planted 30gal

[HoCkEyGmC]

I am finally renovating my old fw tank that's been wasting away in the guest bedroom.

Before the tank had a bunch of ugly fake plants and colorful gravel that was all nasty. it had an unknown pleco, and what i believe is a pictus catfish.

Now i have removed everything, placed flourite, driftwood, some slate rock, and a few small terracotta pots. i still have the two fish that will be returned to the store tomorrow. also, i picked up some bolivian rams today. they have paired up nicely and wont leave the others side! for lighting i have a t5 ho fixture that i was going to use as a light for a sw frag tank but never did. the filter is a wisper 60.
my plans for the tank are to heavily plant it and to make it into a community tank. i have ideas for the fish but im clueless about plants. as far as fish go i'd like for the tank to have; a bolivian ram pair(already obtained and in tank), a black veil angel pair, maybe some type of dwarf gouriami (more than one?), a red tail shark, oto (more than one?), an to finish it off some silvertip tetras. im all for changing it up so tell me what you think.

Im (as you can probably see) a newbie and im open for any advice so bring it on!
thanks!

 

[somecallmedaniel16]

how many watts is your fixture?

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

pics

i couldn't find any before pics but here are some afters, be warned, i shot these with my phone so they're kinda bad. 1: FTS 2: lights, filter, heater 3: rams and catfish 4: pleco.
tank is a little cloudy still as you can see. and this tank is established (forgot to mention that the tank HAS been cycled)

 

[timwag2001]

i wouldnt know what to recommend for plants! its all your personal preference. i have a lot of plants that i liked the picture of online but dont like in my tank. i've been stocking my tanks with all different kinds of plants to see what i like the most before i start and aquascaping adventure.
are you planning to go with co2 and ferts?
is it gonna stay in the guest bedroom and not get much attention?

 

[timwag2001]

what type of bulbs? k rating?

 

[mgamer20o0]

i would drop the idea of the RTS. they get aggressive as they get older. how long is the light? 24 inch? my guess is 24wx2 which should let you grow a rage of plants.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

sorry, 4 bulb 24". i believe that im a little high in the k rating somewhere around 10,000 for the white bulbs and then there are 2 actinic bulbs.

 

[timwag2001]

i would personally switch them out for 6700k

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

little list thing...
1. can someone help me get my list down to a definite list so i can get down how many of what ill be getting.
2. ill get some new bulbs. ill gt some plants after that. can i get a list of plants that i should stay away from?
3. how is my aquascaping for now?
4. should i do CO2?
5. what would you do with my set-up. where would go from where i am at the moment?
thanks!

 

[timwag2001]

everything looks good. definately get co2. you will need ferts (n,p,k, trace). you can get just about any plants you want with the proper lights, co2 and ferts, nothing really to stay away from.
as far as where i would go with your setup... the sky is the limit. do your research. experiment with your plants, not everything will work in your tank. but there is only one way to find out. buy plants that you think look awesome. worst case scenrio you have a dead weed that cost you $5. i would buy your plants from your favorite forum. you usually get better deals and support your forum at the same time.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

well i read up on some stuff on co2 and ferts. first thoughts, ferts seem confusing to me. is there like a weekly all in one thing that i could add? fw and ferts seems like sw and dosing. they both completely confuse me. co2 seems more reasonable. as long as i can just mix the stuff each week and pretty much forget about it. i travel between houses (parents are split) so daily things just wont work for me sadly. also, pressurized co2 seems decent aswell. is there like an all in one kit for co2 including everything but the bottle of gas?
more questions to come im sure
thanks

 

[DizzCat]

Personally, I love my huge Amazon Sword that is the center piece plant in my tank. My Bolivian Rams love it too, they hang out under it and when they spawn they put the wigglers in its roots. You could start there and work around it. If you go to my profile I have an album with pics of my planted tank.

