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When I decided to upgrade to a 30 gallon long tank I knew I would need to cycle it first. I planned out how I would get the tank cycled long before I even started to purchase things for the tank. I decided to use some filter media from my 10g tank to cycle my new 30g tank. I replaced the filter in my 10g and kept the old filter in the bottom of the 10g until I got my new tank. It was in there for about a month in total before I moved it to the newly set up 30g tank. When I set up the 30g long I squeezed the used filter media from my 10g into the 30g and let the media sit at the bottom of the tank. I then replaced my fitler media in my 10g again and added that media to the 30g.

I threw in my four Neon Tetras and things started to progress from there. I monitored my parameters and only experienced a mini-cycle. I think the next fish I added were my Diamond Tetras. I then added my four peppered corydoras and two albinos. Eventually I added some of the guppies that I was breeding. I uped the number of Diamond Tetras(5) and Neon Tetras(10). A few Neons died off within the first 48 hours but there were still 7-8 left. Over the next few months the Neons started to die off, starting with the smallest ones.

I started to gather more and more fake plants over time. I also purchased the red slate that you can see in some of the pictures. I played around with the aquascape for quite some time until I was satisfied with it. I added some grapewood (didn't know at the time) and it grew some nasty white fungus on it and completely rotted apart. When the fish would pick at the grapewood it would flake off and foul up the water column. I found out that grapewood is notorious for growing that white fungus and rotting quickly. I got rid of the grapewood and got a nice piece of Malaysian driftwood. I boiled it for about 8 hours and let it soak in dechlorinated water for a few weeks. When I added it to my tank it still turned the water brown and I ran a bag of activated carbon in the filter. The carbon took care of the tannins in about a week's time.

Also, around the same time I got the grapewood I picked up an Amazon Sword and some Java Moss. The Sword was struggling in the 30g so I put it down in my 10g where it still resides today. The Java Moss has grown like a weed over the years. Just last weekend I tossed a basketball sized clump of it out. I will probably throw even more of it out when I get my new plants from a person I met on Aquarium Advice. That is basically where the 30g long tank stands right now. It has been running for just over a year already and everyone is doing fine. There is no algae in the tank and the parameters are always consistent.