New Tank. Am I doing it right?

[adeebm]

Ok, so I'm planning on getting a new tank sometime in the next 2 weeks. Its either gonna be 46 or 60 gallons, haven't decided yet. Anyway, I made a list of parts thats coming to around $800. Would you guys mind taking a look and seeing if I'm buying the right things, whether they are necessary and if I've missed anything? It's gonna be a planted tank, but I decided not to go for CO2 injection. Anyway, parts list:

46/60gal tank w/ stand + hood - $300
Eheim Classic Canister Filter (either 2x 2213 or 1x 2217, which would be better? Am I overdoing the filtration?) - $160
Maxi Jet 400 Powerhead - $20
Tetra Whisper 60gal Air pump - $20
Bubble Wall - $5.50
Seachem Stability(Might as well give it a try) - $10
Seachem Prime - $17
Seachem Flourish (full set of ferts, I decided to go with this instead of raw chems.Hey, I'm a newbie) - $23
Test Kits (API Master, GH and KH, Phosphate) - $45
Caribsea Eco Complete x40lbs (Do I need more or less?) - $50
Coralife 36" 6.5K 96W fluorescent bulb(might get PC, depends on the fixture, about 2W/gal, so I don't need CO2 right?) - $30
Fish - $idk
Plants - $60(I'll probably go for a LiveAquaria Starter pack)
Total - $850ish

So thats my to-be setup. Hopefully I didn't miss anything. What do you guys think? Am I biting off more than I can chew? My only experience is my current 10gal tank. Thanks for your help. Oh, and does the 1 inch of fish per gallon still apply to large tanks? I would like to stock it nicely

--Adeeb

 

[logansmomma1228]

IMO don't waste your money on the seachem stability- those products that say they cycle tanks don't. It might help a tad but not enough to pay for. Everything else looks good. I am not an expert on ferts/canister filters/lighting though. Welcome to AA! Do you know what kind of fish you want yet, or what combos have gone through your mind? I also recommend getting the 60 if possible. The bigger the tank the better!

 

[adeebm]

I'm not sure about the 60gal, my dad thinks its gonna fall through the floor. Oddly enough though, its cheaper than the 49gal, silly PetSmart. As for fish, I'm thinking 2-3 Dwarf Gouramis, a couple neon tetras, haven't decided beyond that. I think I'll get some inverts too, maybe ghost or cherry shrimp, a crayfish, and a freshwater clam. Do planted tanks even cycle? I've heard the plants use up the nitrites/ammonia and the filter is just for mechanical filtration.

--Adeeb

 

[logansmomma1228]

All tanks will cycle. I am not sure as far as the plants but I think they do help the cycle. I have read varying opinions on whether or not to get them while cycling. The crayfish will probably eat your other fish. I had one and it ate my tadpole

 

[crockwood]

I think I would do the 2x 2213 filters. It gives you some redundancy so if something happens to one filter and it breaks, you'll still have another going And with a planted tank the extra water flow will be nice.

I'm not 100% positive on this, so hopefully someone else can help weigh in, BUT if you're planting, I think the bubble wall is a bad idea. The plants will help produce enough oxygen you shouldn't need one, and it can help vent out the CO2 in the water which plants need. I realize you're not injecting, which is why I'm not positive here, but I'm pretty sure you'd be better off not having the bubbles.

 

[BigJim]

Go for the 60g and set it up where the tank is perpendicular to the joists. Unless you have really bad floors, you should be fine. Your tank will weight ~600lb when full. Figuring 10lb per gallon for an aquarium is a decent estimate of weight. There's a safety factor built in.

There's really no such thing as too much filtration as long as the fish can handle the water current. I'm a firm believer in overfiltering. It allows me to add more fish to a tank and I have some wiggle room when I'm late on tank maintenance. I run an AC70 on a 29g and an AC50 and AC30 on a 20L.

The air pump and bubble wall aren't really necessary, but if you like them, they're ok. As crockwood pointed out, it'll off-gas the CO2 in the water and with that lighting, you're on the edge of needing to inject CO2.

That's a good price on the light fixture. Go T5HO instead of PC. It's more efficient and flexible.

I'd also not use the Stability. It's just not necessary. However Flourish is good stuff. I don't know about you, but the Petsmarts by me have Flourish really cheap.

Skip the crayfish. It'll eat the fish. The gouramis will eat ghost and cherry shrimp. You could upsize your shrimp. Bamboo shrimp get big enough to avoid being eaten.

The one inch per gallon rule really doesn't apply to any tank. It's a poor rule of thumb. I probably have 100" of fish in my 20L and everything is fine because it's stocked with guppies, cories, and otos. If I put even 5" of oscar in the same tank, I'd be in a bad situation.

