Im New, Need Help

[divemasterjim]

I just bought a 65 Gallon acrylic tank at a garage sale, Its beautiful! Best part is I only paid $25.00. I have a 60 gallon salt water tank that is 2+ years old and want to make a fresh water tank for my bedroom. Being that I have a tank already I have a lot of stuff I need, but have a few questions for you guys.
1. Is it better to have one of those filters that hangs on the back or should I get a canister filter? ( Im leaning towards the canister)
2. I just changed the substrate in my salt water aquarium from Aragonite to Sand; can I use the Aragonite as a substrate for my fresh water tank? Will it affect ph? What is the ph of a fresh water tank suppose to be at anyway?
3. Is there a web page that will tell me all the water parameters of a fresh water tank? Or something on this site?
4. Im going to have real plants, I already have an extra CO2 set up, Does it have to be shut off at night? I read something that says plants need oxygen at night.
5. I have to get a lighting set up, are T-12 Fluorescents ok or should I use T-8 or T-5 like I have in my salt water tank. What bulbs should I use 6500k, 10,000K or does that only matter in salt water?
6. Under gravel filter? I know its for freshwater, but is it needed?
7. Brackish or fresh water???? Does it matter? Which is better?

Any thing you guys can tell me or ad from personal experience id really appreciate
Any web pages to get me going would help as well

Thanks

 

[rich311k]

I would go with the cannister filter on that size tank.

I would not use the aragonite as it will effect your PH. there is no perfect Ph but somewhere aroung 7 is fine. Dont get to wrapped about about it though as stable is far more important.

If you want to plant it then fw is better. Not many plants do well in BW. Either 6500, or 10000k lights will do fine. You can do any of those three light types. To get the most out of your CO2 you will want to go over 2.5 watts per gallon. I would read the stickiers in the planted section before deciding on light or substrate.

If you decide not to plant it and want African Rift Lake cichlids then the aragonite could be used.

HTH

 

[Zagz]

I prefer cannister filters for tanks larger than 55 gal.

I'm not sure about the aragonite sand, sorry. I use pool filter sand.

In a FW tank a stable ph is more important that trying to acheive perfect ph. PH for fish depends on the type of fish you want to have. Cichlids prefer a higher ph while discus and GBR's prefer a lower ph. I don't have a particular site for parameters. The general parameters are ammonia and nitrite 0ppm and nitrates of at least 5 ppm. Nitrates should not go above 40 ppm. I try and keep under 20ppm. A fishless cycle is a good way to start your FW tank, ammonia works as good as shrimp but not as unsightly IMO.

Lighting is not my area of expertise. LOL, still learning myself.

I don't like UGF's myself, on a 65 gal depending on stocking a cannister and an HOB will be sufficient. 2 heaters would be good, one on each side of the tank.

There is more selection for FW than brackish in most LFS's. I keep all FW tanks. The choice for fish has to be your decision. If you decide to go community, cichlid, etc. the members will be more than willing to help with compatiblity once you have a general idea of what you want.

 

[toddnbecka]

The aragonite sand is great if you want an African cichlid tank, it will raise/buffer the pH to 8+.
If you want a planted community tank, eco-complete substrate would be better.
UG filters are great for biological filtration, lousy for plants though.
Water parameters depend on the fish you plan to stock. Hard, alkaline water for African Rift Lake cichlids, soft, closer to neutral pH for tetras, pleco's, etc. Research the fish first, then plan the water chemistry around that.