New Guy looking for advise

[NBfarmboy]

Hi All
Looking for some advice, i am wanting to get a bigger tank then the 10 gallon i currently have.
the size i can handle right now is a 40 gallon breeder, but i need some advice on lighting, filter, etc
i currently have a 10 gallon with a penguin 100 bio wheel, an air pump, set up with gravel and i like it but want bigger

i need some assistance on picking a filter and a lighting setup

i prefer a H.O.B. setup for the filter

and i want some very bright lights along with nightlights lol
thanks in advance

 

[Bbush]

Fluval c4 filter.

 

[blert]

AC50 or AC70, depending on what you plan on stocking.

Lighting will depend on whether you are planning on live plants and if you will be injecting CO2 for those plants. The 40b is a very shallow tank, relative to its size, and is very easy to over-light and cause serious algae issues without CO2. A dual bulb T5HO fixture will require that you inject CO2 because it will put you into very high light.

 

[librarygirl]

If you go Aquaclear I'd suggest the 110; the larger the better. A canister would probably work best on a tank of that size but you could do with a HOB just get the largest they have for whatever manufacturer you go with. AC's are good filters and the basket is customizeable so you can fill it with whatever you want; many HOB filters are limited to using carbon pads or biowheels which can be limiting.

 

[NBfarmboy]

I plan on stocking 8 neon tettra's 4 glow tettra's 1 betta and 2 corys and maybe some shrimp as long as nothing in the tank will eat them

And my wife wants 1 male and 3 female guppies -_- baby guppies just what I need ....

I do plan on having live plants
Was not planning on co2, not yet anyway
But seeing as how I like bright lights and and big plants it may be in my future

A planted tank is something I am liking the sound of

 

[NBfarmboy]

So what is the draw back to the bio wheel
It came with my 10 so I ran it but I want to be educated for the 40 gallon

 

[FishontheRock]

I plan on stocking 8 neon tettra's 4 glow tettra's 1 betta and 2 corys and maybe some shrimp as long as nothing in the tank will eat them

And my wife wants 1 male and 3 female guppies -_- baby guppies just what I need ....

I do plan on having live plants
Was not planning on co2, not yet anyway
But seeing as how I like bright lights and and big plants it may be in my future

A planted tank is something I am liking the sound of

Stockingwise:
- I would increase the number of corries, they really like to be in groups of more than 3
- If the neons are not full grown they will be betta snacks
- Shrimp and bettas is also hit and miss make sure they are a bigger species the pretty little red cherries are definitely snacks.
- Bettas and guppies tend to be a problem cause the betta isn't fond of other fish with flowing fins, though the betta would probably tank care of any babies for you!

Truth is bettas are kind of limiting in a community tank. I love them but they show best in their own tank imo.

I'll let others chime in here its been a while since I've had a general community tank.

 

[librarygirl]

Given the tank size I'd increase your numbers of schooling fish:

12-15 Neons
8-10 Glow tetra (do you mean Glolights or Glofish?)
4 Guppies
6-8 Corys
X number of shrimp (add as many as you want)

This would still leave you with some room if you wanted to add anything down the road.

As for the Betta, FishontheRock is correct; generally bettas and guppies are not a good idea. They both have large fins which often causes one to go after the other. Neons may be too active for the Betta but it's a large tank so it might work. It's up to you; you can try it (if you do, add the Betta last) but if it doesn't work out I'd have a back-up plan for the Betta.

 

[NBfarmboy]

Stockingwise:
- I would increase the number of corries, they really like to be in groups of more than 3
- If the neons are not full grown they will be betta snacks
- Shrimp and bettas is also hit and miss make sure they are a bigger species the pretty little red cherries are definitely snacks.
- Bettas and guppies tend to be a problem cause the betta isn't fond of other fish with flowing fins, though the betta would probably tank care of any babies for you!

Truth is bettas are kind of limiting in a community tank. I love them but they show best in their own tank imo.

I'll let others chime in here its been a while since I've had a general community tank.

I had a betta for a while with the neon tettra's and they all got along but maybe I was just lucky

From the sound I it I will be happier without the betta

Given the tank size I'd increase your numbers of schooling fish:

12-15 Neons
8-10 Glow tetra (do you mean Glolights or Glofish?)
4 Guppies
6-8 Corys
X number of shrimp (add as many as you want)

This would still leave you with some room if you wanted to add anything down the road.

As for the Betta, FishontheRock is correct; generally bettas and guppies are not a good idea. They both have large fins which often causes one to go after the other. Neons may be too active for the Betta but it's a large tank so it might work. It's up to you; you can try it (if you do, add the Betta last) but if it doesn't work out I'd have a back-up plan for the Betta.

Holy mackerel lol
I had no idea I could go with such a large number of fish in that tank, that makes me giddy
I can't wait for the new tank now


So an ac 70 - ac 110 would suffice for a filter

And I can set up a timer on the lights
Would 6 hours on t5 lights and then 4 hours on white led be ok to lengthen the day time of the tank without huge Algee problems

 

[NBfarmboy]

looking to get the ac 110
what should i be running for a media in the filter???

 

[librarygirl]

looking to get the ac 110
what should i be running for a media in the filter???

Good choice. It comes with ceramic rings, sponge and carbon. You can use it as is. Most people don't use the carbon as it's generally not needed unless you're removing medications but there's no harm in using it either. You can always buy more ceramic rings or another sponge to replace the carbon.

 

[NBfarmboy]

Sweet deal
I'm now looking at a full hood with t5ho lights
Is this a decent choice
Im also planning on running LEDs so I am figuring 8 hours of the fluorescents a day will be alright
I want to start With a lunar cycle of night style led, go into a morning style white led transition to the day lights and they reverse the cycle at night and have 8 hours of full darkness in the tank
Does this sound about right???

 

[Sillyfishies]

In a 40 gal you can fit WAY more then what he said. Like all that would fit in a 15-20 gal.