New 29 gallon set up... Seeking inspiration

[ErinMcG]

Hi folks,
Following a raging case of Cyanobacteria in my first tank, likely brought on by some poor plant choices, I am going to start with a new tank. And yes, I tried killing the Cyanobacteria and failed.

Basic equipment:
So, the new tank is 29 gallons, long. It came with an Aqua-tech 20-40 filter, though I also have a Penguin Biowheel 200. I need a new biowheel if I am going to use that filter. Any thoughts on what would be a good choice with regards to my filters? (I have a healthy tank with which to seed some media, by the way.)

Plants and decor:
I want plants, but don't want to mess with CO2. I have T5 HO lights. I was thinking of java moss and java ferns. Is there anything else you can recommend?

For substrate, I have used gravel in my tanks up until now, but want to try sand, preferably dark sand. In part, this is because I am madly in love with cories and want to give them sand to play in. I also love the look of sand.

I like the look of driftwood, etc and I really like a natural looking environment. Currently, I have nothing, because I will have to toss my driftwood.

Stocking ideas:
My tap water is pretty decent, if a bit acidic. It comes out at 6.0 and stays that way if left in a bucket over night. In my tanks, it's about 6.5.

I really want cories of some variety. I am not too keen on greens or bronzes, and I don't want something that will outgrow the tank as I have no current plans to go bigger. I do want something I can keep in a group of about 6, so their combined size can't overwhelm the tank either.

Other than that, I am stumped. I have three neons because my LFS convinced me to start with them once I had completed my fish less cycle for my 20 gallon. I am annoyed at myself for giving in, because I never had any plans to stock neons. I find them a bit boring. I could try re-homing them as there are always people on the UsedVic list asking for freshwater fish.

Not a big fan of orange. Unsure about live bearers as, again, I don't want to outgrow my set up. My interest in chiclids is restricted to admiring other people's fish. I don't want them for me.

A big part of why I am trying to come up with a stocking plan now is that I want to make a set up that fits the fish I want, rather than make something pretty and then try to figure out what to put in it.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions that you might have!

 

[tarpon]

You could have a group of 6 panda corys! I love those.
And i have java ferns and anubias in my 29 with stock lighting and they grow really well. The java fern is always spawning new little plants i can take and put elsewhere in the tank to grow on their own. And the anubias looks really nice IMO. I just left it in its plastic pot.

 

[ErinMcG]

Oh! I googled anubias. That is a nice looking plant. I will add them to my list. Have to do some research on them to make sure I can meet their needs. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

I have some julii corys that are fun to watch. Blasting sand comes in black not sure about pool filter sand or play sand. With acidic tap maybe a pair of dwarf cichlids; apistogammas, mikrogeophagus, etc. perhaps a plecostomus a zebra or bulldog variety, they stay >5". Most crypts are low maintainance maybe some water sprite.

 

[librarygirl]

+1 on the Anubias; I have some in my 29 gal along with Java Ferns and Java moss. Anubias Congensis is also a nice background plant.

For fish, Panda COrys are fun, I have 7 in my 29 gal, they are cute and fun to watch and don't get very large.

You could look at a school of spotted blue eye rainbowfish; I have those in my tank too and they're very pretty fish.

Sand is great. You can use PFS as others said. I just bought aquarium sand at the store; I had black before and now I have a lighter brown. The corys seem to like it.

 

[ErinMcG]

Scored some anubias on Used Vic and am floating them in my son's betta tank. Also have some bio bead things in the tank seeding with good bacteria. Got some wood soaking. Now I need the time to shift from one tank to the next.

On my shopping list for the transition:

Sand (maybe the black Tahitian stuff that Petsmart carries)
Bleach (for cleaning my heater and filter and such to kill any Cyanobacteria)
Window tinting to do my background with (where do you get that?)

Ok, guess I am not actually ready to switch tanks yet!

I saw some lovely 3D backgrounds for sale, but not sure I can justify the cost... I think I would need two to fit my tank.

Oh, and contemplating my stocking still. I love the look of the rainbow fish and have been thinking about them. But, also thinking it would be cool to have species from the same neck of the woods. Is there an easy way to match species by location? (e.g. If I am committed to cories, how would I figure out what other species come from the same region?)

 

[tarpon]

Whatever lives in the amazon

 

[ErinMcG]

Whatever lives in the amazon

I suppose I could try a google search for aquarium fish and Amazon. I was just thinking that it would be handy to have some resource where you could put in one fish and the resource would tell you compatible species from the same area or something...

Hmmm... Sounds like a fun app actually. You fill in certain parameters like tank size, biotope, fish already in the tank, or whatever, and it spits out possibilities to look at.

 

[tarpon]

Yeah lol theres gotta be billions of fish species in the amazon so good luck haha. Sorry i cant be of more help. Maybe try "aquarium amazon biotope" or something like that