Before I buy......

[dvanv]

I received a 20 Long tank for my birthday. I have been checking out things that I need to purchase and have decided on:
Aqua Clear 50 Filter
Visi-therm Stealth 100W heater
Pool Filter Sand for substrate
The one thing I am not sure of is the lighting as of yet. Any ideas? I will be using artificial and real plants.
Also I was wondering since the tank is long do I place the filter in the center and how about the heater?

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Welcome to the hobby! Its demanding and rewarding.

There is alot of things to read before you get started. If you want to set it up right, I would gather as much information from the stickies you can. They will touch on all subjects necessary to make the "establishment" phase the easiest on both you and your fish. Tanks are easy once they get established, its the rocky road getting there. Do that right and you are set.


You equipment so far looks good to me. Im unfamiliar with the Aqua Clear 50 filter, but im assuming that is an HOB . The heater should be fine, 100W for 20 gallons.

If you are intending on starting with, or eventually putting in plants, you are going to need a decent light source. Many people go with compact flourescent hoods, or metal halid. The small regular output florescents you find in those hoods that come with the kits won't cut it for most plants. You are going to want to shoot for about 3 WPG for a wide variety of plants, however some plants require more/less. With a tank that size, I would also recomend looking into either DIY CO2 or a pressurized system. Its going to make your life a heck of a lot easier.

Pool filter sand is a good substrate for both athestics, and for your plants.

Seems like you are off to a good start.

And Welcome to AA

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA! You'll find a wealth of info and great people here to help you out.

I agree with all of the above!

I just wanted to add, to please, in addition to the stickies, find the articles section (link at top of page) and read and understand the articles on the Nitrogen Cycle and Fishless Cycling, as these will help you have a full understanding of what you need to know to help keep fish healthy.

As far as the heater and HOB placement, the heater can go pretty much anywhere you want. Once you get fish and/or plants, you can move the HOB Filter around to get the currents to run how you want them, it's not really that critical. Do, however, try to avoid having any areas in the tank with absolutely no current, as this can lead to problems.

 

[theotheragentm]

Where is the tank going to be placed? I have natural light coming in through the windows so I don't require much on the lighting in my hood.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Where is the tank going to be placed? I have natural light coming in through the windows so I don't require much on the lighting in my hood.

Steer away from letting direct sunlight hit the tank. Sunlight is too intense for an isolated ecosystem like an aquarium. You will run into more problems from it, than you will gain. Tank heating up uncontrollably, to algae problems. Its best to keep all elements in and out of the aquarium controlled. I would put it somewhere out of direct sun light and buy the appropriate lighting for your intended purpose.

 

[theotheragentm]

I should have made that clear. This is not direct sunlight that comes through my blinds. It's reflecting off other things and "glowing" into the room.

 

[dvanv]

Thank you for the welcome. I forgot to include that the tank would be in our living room and it is a light room but no direct sunlight. I have a five gallon that has been set up on that place for over a year now with no problem. I do understand the fishless cyle and have the API test kit. I have done lots of reading on this site and it has been a great help. The lighting is my problem since the tank is 30 inches long and most lights are shorter or longer.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

I have a 30 inch long 56 gallon tank. You can get a 30" fixture from Current USA.

http://www.current-usa.com/satellite.html

They offer several models that will fit that size tank and give you appropriate lighting for growing plants. Hope this helps.

 

[rich311k]

There are lots of 30" fixtures. A twin tube from All glass would give you 2 watts per gallon and eliminate the need for CO2 and most ferts. You could grow a nice variety of plants while not being a high maintenance setup.

I have an AC50 on a 29 and it does a fine job so it would be a great choice for a 20 gallon tank. Your heater choice is perfect and it can be place horizontally across the back, which hides it nicely.

 

[severum mama]

If this is your first try for a planted tank, I'd go with Rich's suggestion and get the twin tube strip. You'll still have a lot of choices for plants you can keep, but you won't have so much light that your tank turns into an instant algae factory, which is what happened to my 20 tall when I put a Satellite 65W strip on it. I just didn't have the experience with planted tanks to make it work for me at the time. If you want plants, research low-medium light plants, and start out with a lot of them- this will help your plants to outcompete algae for nutrients. Or, if you want a really low-maintenance setup, you may be able to get away with just a single-tube strip light for a tank with only java fern, anubias, and possibly java moss. My 29 gallon still has the single tube light, and these plants look great in my tank with virtually no maintenance other than water changes. I only have to trim back these plants every few months, as they are very slow growers. On the other hand, I have to trim plants about every week in my discus tank, which is heavily planted with 2.5 wpg of light.

 

[dvanv]

Thank you for all the tips. I would like to stay away from the CO2 with this tank. I will be looking further into the lights that are suggested. I went out today and bought the filter and heater at Petsmart with my price match from online. I bought both for the store price of one. That makes me very happy. I have more money to spend on other things for the tank. How many pounds of substrate would I need for the 20L?

 

[neilanh]

I would like to stay away from the CO2 with this tank.

I said that too in the beginning. LOL

Good luck with that!