# 20 Gallon Walstad/NPT



## PrettyInPinkFloyd (May 22, 2014)

My dad brought up the idea of a slightly larger fish tank with different kinds of fish, which he has done before and my plans have always fallen through. I'm thinking that this time I'm going to actually go for it. We'll see how it goes.

Currently I have a 10 gallon Walstad/NPT type tank, soil based with no ferts or anything, that's doing really well. I'm going to shoot for this type of tank again.

Here's the run down of what I'm thinking:

- 20 gallon high tank (what my space allows)
- Glass versa top 
- Finnex 24/7 LED
- Aquaclear 20 or 30 filter 
- Aqueon 100W heater
- Dirt layer (from my backyard)
- Sand cap

Plants:
- Lots of fast growers, ideally bought online in either a package or just from one seller. I really don't want to go to 5 stores looking for plants like I did for my 10 gallon.

Inhabitants:
- 1 male betta (One of my current two. If neither are cut out for community life, they will have another place to go and I will revise my plan)
- 8 dwarf/pygmy cories (Habrosus or Pygmaeus)
- 8 Harlequin Rasboras

Questions:

1. Sand recommendations? What experiences have you had with sand from pet stores? Are there better brands than others?

2. Will the Finnex light do okay for plants on the 24/7 setting?

3. Can you recommend any plant packages or a good list and your favorite sellers?

4. Does the stocking sound okay? Which cories would you go for? Would you add a few shrimp or snails, and if so, what kind?

5. What foods would you feed these fish?

5. Are there any other red flags or changes you'd make?

Thanks,
Jenna


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I've had very good luck with my plants from Live Aquaria, and also "Aquarium Plants Factory" which I ordered from through amazon. Most of my plants have come from either friends or fish forum folks.

I have an affinity for crypts of all sorts. They seem to grow well in a multitude of conditions.

Other questions, I defer to others. I've never done a sand cap before and stick with fluval plant and shrimp stratum.


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## mjfa (Apr 23, 2018)

Hi Jenna!
I have the Finnex Planted+ 24/7 30” LED on a fairly planted 29-gal tank running it on the 24/7 setting and the plants seems to be thriving so far but, I started this tank on March 13 this year so don’t know how it will do on the long run. The substrate is Caribsea EcoComplete and the plants are two varieties of amazon sword, bacopa, hairgrass, blyxa japonica and vallisneria. No additives used on this tank.
I am also keeping a fairly planted 10-gal tank where the only substrate is National Geographic Aquarium Sand purchased from PetSmart and the plants are doing well. I regularly dose it with Seachem Flourish, Flourish Advance, Flourish Iron and Flourish Excel. The lamp on this tank is a Marineland Advanced LED which is rated for low to medium light requirement. The plants are amazon sword, blyxa japonica, anubias nana and java fern.
18 years ago, I used dirt with river sand cap on a heavily planted 29-gal tank and I kept it successfully for three years. That tank had metal halide lamp, used Seachem fertilizers and CO2 injection.


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## PrettyInPinkFloyd (May 22, 2014)

Lilypad said:


> I've had very good luck with my plants from Live Aquaria, and also "Aquarium Plants Factory" which I ordered from through amazon. Most of my plants have come from either friends or fish forum folks.
> 
> I have an affinity for crypts of all sorts. They seem to grow well in a multitude of conditions.
> 
> Other questions, I defer to others. I've never done a sand cap before and stick with fluval plant and shrimp stratum.