I agree with not getting a Red Tailed shark. They get too big and too aggressive and will not get along well with the Rams. Both Rams and the shark get territorial, but the Rams are much more tolerant with theirs. So, the shark would win. Not a good idea. If you want a type of cat fish, get the little Cories. They are really cute and do a good job at cleaning up extra food that ends on the bottom.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

sound good...?

2 bolivian rams (already obtained and in tank)
2 black veil angel pair
2 dwarf gouriamis
3 otos
7 silvertip tetras
what else?

 

[DizzCat]

Do some research on Silver Tipped Tetras to make sure they are not fin nippers. I think they are and if so will bother the Angels and Gourami's. Good Tetras are Cardinals, Neon's and Rummy Nose. They get along great in a setup. This is what I have.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

ok so ill change the tetras up. any other recommendations for other cool fish i could add?

 

[JustOneMore20]

I would skip the gouramis. Dwarves can be really aggressive and aren't always friendly with Angels. What about another school instead of them? I think Silvertip tetras are nippers. Harlequin rasboras are nice as are Rummynose tetras. Both would be safe with Angels. Black Neons are cool too and great schoolers. They are big enough not to get eaten. With 2 Angels you are pretty much limited as far as other centerpiece fish are concerned. You could probably add some Cories for the bottom and/or Otocinclus.

As far as plants go, check out PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide. The plants listed in Medium High and down to low light would be fine. I would probably ask before you get them because some of the plants they have in some categories need more light IME.

I think CO2 is a good idea. You can use DIY CO2 (yeast method) for a 30g. 2 2L (or similar size) bottles would work.

As far as ferts go, if you had higher light, then you should dose every day. But if you stick with the 4x24w fixture (without actinic bulbs), then you could probably get away with dosing 3x a week. You'll want to have some potassium, micro nutrients, and nitrates on hand. Dry ferts are easy to use, just get a measuring spoon set and measure out how much you need then sprinkle in the tank. For the micro nutrients, a liquid like Flourish works.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

agh! already got a gourami. darn. i also picked up 5 tiny tetras, and 3 very tiny otos. i got a plant aswell and im hoping to go pick up some yeast in a little bit for some co2 action! the gouriami is really cool i must admit. i cant believe i forgot the name but it is the blue one with red stripes. i kinda want to keep him though so should i keep him single or should i get 1-2 more (what would keep him more calm?). the plant has a long thin stalk and has spikey leafs spreas across the top.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Single would be best IMO.

 

[DizzCat]

Yeah, I agree, keep him as a single. I have a single Flame Gourami in my tank with Tetras, Danios, Bolivian Rams, Otto's, Cories and Dwarf Frogs and he just does his own thing, never bothers anyone else. I would love to get him a buddy, but worry it would cause trouble.

i also picked up 5 tiny tetras, and 3 very tiny otos.

My advice is to let these little guys grow up some before you add any Angels, OK? Or else, if they are too small the Angels will snack on them, even small Angels. I bought some new Neon's that were about 1/2" and my little 2" Angel ate them all! So, give these tiny guys a month or so. Angel fish are very good hunters, so if you plan on trying to get your Bolivian Rams to spawn, remember that. I had one that was the best hunter, always got most of the Guppy fry. When my Rams spawned I put in a tank divider and the Rams were alone on one side. When the fry got big enough to swim, the Angel fish would suck them right thru the divider!! It even did that when I put fry in a breeding net, sucked them right thru. I ended up giving the 2 Angels to my lfs so I would no longer have to worry about loosing Ram fry to them. Just a heads up.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

i think i might isolate the eggs (w/ parents?) if i want to try raising fry. and yeah, i wasnt planning on getting the angels anytime too soon because i've kind of spent my money for a while, im a kid and its hard to come by cash and i need time to accumulate some more mulah. i also set up a little diy co2 reactor. just a 1.5L for now because i only have one plant. im going to try to get more plants somehow asap! anyone willing to help me out with that?
i made a video of the tank and all of my thoughts and stuff so ill post it when its done uploading, should be in about a half hour.
thanks!