12 gallon long?

[1998golfer]

Hey everybody I've been eying the Mr aqua 12g long rimless aquarium (36x8x9)

My major concern is a stand for it. I don't have anything that could fit it, the longest thing I could find was 30" long. Could I diy one? I've never done it before.

I've always wanted to do plants so that'd be the focus of the tank. For the light I'm thinking this: Current USA TrueLumen Pro LED Striplight .

I'm not sure if I want plants only or shrimp or scarlet badis...

Price is #1 factor, it will be a while before I could get this anyways, so am in no rush.

I'm thinking a ug carpet, and I have no idea what other plants I'd use.

For co2, I want to inject it using a paintball setup. Would I be able to leave it on 24/7? Or would I have to spend $200 on a solenoid?

Would I need a heater? A filter? What substrate? Fertilizers? Etc.

Thank you all in advance,
-1998golfer

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Hi Golfer,

A 12L is a fantastic rimless tank. I've always wanted one myself. You can do a lot with that footprint in terms of scaping. You should check out BillBug68's 12L thread here in AA. Great build!

Anyways, I suggest getting the Current Satellite LED+ instead of the Truelumen. It's a much more versatile light.
Amazon.com: Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 18 to 24-Inch: Pet Supplies

Here's another great example of a 12L + Sat+ light combo...
A Match Made in Heaven: 12g Long & Current LED+ (added Time Lapse video! 10/8 page5)

As for CO2, if you want to get a paintball setup.. I suggest getting the Aquatek Paintball Mini regulator. It has a built in solenoid valve. Having a solenoid will make your paintball tank last longer. It would pay for itself eventually by saving you money versus getting more frequent refills.
New Aquatek CO2 Regulator Mini with Integrated Cool Touch Solenoid | eBay

Heater = yes
Filter = yes

Heater and filter depends on whether you want to do a canister filter or HOB. Budget can be a limiting factor on the recommendations here. Are you thinking of doing a canister with lily pipes (which is common with rimless tanks)?

Substrate? Depends on your budget I suppose... ADA Aqua Soil is the best. It's packed with nutrients, looks nice, and buffers the pH. But it's spendy. There are other options you can research and you can weigh the cost / benefit. There's Eco Complete, Floramax, Fluval Stratum, and going "dirted." The UG will like the ADA AS the best though.

Fertilizers? IMO, the best in terms of cost and effectiveness would be to learn how to dose with dry ferts. There's two popular methods, E.I. and PPS-Pro (research them). I use PPS-Pro and get this one here: PPS-Pro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums

**Note: If you go with PPS-Pro... you'll need to get a digital gram scale (cheap on Amazon), funnel, and Seachem Excel. Excel is used to help prevent mold in the micro solution.

But if you're new to ferts.. you can start out with Seachem liquids like THIS, until you get comfortable enough for mixing your own micro and macro ferts.

What is your experience level with planted tanks? UG is considered to be one of the more difficult species. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners unless you're willing to do some research and comb through threads to learn.

 

[1998golfer]

Hi Golfer,

A 12L is a fantastic rimless tank. I've always wanted one myself. You can do a lot with that footprint in terms of scaping. You should check out BillBug68's 12L thread here in AA. Great build!

Anyways, I suggest getting the Current Satellite LED+ instead of the Truelumen. It's a much more versatile light.
Amazon.com: Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus Light for Aquarium, 18 to 24-Inch: Pet Supplies

Here's another great example of a 12L + Sat+ light combo...
A Match Made in Heaven: 12g Long & Current LED+ (added Time Lapse video! 10/8 page5)

As for CO2, if you want to get a paintball setup.. I suggest getting the Aquatek Paintball Mini regulator. It has a built in solenoid valve. Having a solenoid will make your paintball tank last longer. It would pay for itself eventually by saving you money versus getting more frequent refills.
New Aquatek CO2 Regulator Mini with Integrated Cool Touch Solenoid | eBay

Heater = yes
Filter = yes

Heater and filter depends on whether you want to do a canister filter or HOB. Budget can be a limiting factor on the recommendations here. Are you thinking of doing a canister with lily pipes (which is common with rimless tanks)?

Substrate? Depends on your budget I suppose... ADA Aqua Soil is the best. It's packed with nutrients, looks nice, and buffers the pH. But it's spendy. There are other options you can research and you can weigh the cost / benefit. There's Eco Complete, Floramax, Fluval Stratum, and going "dirted." The UG will like the ADA AS the best though.

Fertilizers? IMO, the best in terms of cost and effectiveness would be to learn how to dose with dry ferts. There's two popular methods, E.I. and PPS-Pro (research them). I use PPS-Pro and get this one here: PPS-Pro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums

**Note: If you go with PPS-Pro... you'll need to get a digital gram scale (cheap on Amazon), funnel, and Seachem Excel. Excel is used to help prevent mold in the micro solution.

But if you're new to ferts.. you can start out with Seachem liquids like THIS, until you get comfortable enough for mixing your own micro and macro ferts.

What is your experience level with planted tanks? UG is considered to be one of the more difficult species. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners unless you're willing to do some research and comb through threads to learn.

Thank you for all the info! Today I did about 5 hours of research on this. I'm thinking pps-pro. I haven't heard of lily pipes, but on my 27 cube I've got a canister (sunsun 304a). I'm thinking canister would be best, plus the fact that I could use an inline heater. I am new to everything planted, the most plants I've had is Amazon sword and java fern and bamboo... I'm willing to do what it'll take, and as I'm only 15 it'll take me a while to get the money to get it anyways... hopefully this by this summer.

Thanks for all the help!
-1998golfer

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

No prob... have fun researching. I remember when I literally went through tons of build threads in the TPT forum because I was obsessing over a rimless tank. Then one day, it became a reality. The research and inspiration you get from it will pay off by the time summer comes around.

Lily pipes look really nice on a rimless tank. They connect to the tubing from a canister. So that would all work great with an inline heater. In-lines are pretty expensive though. I use in-tank heaters for the value. I just try a little harder to conceal them with my scape or plants.

You can also get lily pipes for cheap if you buy from a china seller on ebay (Aquatic Magic being the more popular one). Just look for a good feedback score or find others who have purchased that route. Maybe you can get a recommendation on who to buy from.

Here is an example of lily pipes I had on my 6g rimless... the glass pipes (by Cal Aqua Labs) on the right.

 

[1998golfer]

No prob... have fun researching. I remember when I literally went through tons of build threads in the TPT forum because I was obsessing over a rimless tank. Then one day, it became a reality. The research and inspiration you get from it will pay off by the time summer comes around.

Lily pipes look really nice on a rimless tank. They connect to the tubing from a canister. So that would all work great with an inline heater. In-lines are pretty expensive though. I use in-tank heaters for the value. I just try a little harder to conceal them with my scape or plants.

You can also get lily pipes for cheap if you buy from a china seller on ebay (Aquatic Magic being the more popular one). Just look for a good feedback score or find others who have purchased that route. Maybe you can get a recommendation on who to buy from.

Here is an example of lily pipes I had on my 6g rimless... the glass pipes (by Cal Aqua Labs) on the right.

Oh cool those Lily pipes look great. What size would I need? For a filter would sunsun 302 or 303 work? I've also looked at dozens of 12g long build threads.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'm not sure about that SunSun canister. You'll have to ask around or post a thread in The Planted Tand Forum where there's more hobbyists that use canisters with lily pipes. You might find someone who has used them with a SunSun.

I use a Fluval 106 w/ 13mm lily pipes.