fishy-r
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hello all,
First post, sorry for length and mod move to right spot if necessary. Just started getting 'tanked again after a long hiatus since childhood. I first started this out for the kids with a std 10 gal with some tetras and (sorry)... Glo-Fish (don't even start me on that racket!
).
Anywho, we, aka I, soon found out the 10 was too small so I dug my 20 long out from storage and set that up. I replaced the gravel with Eco-Complete black and added few just a few more fish (sans Glo-fish) and some low light plants - bananas, swords, java fern and an unidentifiable. I moved the 18" fixture over from my 10 gal, replaced the bulb with a floramax and rested that prehistoric black fixture on top of my glass canopy. Interestingly, everything did well - the plants grew and the fish loved the new décor/hiding places.
Of course, 20L was again not enough and I had the opportunity to swap it to a 37 gal with a friend interested in my 20L for a reptile. It was great since the 37 had the exact footprint as the 20L, just much higher 22". Everything from the substrate to the fish, plants and filters moved over fine. But when resting that single 18" floramax on top.... well, you know the rest!
So... without breaking the budget, I'm looking for some suggestions for the 22" high tank. This is not high tech - it is *still* supposed to be for the kids, not consume me as the wife calls it. My options are... 1) get a similar 30" fixture like I have with a longer floramax bulb; 2) get a 30" fixture with 2 T5 bulbs (like a Coralife); or 3) go with LED. I know nothing about the LEDs and how the lighting would encourage the fish or plants, plus they are more $$$. I prefer good old-fashion tubes that I can swap out if necessary.
For more info, I have a mix of tetras/rasboras keeping my (1) fem blue ram, (1) fem gold ram and (1) angelfish company, all about the same size. Everyone gets along, fish are extremely active and everything is doing really well at this point. I don't plan on doing CO2 or adding much more plants. I dose by schedule with Seachem Flourish and Iron. I am vigilant with 30% water changes every 5 days.
Thanks all!
First post, sorry for length and mod move to right spot if necessary. Just started getting 'tanked again after a long hiatus since childhood. I first started this out for the kids with a std 10 gal with some tetras and (sorry)... Glo-Fish (don't even start me on that racket!
).Anywho, we, aka I, soon found out the 10 was too small so I dug my 20 long out from storage and set that up. I replaced the gravel with Eco-Complete black and added few just a few more fish (sans Glo-fish) and some low light plants - bananas, swords, java fern and an unidentifiable. I moved the 18" fixture over from my 10 gal, replaced the bulb with a floramax and rested that prehistoric black fixture on top of my glass canopy. Interestingly, everything did well - the plants grew and the fish loved the new décor/hiding places.
Of course, 20L was again not enough and I had the opportunity to swap it to a 37 gal with a friend interested in my 20L for a reptile. It was great since the 37 had the exact footprint as the 20L, just much higher 22". Everything from the substrate to the fish, plants and filters moved over fine. But when resting that single 18" floramax on top.... well, you know the rest!
So... without breaking the budget, I'm looking for some suggestions for the 22" high tank. This is not high tech - it is *still* supposed to be for the kids, not consume me as the wife calls it. My options are... 1) get a similar 30" fixture like I have with a longer floramax bulb; 2) get a 30" fixture with 2 T5 bulbs (like a Coralife); or 3) go with LED. I know nothing about the LEDs and how the lighting would encourage the fish or plants, plus they are more $$$. I prefer good old-fashion tubes that I can swap out if necessary.
For more info, I have a mix of tetras/rasboras keeping my (1) fem blue ram, (1) fem gold ram and (1) angelfish company, all about the same size. Everyone gets along, fish are extremely active and everything is doing really well at this point. I don't plan on doing CO2 or adding much more plants. I dose by schedule with Seachem Flourish and Iron. I am vigilant with 30% water changes every 5 days.
Thanks all!
