my new 30

[agwats]

So I've been working on this tank for what seems like forever but it is now cycled and partially planted. The plants in it now came out of my 20. Going to get the rest of the plants and the first group of fish Monday (assuming the job im supposed to be working this weekend doesn't get rained out). This will be the home of a blue gourami and some friends

[Chino1130]

Looks good. May I suggest adding a backdrop to help hide the wires, and not make the heater pop out.

[agwats]

Yeah I want to make it black but didn't think about it b4 I had it setup. I could have just painted it but know I gotta deal with sticking a background to it with it where it is... i really wish I had just painted it

[GodFan]

I just tape my backgrounds on

[agwats]

My hood is screwed up... wonderful... one side works and the other doesn't (and yes I switched the bulbs around to see if it was the bulb or the fixture) so i'll need a new one. Wanted to do low to medium light plants. In addition to the anubias nana and java fern that are already in the tank I wanted some water sprite, amazon sword and dwarf hair grass. Also something tall but not sure what yet. Any suggestions on lighting and an attractive tall background plant that will do well in with the light requirements of the other plants I want?

Btw the substrate is PFS with laterite.

[agwats]

Any suggestions on w, k ect?

[agwats]

Ok didn't get to work this weekend... stupid rain, oh well just means i'll have to wait another week to get fish. While on that topic I know I want a blue gourami but have been unable to decide what else to get with it. I thought about doing an asian theme but scraped that idea because it limited my options too much. Also I think the serpae tetras from my 20 would look good in contrast to the color of the gourami and give me a chance to rework the stocking on the 20.

Was thinking something like;
1x blue gourami
6x serpae tetras
4-6x panda or julli corys
3x pitbull plecos
The tank is a 29high (was given to me as a 30 but when I measured it for lighting discovered it was only a 29) with a penguin 200 filter.
Thoughts on this stock? Could I maybe up the number of tetras?

[agwats]

Found an awesome site for plants thanks to a recommendation jetajockey made in another thread. Bob's is awesome and pretty cheap! It seams like almost everyday I find something useful on this site! So glad I found it

[agwats]

Now this tank has spawned a DIY lighting project. I got a cheep single strip T8 light that im going to retrofit for screw in CFLs. I found some bulbs that are 23w 6500k and 1640 lumen. I think 2 bulbs would be enough so I was going to get a twin socket and mount it in the center of the hood. That way I could keep all the wiring on the inside. The strip is vented and I will probably put pegs in the corners to raise it up a little to make room for the width of the bulbs and provide extra ventilation. I'll post pics. Probably gonna do it Monday.

[agwats]

Getting the first batch of fish Monday. What would work better with the blue gourami, serpae tetras or cherry barbs? Would the serpaes nip at the gourami? Would the gourami pick on the cherry barbs?