New aquarium setup

[elizae]

Hi! I’m new to this site but not new to fishkeeping. I’ve had this aquarium for, i think, 6 years now? I’m looking to change its setup. This one is just under 40 gallons (can’t remember exact number,, all i remember is that it’s a weird size) so I plan to treat it as if it were 40 gallons.

I want to turn it into a planted tank. I have a few questions.

1) good lights for planted tanks. I don’t really wanna spend $100 dollars on some lights but if you have good recommendations let me know!

2) a new filter. I currently run 2 HOB filters on the bank. Can’t remember what the brand on either of them run, but one filters I believe is 30-50g and the other is 20-40. (I was cycling the smaller one for another tank but some stuff went south). I want to switch to a sponge filter. Are these good for planted tanks?

All I currently have in here is a slightly mutated angelfish and a couple of snails. Any advice would be appreciated

 

[libertybelle]

Welcome! If you measure the dimensions of the tank you can figure out the actual volume. Probably a good starting point. You’ll want to know that for dosing any kind of... anything. And the depth, if the tank is odd shaped, might effect your lighting options.

Any information about lighting and tank set up will depend on what you want. If you’re trying to keep costs low plain gravel and some relatively inexpensive LEDs will grow a surprising number of plants. Or you can go specialized substrate; ferts, high light and co2 and focus on higher needs plants. Obviously there’s a higher price tag on the latter. What are you interested in doing?

Sponge filters are awesome for shrimp and fry tanks but I prefer my aquaclear hang on back filters otherwise. Tons of room for media and super reliable, in my experience. Are your current filters not working well?

How big is the angel and will it be staying in this tank? That will of course effect recommendations for compatible tank mates.

 

[elizae]

The angel is on the small side, he’s always been small but considering his dorsal fin makes a complete 180 and his fins resemble those of a sun(moon?)tail betta fish, and that they’ve been this way since I’ve had him, I assume it’s a genetic mutation. I wanted to go for a sponge filter because his fins are 6+ inches long, and the current HObs have a tendency to suck them up if he gets too close. I’ve tried putting sponges on the intakes to soften it a bit but these are older filters and they lose some of the suction power (and the sponges don’t stay on long)

I currently have a regular white sand substrate, but I do have gravel from other aquariums if it needs to be switched out. I plan to make him the centerpiece of the aquarium.

Thank you for the help! I know a lot about fish keeping but not necessarily the plant aspects

I did try amazon swords with root tabs but they didn’t do very well.

Tank size: 30l , 12w, 22.5 h

 

[elizae]

I put all my stuff into aquadvisor

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 503%
Recommended water change schedule: 9% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 50%

I run a Fluval Aquaclear 50, and an API Superclean 30 (it’s not even for sale and it took forever to google it) So I have 80 gallons of filtration

 

[libertybelle]

So that’s something like 35 (before taking into account decor gravel etc)

I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard of using a sponge filter on bigger tanks. But that could just be ignorance. You’ve tried the edge prefilter sponge on the aquaclear? I have two aquaclears a 20 and a 70; the sponge works great for both though I have to stretch it out a bit for the 70. And I assume you’ve turned the flow down to the minimum?

Have you thought about what kind of plants you want? There’s lots of low maintenance plants that won’t require much changing of your current set up if you want to start with that.

 

[elizae]

I took out the carbon on the inside of the aqua clear And replaced it with sponge if that’s what you meant? And yes both filters are set between medium and low. The 50 is making some funky noise so that’s why I’m looking at some new filters.

Since the aquarium is nearly two feet tall I’m looking for tall plants but my worry is that the light won’t reach the bottom or it’ll be too bright at the top.

 

[libertybelle]

No there’s a fluval edge prefilter that fits neatly over the intake. Mine needs to be cleaned currently but it looks like this

 

[elizae]

Oh that’s cool! I’ve used little net bags and cut up some filter sponge but neither of those worked. I’ll look into him if the filters keep causing him trouble but I’d hope the plants would help it a bit

 

[libertybelle]

They're just a couple bucks; available on Amazon and every pet store I’ve ever been to. It needs to be cleaned every few days to once a week depending on your tank messiness. You just have to keep an eye on the flow of your filter. Give it a rinse if it slows down between your normal water changes.

As far as plants deep tanks can be tough with standard lighting. Val gets incredibly tall very quickly and can even cover the surface if you let it and plenty of plants appreciate relatively low light. Things like variants of java fern and anubius couldn’t care less what your substrate is either. Moss balls can grow just about anywhere and many varieties of crypts are fine with lower light as well (though they appreciate a root tab). Hornwort if you get a healthy piece, can grow floating or wrapped around decor and take advantage of surface light. Water wisteria is a tall stem that grows very fast. Can need root tabs/ fertilizers though and will do better with a little more light. Mosses of all variety wouldn’t care if the bottom of the tank is a little dim And you can even make a pad of it to mimic the carpeting look. Most of these are things you could do with most stock lights. Things won’t grow fast but they should survive and grow slowly.

Swords have always been slow and short in my tanks. I don’t know if it’s the variety of sword or my conditions. I think they live in low light but really like the higher light.

I just run a beamswork 6500 with a nicrew timer/dimmer. (I leave the lights dim the whole time I’m awake but only turn it on maximum for a set number of hours. I actually need a little extra algae to grow for my otos so the dimmer gives me some flexibility when I want long photo periods.) I’m hardly an expert on the led lighting options but it’s relatively inexpensive and works for me for the low and medium light plants I grow.

 

[elizae]

I’ll look into those a bit more for sure. I have a bottle of some API Co2 boost stuff, ive never really gotten the chance to use it.

I had a mossball in the aquarium but it got mad when I stuck it into my betta tank and kinda exploded and turned more into a carpet than a ball lol.

Thank you for your help!

 

[libertybelle]

The co2 booster is a carbon supplement that is usually only necessary in higher light when no co2 is running. It’s the same chemical as excel so look up any plants you want to add and how they do with excel. There are a few like Val/ hornwort and moss balls that might not like it so much. you have to ramp up slowly if you want to use it with those plants.

I had that problem with a mossball too; I think it was because I tried to clean it by squeezing it out. People tell you to do that but they actually don’t like it at all. Now I just clean them by swishing in aquarium water and rolling a bit between my hands.

 

[elizae]

Finicky little things they are. I do Like the appearance of the Val, Java fern, and Anubius. Is it the anubius that have something you’re not supposed to cover? I thought I remember someone saying you tie them down rather than plant them

 

[libertybelle]

Excel/ co2 booster is not actually liquid co2. It’s a chemical and algaecide that has a duel purpose of being a carbon source. But the fact that it kills algae is a clue that moss balls (a type of algae) won’t like it and some plants may be sensitive.

Both anubius and java fern do well tied to decor. You can either tie or weight it down or just wedge it somewhere and roots will grab on eventually. If you burry the base (rhizome) of anubius it will rot.