Thank you! I will check out those sellers. 



mjfa said:


> Hi Jenna!
> I have the Finnex Planted+ 24/7 30” LED on a fairly planted 29-gal tank running it on the 24/7 setting and the plants seems to be thriving so far but, I started this tank on March 13 this year so don’t know how it will do on the long run. The substrate is Caribsea EcoComplete and the plants are two varieties of amazon sword, bacopa, hairgrass, blyxa japonica and vallisneria. No additives used on this tank.
> I am also keeping a fairly planted 10-gal tank where the only substrate is National Geographic Aquarium Sand purchased from PetSmart and the plants are doing well. I regularly dose it with Seachem Flourish, Flourish Advance, Flourish Iron and Flourish Excel. The lamp on this tank is a Marineland Advanced LED which is rated for low to medium light requirement. The plants are amazon sword, blyxa japonica, anubias nana and java fern.
> 18 years ago, I used dirt with river sand cap on a heavily planted 29-gal tank and I kept it successfully for three years. That tank had metal halide lamp, used Seachem fertilizers and CO2 injection.


Thank you, all this information is really helpful! It is good to know that the 24/7 setting is doing well for you so far. My dad really wants to see the tank all day long, so I was hoping this option would work out. I like how I could adjust the settings if the plants start to decline.


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## mjfa (Apr 23, 2018)

PrettyInPinkFloyd said:


> I like how I could adjust the settings if the plants start to decline.


The only adjustment you may perform on the 24/7 setting is the time of the day. You could search the web for reviews on this lamp where it is explained in detail.


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## PrettyInPinkFloyd (May 22, 2014)

mjfa said:


> The only adjustment you may perform on the 24/7 setting is the time of the day. You could search the web for reviews on this lamp where it is explained in detail.


My wording was a bit off, I mean if the 24/7 setting doesn't work out, I could always alter the settings on the fixture itself to change the lighting intensity.


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## mjfa (Apr 23, 2018)

PrettyInPinkFloyd said:


> My wording was a bit off, I mean if the 24/7 setting doesn't work out, I could always alter the settings on the fixture itself to change the lighting intensity.


Yes, you could set custom color spectrum and intensity using the white, red, green, and blue LEDs, and save your settings into one of the four memories.


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## Dalloway (Apr 13, 2014)

PrettyInPinkFloyd said:


> Questions:
> 
> 1. Sand recommendations? What experiences have you had with sand from pet stores? Are there better brands than others?
> 
> ...


1. I just use pool filter sand from home depot, it's considerably less expensive and I like the cleaner and more natural look of it because it's a finer grade and not uniform in color. It does have to be rinsed well though.

2. Never used that particular fixture but I'm a big fan of Finnex and have multiple of their LEDs so I do recommend the brand!

3. I recently purchased a large order of fish, food supplies, and plants from aquatic arts and I'm really really happy with the customer service, the quality of shipment, and the quality the animals and plants arrived so while I haven't used them before, I'll definitely use them again and recommend them :grin2:! There's also aquabid and I've purchased from liveaquaria as well though I haven't purchased from them since they were purchased by Petco or PetSmart or whatevervso they might be doing things differently.

4. I would go with the pygmaeus, I have habrosus at the moment and they get a little bigger than pygmys and are incredibly boisterous fish, I think the pygmy would suit the shorter length of a 20 tall better. If you do add small shrimp like the neocaridinias, wait until after your plants, soil, fish, and bacteria are fully established. I've had fish as small as ember tetras go after my shrimp colony and once they get a taste of fresh shrimp, it's over :crying:. Amano shrimp are good options because they're larger but if you have non plakat betta they may steal food lol. 

5. They're all omnivores tending to lean on the more carnivorous side so whatever you feed your betta, the only strict carnivore, is fine for all the fish. It's healthy to supplement shrimps and snails with less meaty foods though which becomes a problem when both are cohabiting in the same environment.


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## PrettyInPinkFloyd (May 22, 2014)

Dalloway said:


> 1. I just use pool filter sand from home depot, it's considerably less expensive and I like the cleaner and more natural look of it because it's a finer grade and not uniform in color. It does have to be rinsed well though.
> 
> 2. Never used that particular fixture but I'm a big fan of Finnex and have multiple of their LEDs so I do recommend the brand!
> 
> ...


Thank you for the reply, this information is very helpful! :smile2:


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