id like to show everyone my tank! its been set up for about 4 months, but i just converted it to planted about 2 weeks ago and everything seems to be going great so far!! its a low tech tank without co2, about 1.25wpg of t5no lighting. i researched about those aqueon (formerly coralife) t5no fixtures and they have had great reviews from people with low tech planted tanks!!

so heres a little bit about it:

equiptment
-29 gallon tank
-black pine stand with cabinet
-glass hood
-30" aqueon t5no 2-18w fixture with dual 6700k bulbs
-fluval 205 canister filter
-fluval m150 heater
-fluval nano thermometer

plants/substrate/decor/ferts
(dont have much for now, just seeing how everything is gonna grow)
-i THINK dwarf sag (the guy gave it to me for free, i was hoping it was val
-amazon sword (i got it and it was ratty looking and since its sprouted about 8 new leaves)
-2 anubias plants (these are doing amazingly)
-seachem flourite substrate (used 2 bags gave me about 3" depth throughout teh whole tank)
-couple pieces of driftwood (one big one)
-currently the only fert im using is seachem flourish tabs and the plants seem to be doing great

fish
(everything eats like pigs)
-3" spotted raphael catfish
-3" striped raphael catfish
-2 3" chinese algae eaters
-and about 8 baby convicts (ive had these for a while they are whats left over from my old mated pair spawning... i wanna eventually pick the biggest male and keep him in the tank along with the 2 raphs and the 2 cae's for my final stocking)

i feed crushed hikari cichlid gold to the convicts, hikari algae wafers to the cae's, and hikari carnivore pellets to the raph cats, and they all eat like pigs....

questions:
-is my dual 18w t5no fixture enough to grow these plants? so far everything has grown great but the sag it too new to tell
-does the stock look ok? i realize i might have to get rid of one of the raphs, but everything on my stocking list is right on with the minimum tank gallons rule
-is the flourish tabs enough for this low tech setup? i know all of my plants are heavy root feeders so i dont see a point dosing the water column but i may be wrong??
-will the dwarf sag carpet in this tank with the lights i have? will it do ok?

ok so heres some pics

it looks kind of bare, but i think it will look great once the amazon sword gets huge and the sag carpets in



my anubias



my baby amazon sword



couple piece of the dwarf sag (i think thats what it is, maybe someone else will know better?)



striped raph



one of my fat cae's (the baby convicts saw me go up to the tank to take pictures and they were begging for food........)



couple of the little guys



this is a funny one... i came home and my spotted raph found his way into the filter exhaust, and wedged himself in there. hes a weird guy

Looks like you are off to a great start!!

The plants you have currently should do fine under that setup. Your stocking is fine until the convicts start breeding. Maybe the raphs will keep the population down.

i love your striped rapheal cat lol im definetly getting one for my 40g

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10g- 2 hi-fin fm platys, 3 koi & red wag sword fry
40g Breeder- 6 danios, 4 female swords, 1 male swords
"I was born with nothin and I still got most of it left."- Seasick Steve

cute fish. I dont think you are supposed to bury the rhizome on the anubia though, should be attached to rock or driftwood. Everything looks great otherwise though!

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

+1

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

tank is looking really good

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What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?