Want to start a new tank planing ideas.

[joemomma456]

Hi I am wanting to start a new aquarium. It will be a 55 gallon planted with sand for substrate. I already have the sand due to owning another tank and was wondering about plants. I have an anubis already and I think some swords in a ten gallon that will be getting transplanted. Also the room has some windows so not all the light will be coming from the hood. I have not Baugh anything yet this is just to get help planning. Thanks for the replys.

 

[Funken_A]

Be careful with sunlight. If this tank is getting a good dose of daylight it could cause you some algae issues and even plant issues.

Also since the seasons change and daylight gets longer or shorter depending which side of the solstice we are on so you may unwillingly have fluctuating light intensities.. Basically you are going to lose some control by depending on window light or direct sunlight, and quite possibly just have issues from the get go if the sunlight/daylight is hitting this tank directly.

Much better to have control of every aspect by depending on artificial light and placing this tank away from any direct window light,

 

[joemomma456]

Be careful with sunlight. If this tank is getting a good dose of daylight it could cause you some algae issues and even plant issues.

Also since the seasons change and daylight gets longer or shorter depending which side of the solstice we are on so you may unwillingly have fluctuating light intensities.. Basically you are going to lose some control by depending on window light or direct sunlight, and quite possibly just have issues from the get go if the sunlight/daylight is hitting this tank directly.

Much better to have control of every aspect by depending on artificial light and placing this tank away from any direct window light,

Thank you for the information I will not be relying on the sunlight for plant needs and it is a north facing window so it has no direct sun light if that changes anything. Any other information would be awesome from anyone thank yo.

 

[joemomma456]

I also would like filter and lighting suggestions

 

[fishenthusiast]

What type of tank style are you trying to achieve?

 

[TMaier]

I'm a huge canister fan. HOB's always need tinkering and rinsing. A few minutes a few times a week. I would rather spend a 1/2 hour a month rinsing the canister.

I use a Finnex Planted + 24/7 and have been very happy with it.

 

[joemomma456]

What type of tank style are you trying to achieve?

I'm not sure of the style yet but defiantly sand with eventually heavily planted but that won't be for a while.

 

[fishenthusiast]

I'm not sure of the style yet but defiantly sand with eventually heavily planted but that won't be for a while.

Look through the forum at members' build threads, as well as Tropica (http://tropica.com/en/inspiration/) for inspiration. One thing that I notice with many scapes that fail to satisfy their owners is that the scapes have a lack of height in the background. Try to get plants that will get tall, but not too tall, for the background. If you are doing a low light tank, Echinodorus, Crypts, Bucephalandra, Microsorum, Dwarf Sag, Anubias, and some others are good options. In a low light tank, tanks with a lot of hardscape tend to look better. In tanks with higher lighting, one can usually make the tank look better with less hardscape due to stem plants and the Dutch style aquascape, where stem plants fill in faster.

 

[joemomma456]

Look through the forum at members' build threads, as well as Tropica (http://tropica.com/en/inspiration/) for inspiration. One thing that I notice with many scapes that fail to satisfy their owners is that the scapes have a lack of height in the background. Try to get plants that will get tall, but not too tall, for the background. If you are doing a low light tank, Echinodorus, Crypts, Bucephalandra, Microsorum, Dwarf Sag, Anubias, and some others are good options. In a low light tank, tanks with a lot of hardscape tend to look better. In tanks with higher lighting, one can usually make the tank look better with less hardscape due to stem plants and the Dutch style aquascape, where stem plants fill in faster.

Thanks for the awesome info