FW tank setup help

[TomStav]

Hi, I am mostly into saltwater but have decided to purchase a 40 acrylic tank with overflow to setup a freshwater tank. I plan to setup a tank that will require minimal attention as I spend a LOT of time maintaining my SW reef tank.

I plan on having two angel fish and a couple of other fish. I'm just not sure on what would be the best fish suited??

I also would like to get a Fluval G3 (if I can find a used one) along with an inline heater and inline UV.
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For substrate I have a big bag of play sand I was thinking of using, would this be a wise idea or result in more maintenance? Assuming the UV can stop any algae growth.

To start I may throw a couple of plants in but I don't intend to do a full planted tank with co2 etc.

I plan on adding some large rocks purely because there are some huge piles of them outside my home. And I plan on boiling them before putting them in, and will do a fishless cycle.

Any ideas or tips would be appreciated, I just want a good looking low maintenance tank with happy fish!

 

[James_in_MN]

I don't think that my current two (going on three) tanks require alot of maintenance, and that's with weekly water changes, so I wouldn't worry about it adding too much maintenance time on top of your saltwater tank.

I'll let others that have angelfish comment, but I thought that you needed 55g or larger to keep angelfish. I could be wrong.

I don't think that any abrasive substrate would be a good idea in an acrylic tank. I have a 2.5g acrylic that I just started, and I used Fluval Stratum because it's a soft substrate that shouldn't scratch the tank. I recommend that you consider something similar. Actually, if it's not a small tank, I wouldn't even get an acrylic because they scratch so easily. Any reason you decided to get an acrylic tank over glass?

My tanks are all planted, and I don't have an elaborate CO2 system. I dose with Flourish Excel on a weekly basis to get the plants the carbon they need, and it seems to work fine for me. Then again, my largest tank is a 20g, so others might recommend that you go with a CO2 system rather than Excel.

I'm very glad you've decided to fishless cycle your tank. It will be worth it in the end.

Welcome to the other side of fish keeping!

 

[TomStav]

I don't think that my current two (going on three) tanks require alot of maintenance, and that's with weekly water changes, so I wouldn't worry about it adding too much maintenance time on top of your saltwater tank.

I'll let others that have angelfish comment, but I thought that you needed 55g or larger to keep angelfish. I could be wrong.

I don't think that any abrasive substrate would be a good idea in an acrylic tank. I have a 2.5g acrylic that I just started, and I used Fluval Stratum because it's a soft substrate that shouldn't scratch the tank. I recommend that you consider something similar. Actually, if it's not a small tank, I wouldn't even get an acrylic because they scratch so easily. Any reason you decided to get an acrylic tank over glass?

My tanks are all planted, and I don't have an elaborate CO2 system. I dose with Flourish Excel on a weekly basis to get the plants the carbon they need, and it seems to work fine for me. Then again, my largest tank is a 20g, so others might recommend that you go with a CO2 system rather than Excel.

I'm very glad you've decided to fishless cycle your tank. It will be worth it in the end.

Welcome to the other side of fish keeping!

Thanks for your reply!

Good point on the substrate I will look at non abrasive substrates. My main reason for going acrylic is that I just love how streamline they look and like the rimless style.

I could be mistaken and will listen to advice on this but my understanding is that 40G is acceptable for two Angelfish, And I would be fine not adding any more, but I will let the freshies tell me how it is!

I don't really want to have a co2 system so the doseing could be a good alternative.

Thanks for your help!