third tank

Last night I set up this 29 or 30 gal tank I was given about two months ago. It's an older tank with fake-wood trim like the 20L I used to have. Was going to be spare tank but I'm going to house some fish I'm taking off someone's hands.... I have been wondering for a while if I could run a low tech tank with ambient daylight from the window (no direct sun) like my daughter's snail bowl.

So I set up the tank alongside my thirty-eight. With the HOB bio-wheel filter on a short end using filter media pulled back out of the main tank's canister filter, and a 50 watt heater. I'm planning on keeping this one cooler than my main tank at 70 degrees. Hornwort does better at cooler temps and as far as I understand swordtails are fine with that too. Don't have a lid but I put a plastic tray over the top and am going to cut some screening to cover the rest of the gap. Maybe put pothos or arrowhead stems in there alongside the HOB. Swordtails are known jumpers...

Put leftover handfuls of fine gravel in, it just barely covers the bottom, for appearances only- it's just going to have epiphytes and hornwort stems. Hard to get a picture of this because of the window light, of course.

I have a half dozen hornwort stems held down with glass beads they are very small so far.

Longest ones are tethered onto stones with rubber bands- believe it or not these best ones came out of the fishbowl.

And more trimmed from my main tank are held low on the back wall, rubber-banded onto suction cups.

Surprised at how much windelov fern I was able to trim out of the tenner just a few days ago.

It was perfect to fasten onto a large stone.

Another few sprigs of windelov fern around, and those tiny bits of java fern rhizome on a stone that recently started sprouting.

Threw the week's spirodela polyrhiza cull in as floaters- although that might be temporary. Also floating another lot of hornwort pieces that are too small to peg down on anything yet.

Last but not least, handfuls of malaysian trumpet snails taken from both established tanks. Guess I'm prone to MTS now- multiple tank syndrome! I was trying to keep this tank simple, only planning to have it up long enough to let those rescued fishes live out their short lives- but already I find I enjoy looking at it- I've always loved the look of light glowing through foliage. Not sure yet how I will do the ferts- perhaps with the low/ambient light these plants will do okay just on snail and fish waste, and only need partial water changes? After all, that's how they were growing in the fish bowl...