Picked Up a Free 30, What would you do?

[JMF0585]

So real quick. I started keeping a 46 Gallon BF a few months ago. I asked a few questions on here but quickly learned all the info you really need can be found with a simple search of past threads. So much information some of it is way over my head. Either way this has gone from a simple lets keep some fish for our daughter to a full blow hobby for me. Below is what we started with and were we are now a few months later. Still learning as we go making adjustments to help the fish and plants. Any way. Buddy of mine at work is upgrading to a 75 gallon and was going to throw out a perfectly good 30 gallon tank with two tetra whisper 30 filters and a dual t-5 36" fixture. So I told him I would take it off his hands for him, figured if its free why not. So I know I said quick but finally to the question. Say you had a 30 gallon tank and stand what would you use for filter, lights, fertilizer, substrate, plants, fish, and Co2.

 

[azmodan]

What's your budget?


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[JMF0585]

Well, if there is one thing ive learned with this hobby its to be prepared to go over budget. But for I would say $500 for sake of argument.

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[RadMax8]

Congrats on your acquisition. If I were in your shoes, here's what I'd do:
Fluval C4 for filtration
Eheim Jäger heater
CaribSea Eco Complete substrate (60lbs)

Now here's where it gets tricky. What kind of plants would you like? Low light, high light? That's really going to set the stage for what kind of light fixture you'll need. I myself have an Ecoxotic E-Series for my 29 gal and I love it. It is customizable, it has it's own timer, and it gradually turns on and off. For CO2, some people are perfectly happy dosing with Metricide for their carbon requirements ($30 for a gallon on amazon), while others with higher light requirements inject CO2 gas (systems can cost between $80-$250). All depends what plants you want and their requirements.

For substrate fertilizer, I use DIY root tabs, which is basically just filling empty gel caps with Osmocote Plus plant fertilizer. They work great! For water column fertilizer, I've heard PPS Pro works very well ($30 for a kit which contains a ton of fertilizer).

I try to avoid recommending fish because you're going to get 1000 different answers from 500 different people. Just pick a fish or two that you really think are near and build your stock around that. My 29 gal tank had neon tetras, black neon tetras, harlequin rasboras, cories, and otocinclus. My favorite fish is the neon, so my stock is filled with fish who are compatible.

Good luck, and post some pics as you go along! Your first tank turned out fantastic!


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