As far as stocking, you'd have plenty of room after adding your gouramis. Add a school of neons. Ten to twelve would look good and keep the fish happier and healthier. Schooling fish tend to stress out when they're by themselves or in small groups (< 6). I'd suggest adding another group of schooling fish, like some larger tetras, and something to live on the bottom. Cories and khulis are neat. Botia loaches would work too. I like the larger catfish also, but they might eat your small fish.

 

[Lowryder]

I too would stay away from the bubble wall. Air bubbles will lower the co2 in your tank. As for cycling; You will still need to cycle. Plants will help but they do not eat up the ammonia and nitrites, they use up the nitrAtes.

You might want to watch putting crayfish in your ttank. They have been known to reach up and pick fish for a snack. As for freshwater clam, most people have trouble keeping the alive past 1 month.

To save you some money on a tank check craigslist. I spen around $200 for my 29g and I often see them on craigslist for >$100

IMO keeping a 10g tank is way harder than caring for a 60g. You might want to invest in a Python if you dont have one.

 

[BigJim]

Plants can use ammonia and nitrites. People with heavily planted, lightly stocked tanks sometimes don't even see a cycle.

 

[mommytron]

+1 on everything said here. i actually did not realize that about the bubble walls, so i just shut ours off because our plants are looking a little rough. also, as far as CO2 and lights, as far as i know, the more light you have the more CO2 you will need. if you are avoiding CO2 injection, that means you will probably need to stick to low light plants. 1-2 watts per gallon, i believe? not positive, but hopefully someone else can chime in about that. this is a good thread if you haven't found it in the planted tanks section http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/read-this-first-resources-and-references-83826.html some good links there

 

[adeebm]

Okay, so no bubble wall, and get a python. The lighting might be an issue. The tank I'm getting comes with a hood, and its probably NO, so I need to find a fixture that fits. Preferably <$100. The only one I've found so far is a PC fixture, so I'll probably go measure the hood at PetSmart today... Will Dwarf Gouramis really eat shrimp? I didn't think they were big enough. Anyway, thanks for your help guys. Crossing my fingers for the 60gal Gotta see what my parents say.

 

[BigJim]

RCS only get to about 1" and fish can eat surprisingly large items. I dropped some leftover waxworms into my 29g for my pictus and the praecox rainbows got them before they hit the bottom. These were big waxworms (3/4") and rainbows are supposed to have little throats. Those waxworms were pretty much swallowed whole. I'd just hate to see you drop cash on RCS and have them end up as expensive feeders.

 

[logansmomma1228]

To save you some money on a tank check craigslist. I spen around $200 for my 29g and I often see them on craigslist for >$100

IMO keeping a 10g tank is way harder than caring for a 60g. You might want to invest in a Python if you dont have one.

+1, I got a 29 gallon off of craigslist with everything I needed to set it up for 60$. Decor, filter, air pump, everything. Even some fish food! Eventhough I don't use that... anyways, you can find some really good deals on there. Just make sure you compare prices to make sure it is a good deal and not a scam.

The bigger the tank the more room for errors, since there is more surface area. It is a lot easier to maintain. It's like looking at the sizes of rooms, the smaller the room the quicker it will fill up and the more you will need to clean it. The bigger the room the more you have to work with. You can also get more fish and different combos of fish with the 60 than you would with the other one.

Sorry for the crappy analogy lol

 

[Lowryder]

i actually did not realize that about the bubble walls, so i just shut ours off because our plants are looking a little rough.[/SIZE]

Yea the only way you can use a bubble wall or the like, is at night. Once the lights go out plants are no longer using co2.

 

[mommytron]

Yea the only way you can use a bubble wall or the like, is at night. Once the lights go out plants are no longer using co2.

interesting, thanks for the info, maybe i'll have to put the air pump on an opposite timer from the light

 

[Andrewz00]

interesting, thanks for the info, maybe i'll have to put the air pump on an opposite timer from the light

be sure you have a check valve on your air line! if the pump shuts off it may cause a siphon effect and draw water out of your tank.....



also, i would keep searching around about the bubbles... surface agitation on a tank that is NOT injecting CO2 isnt a bad thing.... it will basically equalize the diffused gases in the tank to what is in the air in the room... and yes there is CO2 in your air... from what ive been told, you only want to avoid surface agitation when injecting CO2

 

[adeebm]

Well, my cat got sick and the surgery cost $2000, so my budget was cut short I got a 46gal tank and stand w/almost everything for $300 so that was a great deal. Gotta look for a nice filter now, it only came with a Whisper (eww). So time to set up the tank now I should start a build thread. Any suggestions on fish? I'm assuming 46gal bowfront is way to small for an oscar, so I'll probably go with a community tank. My tap ph is high, around 8, so are tetras out of the question? I do also have an RO unit, though everyone seems to say messing with ph isn't worth the trouble.