far as the stock list goes. So we'll see! That's it for today!


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

I don't ever go buy lids for my tanks. I make a measurement and head to Lowes! They cut glass! For around $10/tank I have solid glass tops on them. I can feel you and the droplet thing, but I don't have much problem with it. Another idea that I am using on my brackish tank. I took egg grate, used for ceiling light fixtures, you can cut it to whatever size you want! Its awesome! Then you can get a small piece of glass or plexi to cover where your light is so water doesn't get to it. And with the light, I am a big fan of my Marineland LED lights. I have them on most of my tanks.


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## OspreyPrey (Apr 5, 2013)

Hey All, 

So my tank is now ready to start stocking, more updates are to follow, but algae has developed all over my sand and I want a recommendation as to which fish would be good for cleaning algae off of sand. All I know is that shrimp do not like sand, so those are out, but maybe there is a freshwater version of a sand-sifting goby that will clean up debris on the substrate? Let me know what you think.


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## kingjombeejoe (Dec 27, 2012)

I have sand in my tanks and my Amano and Cherry shrimp sometimes dig holes while cleaning it. I'm not sure if the size of the sand grains makes a difference but mine is coarse black sand. I also heard the aquariumplants website sells an algae cleaning crew that includes some crabs that are good at cleaning sand.


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