Ready and willing, but need help!

[AquaRob]

Sorry that a lot of these questions might be considered redundant but I cant get the Sticky links to work.

I want to start purchasing the basics to start a planted enviroment in my tall Hex, but there is so much out there on all the substrate that I STILL dont know which one I should trust. So Im asking the people who do it, what should I use?

Also I see that lighting is a very complicated and very important aspect. For me its not just for the plant but for asthetics too since this will be main display in the Living Room. What sort of lighting fixtures and light will allow light to penetrate such a tall tank and not overheat.

Next filtering! Im am adamant about doing this slow and proper and not waisting a ton of money on screw ups so I want to get the filtering done right the first time. But I have the same worries about it being so tall.

Any help I can get would be very beneficial. Im anxious to at least purchase items toward the set-up.

Oh one last thing. Anybody that is in or around the DC area that can point me to some good stores. Ive been relying on google and my GPS but its not fun.

 

[Purrbox]

Some more information about your setup and goals will make it a lot easier to give you recommendations. The tricky thing about planted aquariums is that there are so many ways to do it "right", so you have to figure out the best way for you.

What size aquarium are you working with? What types of plants do you want to grow? Are you looking for easy maintainance or do you want all the bells and whistles of a high light aquarium? Are you on a limited budget or can you splurge for higher end equipment? Are you willing to DIY some of the stuff? Do you like the look of any particular substrate? etc.

If you go to the articles section of the site you'll find the articles on planted aquariums that are listed in the second post of the Sticky. You'd need to use the search feature to find the other threads that are linked in the first post.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I agree with Purrbox. You should know what you want to accomplish with the tank before deciding on equipment.

High tech tanks have different setups than low tech/low maintenance, so you should decide how much effort and money you can put into the tank.

 

[AquaRob]

Ok did some reading like Purrbox suggested. Let me start by saying that I dont know the dimensions of the tank right now. I do belive it is the 40-50 gallon range, but its tall so low surface are. I want to put Angels in there with some cleaners, and maybe a cple of schoolers. From what I read I am very interested in the High-Light Aquarium. Im not afraid of DIY, very mechanical inclined. The work involved does worry me either. My main question is it a smart idea to use a tall hex for this kind of project, or would it be better to do low-light, low maintenace in this tank and wait for a long tank to try high-light?

 

[JustOneMore20]

My suggestion would be to wait for a longer tank for high light. You are going to need alot of light over the tank, since its tall. Otherwise your low to the ground plants (like ground cover) isn't going to get enough light. Also, you may be limited on the number of watts you can get over the tank, since its tall and short (lengthwise).

I'm sure a high light, high tech hex tank can be done, but it wouldn't be something I'd suggest.

 

[An t-iasg]

I agree with Kristin about the hex tank. I had a planted, 5 gallon hex tank and it was more difficult to maintain than a rectangular tank. Plants rely on light and water flows and although I'm sure it can be done, I found it too difficult to find the right light and the right filter for this tank. Planted hex tanks have their own set of "problems" that rectangular tanks don't have. Your "footprint" area for planting is going to be smaller. You'll want tall plants that may end up shading the foreground area, and it's hard enough to get light down there. The optical "illusions" of the hex always made it a bit hard for me to see where I was putting a plant. I thought it was centered by looking down through the top, and then looking at the tank straight-on from the front made the plant look crooked or something. I find it much easier and more rewarding to plant the regular-dimension tanks. It's much easier to find a standard light and filter or to DIY something for a standard-size tank. I do think hex tanks are intriguing but I would not use one for a planted tank again.

 

[AquaRob]

Well back to square one then, what would be a good set up for a hex? I'd really hate to just discard this tank.

 

[Purrbox]

If you still want to go planted, you most certainly can. See if you can get lighting to provide about 1.5-2WPG (the actual light will be a bit lower because of the height). Then stick with mostly low light plants. If you can find some really nice pieces of driftwood that will span most of the height of the aquarium, without taking up too much of the swimming room, they'll help with the aquascaping. You could tie Java Moss, Java Fern, and/or Anubias to the driftwood to get plants on all levels. Possibly some long thin crypts (there are a couple that fit, but I'm unsure of their lighting requirements) in the background and some smaller crypts or Anubias in the foreground. Since you would be sticking to low light plants they wouldn't mind be somewhat shaded.

 

[An t-iasg]

Joy is absolutely right as usual I guess it looks like my post was trying to talk you out of a planted hex. That wasn't my intention. Lower light will make it an easier setup but I just wanted to convey that it will be more of a challenge than a regular tank.

 

[AquaRob]

Im not discouraged by your post. Im fascinated by the knowledge of this forum. Being military I haven't set up tanks in a long time. Lots of things have changed since then. Luckily I have tons of time to read lots of stuff. With that being said, thing I will change my mind on the hex, make it a SW, and use my 55 for planted tank. This helps me because now I dont have to worry about the weight of a 55gl full of rock on my middle floor, and I can do more with plants on the 55 long. Thanks!

 

[marchmaxima]

Welcome to the forum Rob. You're absolutely right, the knowlege here is unbelievable. Good luck on the salt tank. I'm not brave enough to try one of those yet...

Like An t-iasg suggested, there are plenty of great low-light and low maintenance options. All it takes is a little looking.

For researching your plants, I highly recommend the PlantGeek website, mainly because you can search on categories that make sense, such as difficulty levels, level of light level and aquascape placement (as in forground plants, background plants, etc).

Enjoy the reading.

 

[An t-iasg]

I have seen a few SW hex tanks. If you go this route, ask your set-up questions on the Saltwater and Reef - Getting Started forum. You are going to have some limitations as far as stocking goes - you'll need fish that don't mind the lack of horizontal swimming space. I am not a "salty" so I can't give recommendations, but I would say that any of the tangs are out - they really love long tanks. There are other fish that would be fine in a hex, so make sure to research first (I know you will!)