# 15 Gallon - planted low-tech, low budget



## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

Thought I'd share my small fish tank. I started this project last summer after seeing some cool planted tanks, and am still learning a lot. Thought it'd be a nice way to relax from school. 

Being a student, I had a tight budget to work with. So, I found mostly everything I needed on Kijiji and this forum.
I found this 15G tank on Kijiji. I also found this white table on Kijiji as well, and it had the perfect dimensions to be a stand. I opted for some cheap Walmart clip-on lamps with 13w 6500K bulbs. I recently acquired an Eheim Classic 2211 to filter the tank. The substrate is Flourite dark (I wish I got the sand instead), and I have some Carib-Sea sand as well on the left. I went out to find some driftwood on a hike at the gorge in Niagara Falls, and found the two pieces currently sitting in the tank. I also have an auto-feeder, because I'm away a fair amount of the time and it's been reliable and useful. 

Plants:
Most of the plants are acquisitions from members of the forum, so thank you to everyone I've interacted with. 
Unfortunately, I can't remember the exact species' names. But here's a try: java moss, java fern, windelov fern, water wisteria, ludwigia repens, ludwigia glandulosa, anubias petite, crypt parva, crypt willisii, a tiny amazon sword, and hygrophilia.

Livestock:
2 assassin snails, 5 cories, 2 otto cats, 10 neons tetras, and 2 blue ram juvies (I wanted a pair, but ended up with 2 males). Maybe a bit overstocked for a 15G...

I do a water change about once ever 4-5 days, or when I think the water line gets too low. Haven't been dosing any ferts, or running any CO2. When I first started the tank, I had a DIY CO2 system, but everytime it ran out before I replaced it, the plants would start melting (my stargrass was the worst), so I got rid of it. I feel like the tank is balanced now. Haven't had much of an issue with algae. But, the plants could be pinker/redder with ferts. 
I just wanted a low-maintenance tank to help me relax from all the reading and writing, and it's been doing a great job.

I'll update with any big changes. Thanks for looking =)


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

Looks really nice for a low tech tank, good job. My only suggestion would be to take the anubias out of the ground and attach it to the wood as that plant doesn't like the rhizome to be planted. Nice tank!


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

Really nice tank, clean and algae free. Very good job. I honestly would not spoil that great looking wood by attaching anubias on it, don't change a thing

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 4


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

hey great job at the low tech setup. With all the new tech, I forget sometimes what a beautiful setup you can create with so little. good job


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

very nice, just move the anubias before it dies


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

Hey guys, thanks for the positive feedback. 

I had a hard time deciding where to put the anubias when I first got it. Couldn't find a good spot to attach it to the driftwood, so I just put it in the sand. It's been a few months, and its been growing new leaves (I got it in the mail, and it pretty much all melted during the month-long shipping process). Maybe if I get some cooler rocks, or a new wood piece, I'll attach it then.


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## zzz (Sep 18, 2013)

Very nice, it's almost hard to believe (in a good way) that you can grow such nice setup in low tech conditions (and without fertilizers)


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## LTPGuy (Aug 8, 2012)

Excellent example of a low tech setup.

Great job!


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## deepblue3 (Jan 11, 2014)

very nice job!!! how much were the walmart lamps?


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## Dee2010 (Mar 26, 2013)

Very nice!! The shrimp should be ok, with all those plants for coverage.


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## housebatbetta (Sep 19, 2013)

Nice! I really love to see this kind of tank, and it looks great; colourful, clean, and very alive.


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## baishui (Jan 7, 2014)

Are you pointing the two lamps at the back panel of your tank? Never thought about this, always thinking of putting it on top of the tank. Could be interesting


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

The lights are on top of the tank, at a slight angle more bias toward the back of the tank. I only did this because I have more plants in the back than in the front. I'm in the middle of moving some things around and maybe putting in some new plants. So, I'll add some more pictures when I'm done!


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

Great job - very impressive considering it's low-tech. The tank looks bigger than 15g thanks the way you've laid everything out, taking scale into account.

You could attach the anubias to a small piece of rock. If done carefully the rock may not even show if that's your preference.


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

deepblue3 said:


> very nice job!!! how much were the walmart lamps?


Oops, sorry I didn't see this until now. I think they were like $9 each at the Walmart in Niagara Falls, NY. I just picked them up while I over across the border a while ago. It looks like you're from Niagara as well! I'm actually from there too, but I'm in Toronto for school.


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

Just a quick update. Moved some stuff around and took out some other stuff, including a piece of driftwood with java moss attached to it. I just couldn't find a good space for it, and didn't want it covering up the white sand. 

