56 Column Pre-Launch Checklist

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Rokuzachi

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Feb 9, 2011
Messages
625
Location
Texas
So, the end of the find everything I want/need journey is here.

Now the real journey begins! My tank should be arriving in two days, along with the the bulk of my stuff, and then a few things will be left to pick out at the LFS. I'm pretty excited so I thought I'd hop on here and write out a checklist for the more experienced to look at and tell me if I've made any horrible errors or missed something.

-56g Column (30x18x24) & glass canopy
-Fluval 405 w/ a spread of extra media (recommendations for what to start with?)
-Hydor Koralia 750gph and 450gph (not using both, will send back the one that isn't ideal for the tank. Any guesses as to which that will be?)
-Nova Extreme T5 HO x2 fixture
-Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Test Kit
-2 or 3 (thinking 3) bags of Seachem Fluorite Black Sand
-Jager 250w heater (Or should I go with two smaller ones?)
- Water conditioner

The last time I kept an aquarium was at least ten, maybe twelve years ago. It was a 125 planted. But, I know things have changed, and I've been doing a lot of reading and updating my knowledge. That said, does what I have/will have look alright?

I plan on doing a planted tank with some catfish (hoplos from one LFS if they still have them by the time cycling is done), a large school of cherry barbs or something similar and anything after that I'm totally open to suggestions on. I don't actually know much about plants, but I was thinking of going with watersprite, egeria and something else easy.

Will I need to pace some kind of sponge over the intake for the filter to make sure sand doesn't damage the impeller? I vaguely remember covering my last one with something, but I'm not entirely sure.

Thanks!

Edit: Updated :)
 
Your list looks pretty good to me.

I love my water sprite. It's a fantastic nitrate sponge.

You could cover your filter intake with a media bag or a piece of pantyhose or just keep it higher in the tank.
 
Thanks BigJim.

Looks like no one in town carries the black fluorite sand or even the eco complete black, so I think I'll end up going with a regular dark sand and fertilizing with root tabs.
 
I have Black Blast blasting compound that I bought at Menards in a 40B with plants. It's shiny black and it's $8 for 50lb. I wasn't going to pay for black sand or black plant substrate.
 
Back
Top Bottom