kind of new

[spartan 087]

well i recently receive a brand new aquarium, its about 103 gals and it will be the division between the dining and the rest rooms, the thing is that i have only had one of 10 gals with only 3 fishes (2 plecs and a shrimp) and it only have artificial plants 2 big rocks and a piece of driftwood for the plecs. now i want the new aquarium better, natural, and with a lot of more fishes. so i need a lot of help!!

so to don't be boring you start telling me the equipment i will need to start cycling the new aquarium with out fishes (i donut want to put in danger my little babies). i was thinkin on a canister filter like the eheims or the fluvals. but i like more the eheim so which one should i get? i like the 2128 is it good? i have my doubts because somewhere i read that is not good to have those kind of filters with everything on one. also i want to have natural plants so i think i will need a good co2 system. which substrate? can anyone tell me of a shop or breeding that could send me fishes and plants? i mean worldwide shop cause i live in Mexico

 

[Fishyfanatic]

which one should i get?

I've never used either one of those, but Canisters is defiantely the way to go. In fact, you should have two canisters. It will give you a more even filtration. You can't ever OVER filter a tank. Plus, depending on the stock you plan on having, you may need a greater amount of filtration.

somewhere i read that is not good to have those kind of filters with everything on one.

I don't know what you mean. Do you mean by having chemical, biological, and mechanical filtration all in one? It is not a bad way to go.

which substrate?

That is totally up to you. Sand looks very nice and natural looking. Gravel you have more options. A great thing about sand is that all the debris lays on top of the sand. You don't have to do a deep gravel vac.

 

[TomK2]

Eheims have a good reputation, and higher price tag. fluvals have a good reputation, and a lower price tag. Rena's have their proponents, and are not that much different in price than a fluval. Having directly compared the magnum and fluval side by side in the past, I definitely prefer Fluval, unless magnums have significantly changed in the last year or so.

 

[Jchillin]

I have to chime in with the Fluval. I was a little concerned about it at first but since I set it up, it has been a joy.

 

[spartan 087]

well a refer having all in one. with the thing that they are filter and heater at the same time. and with substrate i refer to the ones like the flourite, that have some nutrients for the plants. please keep giving points about the filters, and for other equipment i have to buy before start anything

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I think that having the heater and filter all in one is actually better than having it seperated. From what I've read (would love to have one myself) is that the water is more of an even temperature because it all comes out of the output tube at the same heat. Therefore, the temp is always constant. I don't think I'm explaing too good here. BUT, then you don't have to look at the heater in the back of the tank, another plus. I haven't actually seen one before that has one in it, but I have wanted one for a long time. Our lfs around here is very limited. They don't even have South American Cichlids.

 

[spartan 087]

don´t tell me that, in the hole country there might be 4 real shops that really know what they do, and still they have so little stock on them, and don't talk about fishes it's pretty pretty limited, i'm start to think that they just manage the basic species, and no more. thats why i'm asking for some breeding company or shop or whatever that will ship worldwide, because i want some south american species. rams, a zebra pleco would be amazing, but that will be another post first i have to know the equipment so please keep posting, remember i'm new to big aquariums so i need help with it

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Living in Mexico you should be able to get a better selection of South American Cichlids.

When it comes to finding those rare species of cichlids, I have found 1 store that has just about every Lake Malawi Cichlid in stock, or will in the next couple weeks. They keep very few other species. I think that the ONLY common fish that they had was the feeder goldfish. Otherwise, the other fish were all ones that were exotic. Funny enough, the name was Lake Malawi Cichlid.

Anyways, regarding equipment, I don't see you having a problem with having an in-line heater with the filtration unit. It is advisable to have another heater on back-up incase it stops working. But again, everyone should do that anyways.

 

[TomK2]

I second the benefits of heating the water of the filter output. You just don't need an all in one filter/heater to do it. You can get any canister filter you want, and use an in-line heater.

 

[BrianNY]

Where in Mexico do you live spartan? Mexico City must have shops that will ship if you're not in that area.

It's good to have a plan. Probably the best advise I could give you is to keep things as simple as possible. As you're very new to this, I wouldn't worry about substrate, CO2 or lighting. Plan for a low light planted tank and gain some experience before spending huge amounts of money on fancy equipment. In this way, you'll learn how to maintain a planted tank and be more capable of dealing with the high tech stuff when the time comes.

 

[spartan 087]

i'm from Zacatecas brian, and yes there are shops, but as i say, they are like 4 good shops, and they are far frm the zone where i live, like 7 hours by car, and they still don't have the service of shiping live stock to the republic so if i want some fishes i will have to go for them, so if you can tell me a method to transport fishes during such a long time without risk i will apreciate it very much.

about the thing of first start with a simple thing i'm being thinking and you might be right, i think i will follow your recomendation but still i have many many doubts, for example if i'm planing to do that which kind of plants will be good, what are their needs, and still what will i need apart from the filter, and light. then i will ask about good species of fishes but first please answer me those doubts.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

spartan, I don't want to come across as being rude, but it would help if you used periods when you are typing to differentiate between sentences. It is difficult to read.

 

[BrianNY]

Spartan, check out the pics in my gallery and you'll find some labeled planted 55. This is with no special substrate, no CO2, no fertilizers and only 1 watt per gallon of lighting. The plants are Water Sprite, Jungle Val, Java fern, Anubias, and various crypts.