Starting up a 30g tropical tank

[Oscen]

Hi

I'm set to purchase a 30 imperial gallon tank (35 US gallon) with a cannister filter (and a heater of course) and I'm looking for a bit of advice on setting it up. I'm not a newcomer to fish keeping by any means, but I am new to the 'technical' side of things, for example, using liquid test kits instead of dip sticks...little things like that.

I already have a 22 imperial gallon (26 US gallon) up and running, it's well established and has been for three years now...but the tank was second hand to begin with and it's condition has deteriorated, hence the new 30g. My fish stock in my current tank is very low, I've had my fish for a while and the majority of them have died of old age (mostly tetras of different kinds) but I still have a few harlequins, a couple dwarf otos, a single female pearl gourami, a juvi golden barb and five corys (2 albino and 3 pandas).

I'm looking to properly aquascape my new tank and pack it with live plants, I've done some reading into cycling with plants and I've seen that if you pack your tank with plants (a silent cycle) then the cycle time is greatly reduced - is this true? I'm well aware of how long a fishless cycle takes and I don't really want to be running two tanks for long, so would adding cultured live bacteria from my lfs speed things up as well?

Cycling aside, I'd also like to get some advice on some aquarium plants. I'm planning on using Tropica aquarium soil but I'm a little reluctant to use CO2 due to the maintenance involved, not to mention the cost of equipment. Could any one recommend any good looking plants that don't need additional CO2? Anubis and java fern aside - I'm looking to create a sense of depth with more detailed plants...plus I'm not that new to this. But I'm liking the idea of having a few red or red tinged plants among the green, as well as having a bright carpet, if possible.

The new tank in question is an Aquavogue 135 and it has a strip of LED lights both white and blue, complete with a built in timer. Am I correct in thinking that the white lights should be on for no more than 10 hours a day? Would the blue light have any affect on algae or plant growth?

As far as hardscaping goes, I have my eye on a few pieces of redmoor roots and I have a huge lump of dragon stone that I'm planning to break up. Would either of these materials have an adverse affect on my water or the cycling process? As I haven't had them before...can't be too careful I suppose.

Oh, and if any one has any foolproof ways of controlling algae growth then if you could give a few pointers, that would be great. I'm aware that water parameters play a huge part as well as light exposure, but I'm not entirely sure what the ideal water perimeters are in the first place.

Thank you for reading and thanks for any replies in advance

 

[nightswake]

So im not the most experienced but you could take some filter media or a decoration or 2 from your your established aquarium to seed the new one with beneficial bacteria... if you do that new tank should cycle in a few days maybe instantly

I dont know much about plants so cant help you thier

Edited for spelling

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[claudio1]

i'm not an expert but i think if you setup your new tank where you want it and use all the ornaments and run your current filter with the canister filter at the same time with the same stock that you have now it should be ok,or if you can place your current filter media and add more if needed in the canister filter i think you don't need to cycle it again as that media already have the bacteria that you need,...as long as you dont add anymore fish for at least 2-4 weeks...is just my opinion.


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[Fishobsessed7]

These are some good low light plants
Hornwort
Anarcharis
Bacopa
Jungle Val
Dwarf sag
Most crypt species (there are a lot of species in different sizes, colors, etc. most common is wendtii and its variants)
Anubias
Java Fern
Java moss
Amazon sword (these need a lot of nutrients!)
Duckweed
Salvinia
Aponogeton species (usually come in bulbs)



Fishobsessed7

Money Can't Buy Happiness, But It Can Buy Fish Which Is Pretty Much The Same Thing

 

[Coursair]

Don't get your heart set on a carpet or red plants. But yes lowlight /low tech can still look awesome.
Staurogyne repens can be sort of a carpet with trimming.

To control Algae ? Lights on a timer no more than 8 hours a day. You can run a split schedule of 4 and 4 also.

Low light is easier in my little 10g tanks but still might give you some ideas.

My 55g needs some love but this is it so far

I actually have the ability to run high light, but I'm keeping 1/2 of the lightbulbs on for only 6 hours daily till I can add CO2. Or my fixture would grow Algae if I ran all the lights.

YES plants can speed up a cycle. But since you have an established tank that will also give you big help . As was said, you can run your new filter on your old tank or use media from the old filter into the new filter to give you beneficial bacteria.


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