brennae
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have a dirt bottomed tank capped with sand, a sand tank and an eco-complete tank and I prefer the eco-complete. Substrate needs to be 2 to 3 inches unless you go the dirt route.
Yes add plants right away. Yes that light should be fine for low light plants. Try swords, anubias, stem plants, java ferns, wendelov ferns, crypts and plants from bulbs like apongeton. You will need ferts. I started out with Flourish root tabs and use Flourish liquids.
here is a link to some dry ferts
Micro & Macro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums
You will obviously need a freshwater test kit, especially for a fish-in cycle. There are some good articles on her about cycling both fish-in and fish less. I suggest you take a look at them. ALso there are many kinds of Tetras that are colorful and may be appropriate depending on your water hardness.
There is a book out called "Tetras and Barbs : A complete guide to the successful care and breeding of two of the most popular groups of aquarium fish". Its handy guide to tetras and barbs and can be purched for about $9 on Amazon.
ALso consider some type of corys. They come in emerald, bronze, albino, striped and Julii and Sterba which have dots and stripes. They are cute little bottom dwellers with a lot of personality and are very active.
Good luck with your new tank!
Yes add plants right away. Yes that light should be fine for low light plants. Try swords, anubias, stem plants, java ferns, wendelov ferns, crypts and plants from bulbs like apongeton. You will need ferts. I started out with Flourish root tabs and use Flourish liquids.
here is a link to some dry ferts
Micro & Macro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums
You will obviously need a freshwater test kit, especially for a fish-in cycle. There are some good articles on her about cycling both fish-in and fish less. I suggest you take a look at them. ALso there are many kinds of Tetras that are colorful and may be appropriate depending on your water hardness.
There is a book out called "Tetras and Barbs : A complete guide to the successful care and breeding of two of the most popular groups of aquarium fish". Its handy guide to tetras and barbs and can be purched for about $9 on Amazon.
ALso consider some type of corys. They come in emerald, bronze, albino, striped and Julii and Sterba which have dots and stripes. They are cute little bottom dwellers with a lot of personality and are very active.
Good luck with your new tank!