After a year planning and waiting, the time has come to unveil my 29 gallon tank! What a glorious day!
The intention of this tank was to create a medium light, low tech dirt tank. I really wanted to grow some higher light plants (previously have only stuck to anubias and java fern) while having minimal maintenance and no CO2. I also wanted to try a couple things that I haven’t seen discussed too frequently online, just because I’m the kind of guy that HAS to experiment! Anyways, let’s get started:

Equipment:

• Standard 29 gallon tank (30x12x18 in.)
• AquaClear 50 HOB filter
• Fluval 100 watt heater
• Thermometer
• Two CoraLife 30-inch T5NO single strip lights (one 6700k bulb, one 10,000k bulb)
• Petco Brooklyn aquarium stand
• Generic black aquarium cling on background

Notes: 
Went with the T5NO lighting because I wanted to have a “medium” light tank. I haven’t found much info on medium light tanks OR T5NO lighting, but based on the PAR readings and what info I able to find, it seemed to fit the bill. They were a pain to find and bulbs are a bit tricky too, but I really like the amount of light it’s putting out (not too much, not too little, PERFECT!). Another thing I found out is that it’s really hard to find 30 inch aquarium lights that can grow plants for some reason. Not sure why, since it’s the same dimensions for a 20 gallon long but I had a lot of trouble finding the 30 inch length size. Most vendors seemed to skip from 24 inches to 36 inches. 

Substrate:

• Amaco Terra Cotta clay
• MiracleGro Organic Choice Potting Mix
• Eco-Complete cap + black sand from an established tank

Notes: 
For the substrate, I knew pretty early on that I was going to go the MiracleGro route. Given my budget restraints, my options were to either go with MiracleGro or mineralized topsoil. I was having a lot of trouble finding the topsoil for mineralization (locally, I can only find topsoil with manure mixed in or consists of 80 shredded bark) so I went with the MiracleGro. I got the big bag, which I thought was overkill but ended up being barely enough. After an initial dry screening with a plastic colander, soaking and skimming I was left with maybe 40% of the original bagged volume. I have heard that even though the ingredients of the MGOCPM are the same from bag to bag, the proportions of “filler” can differ from region to region. If this is the case, the stuff that’s available in West LA is VERY high in sticks and wood filler. I soaked the soil for 3 days before draining, let it dry, then repeated the process once more. The second time through, the water developed an oily film and absolutely REEKED of ammonia. I would HIGHLY recommend to anyone using the MiracleGro to soak their soil at least twice. However after dumping out the water and letting it dry, the soil no longer had the ammonia smell so I decided to proceed.

I looked for a long time to find some aquarium safe red clay I could throw underneath the substrate to supplement iron. Unfortunately, the brands that I confirmed as aquarium safe were not sold in local art supply stores Pottery supply stores and online vendors wouldn’t sell the small amount I wanted to get (I really only needed one pound, but was willing to get five). I was able to find AMACO red Mexican and Terra Cotta clays, which I have heard mixed things about. On one hand, a member from another aquascaping forum supposedly wrote the AMACO headquarters inquiring about using their clays in planted tanks. AMACO’s response was that it was something they had never tested, so they couldn’t advise that people use it for this purpose. However, there are several people on youtube with thriving planted tanks that were set up using AMACO clay, so I decided to take the plunge. I’ll report back if something interesting happens. 

Hardscape:

• Manzanita driftwood (shout out to Raven for hooking me up at the Oct. meet!)
• River rock boulders (granite)

Notes: 
Couldn’t justify spending the money on Seiryu or other aquascaping rocks, so I went to a nearly landscaping supply company. If you’re going to go this route, let me save you some trouble: The aquarium safe rocks you’ll be able to find are slate, granite, rainbow rock, smooth river stones, river rock boulders, Texas holey rock and lava rock. Do some research on how to identify these rocks and look for metal/rust streaks, which are toxic. I ended up choosing the river rock boulders, which the supply company was able to confirm as granite. I ended up getting 40 pounds worth of rocks at 10 cents a pounds, which sure beats the prices that I’ve seen at some LFS (for rocks of all things!!!).

The best for last…the PLANTS!

• Brazil sword
• Moneywort
• Ludwigia repens
• Anacharis
• Dwarf sag
• Java fern (one standard, the rest lace variety)
• Corkscrew/spiral val