# My 1st planted 20G long



## sightlysun (Jun 14, 2012)

Hi everyone,
After a few months reading up the forum, I finally got enough confident to introduce you my 1st planted tank. I'm still rather new to this so any advice and comment are welcome

Flora: HC cuba; Dwarf hairgrass; Pearlweed; Fissiden; Mini pelia and Peacock moss
Fauna: 10 White Cloud Minnow
25 Cardinal Tetras
7 Ottos
12 Fire red Cherry
1 Amano
Hardware: Fluval 404 with Eheim intake and output tube, DIY spray bar
2 Sunblaster 24" T5HO with DIY housing
DIY Yeast CO2
Tank is 2 months old including 1 month dry start
I'm actually having some hair algae problem right now, been overdosing Excel along with manual remove hoping to get rid of it, anything esle I could do?


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## xriddler (Feb 16, 2012)

how are your shrimps reacting to the excel? very nice scape btw. i like it alot.


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## sightlysun (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks, I've been dosing 20ml/day for over a week, so far the shrimps seem fine, dont show any sight of infection


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## NuclearTech (Mar 23, 2008)

That piece of driftwood over the rock looks neat! Looks like a great tank. I know how hard it is to post your work, great job!


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## Jiinx (Apr 5, 2012)

I agree, it's not easy to post your tank but you've put a lot of thought and effort into your tank and it shows! Good job. Loving the piece of driftwood along with the pieces of rocks that compliment it very well.

Sarah


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## sightlysun (Jun 14, 2012)

Thanks everyone,
I'm still deciding whether to tie some fissidens to that left wood or just wait for the mini pelia to fill out. And for some reason, my cardinal tetras always hide behind the piece of wood on the right corner, i thought 25 should be a good number for them to be confident enough to swim around, any idea? Its definitely not the current


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## NuclearTech (Mar 23, 2008)

sightlysun said:


> Thanks everyone,
> I'm still deciding whether to tie some fissidens to that left wood or just wait for the mini pelia to fill out. And for some reason, my cardinal tetras always hide behind the piece of wood on the right corner, i thought 25 should be a good number for them to be confident enough to swim around, any idea? Its definitely not the current


I have a couple of ideas. First and foremost, if they're new it could just be that they need some time to adjust to their new environment. If the area where the tank is situated has a lot of foot traffic this could compound the issue. Finally, you could try a darker background to give them the sense of security. There may not be enough hiding spots in plants and hard scape for them to feel secure venturing into the open. HTH


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

Nice setup. Like your use of the rocks and wood. Will be very lush once all the plants mature.

Not sure about the green hair algae. One possible cause is silicates which are present in most new tank setups, in which case the problem should start to clear up soon. My Denison's barbs ate all my green hair algae - loved it. Not sure if there are smaller species more suitable to your tank that eat it.

Greg


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

WOw for a first tank it really is nice! Wonderful work, I like a lot of the things people have pointed out already. How did you get that bit of stuff to stick to the rocks?


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## sightlysun (Jun 14, 2012)

Ciddian said:


> WOw for a first tank it really is nice! Wonderful work, I like a lot of the things people have pointed out already. How did you get that bit of stuff to stick to the rocks?


The mini pellia? I put a few bits on the rocks during dry start, by the time of filling, it already attached.
A bit update: Hair algae seems to be dying off, so i guess 5 hours light period and excel dosing actually help
The cardinal are swimming in the open more often after i added 2 big Neon tetras
Added a few stems of Bacopa frill(?) to the left corner and Tonina sp. Belem in the middle


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