I put the rocks in the front and stuffed the java fern and anubias around the nooks. I threw out my amazon sword, that thing was starved of nutrients and didn't grow at all. I trimmed back some of the ludwigia to replant, but the growth is slow--hope it gets back to what it was before. And lastly, I moved the crypts to the right and added some dwarf sag in the front to hopefully get a low maintenance carpet going. 

I'll update again once everything grows in a bit. It looks a bit boring as it is now. But, low-tech is all about patience!


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

So, I got my hands on a Fluval Flora. I've been wanting one for a while now and finally bit the bullet. I want to try some Seachem Fluorite black sand instead of the Stratum it came with. Ordered two bags of it from Dr. Foster & Smith, along with some other items, which are being shipped to CBI USA. I'll be using the extra bag on this 15G, replacing the Fluorite dark I currently have in here. I don't know why, but I'm having problems with dwarf sag and jungle val. Maybe the sand might help it grow/spread?

So, if anyone is interested in ~20lbs of Fluorite dark/gravel mix, let me know and I can sell it once the black sand is in. Gotta recoup some costs of my recent spending 

Also, I'm wondering if I should put a little bit of dirt under the sand. I was thinking like, 1cm of dirt under 2inch of sand, just to get some extra nutrients. And, if I ever rescape, I figure 1cm of dirt wouldn't cause too much chaos in the tank. Any thoughts on this?


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

I just replaced the substrate with fluorite black sand... Didn't have the time to rinse it and oh my... I can't even see into the tank to replant. Anyways, my advice is to rinse it at least a couple times if you want to avoid the extreme cloudiness. Water changes all day...


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## Bullet (Apr 19, 2014)

Great tank - congratulations
Planted tanks can be tricky but you have done a wonderful job.
Love your corys and neons (or are they cards?)
I have a small planted tank (5 gal) and also a 50 gal planted and I dose every week with Seachem Flourish Iron. The iron is supposed to be good for red color leaves. It's a little pricey but lasts a long time 
I don't use CO2 either 
Keep up the good work!


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

*Updated pic*

Hey guys. So here's what happened:
- replaced the substrate to fluorite black sand
- replaced my cheap clip-on lights with the Finnex Ray2
- replaced those river rocks with some lava rock
- added red tiger lotus and a dwarf lily, two crypt wendtiis, and some rotala rotundifolia in the back right corner, but it melted way back and it's only now starting to shoot new growth

One of the issues I've been having is with the ludwigia glandulosa (or it could be scarlet temple). Trimmed it a couple months ago and it hasn't been coming back. Now there are holes developing in the leaves and it just looks like its slowly deteriorating. And dwarf sag is still not spreading even with the sand substrate. More waiting...

Anyways, fish are doing great. Added a few cardinal tetras which I'm keeping in here for a bit before I move them to my Flora in Niagara when I get the chance.


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

Here's the pic.


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## tranceaddict (Apr 3, 2011)

sweeet ...


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

*Update*

Been a while since I've updated this. Some things have changed. I was away for quite some time and left my tank with an autofeeder for a week. When I came back, one of my german blue rams disappeared... I think my shrimp ate him. I got a female golden ram yesterday and she seems to be getting along well with my male GBR. My ludwigia is stunted after a trim, so I might replace them with something else.


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## jimmyjam (Nov 6, 2007)

Hey the tank is really coming along! Do you dose iron? te l.repens looks pretty white at the top, and your rotundafolia is not very red at the top ends. With decent lighting and ferts, they should be turning a bit red at the top . Even in my mod lighting tanks, their slightly red at the top. Try checking the iron, or do a .6 or .7ppm mixture to see if that makes a difference. cheers


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## default (May 28, 2011)

jimmyjam said:


> Hey the tank is really coming along! Do you dose iron? te l.repens looks pretty white at the top, and your rotundafolia is not very red at the top ends. With decent lighting and ferts, they should be turning a bit red at the top . Even in my mod lighting tanks, their slightly red at the top. Try checking the iron, or do a .6 or .7ppm mixture to see if that makes a difference. cheers


I think it might just be the LEDs, the ray II is known to bleach reds. Even with my Radions it's difficult to bring reds out! My macrandra goes fluorescent red under t5s but pink under LEDs.

Great looking tank though! Perhaps another fine leafed plant in place of the L. Repens would work nice!

Bump: I think ludwigia brevipes or something with bulk could connect the two sides together very well.


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

Thanks guys for the suggestions!


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## jpenger (Jun 25, 2013)

So, I was saying how the female gold ram and male GBR were getting along great. I found some eggs today!


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## deepblue3 (Jan 11, 2014)

Oh nice surprise. Good luck with the eggs!


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