46 bowfront stocking

[stevenht]

Just got my 46 bowfront at petstore for $200 today. I'll be setting up it up soon and cycling it. I have 9 H. Rasboras, halfmoon male Betta, dragon goby, albino BN pleco, yo-yo loach, and some smaller loaches in other tanks. After I get them in my tanks, would you guys build on the school of rasboras or would you get something else? I just need some ideas guys.

My tank will be all live plants with eco complete substrate and rocky caves but I'll worry about that when I cross that bridge.

 

[Fresh2o]

IMO I would setup the hardscape and plants first and worry about stocking later.
Will you be transferring some of the existing media from the other filter(s)? That will certainly speed things up.
I like the idea of a larger school of rasboras in that size of tank.

 

[nirbhao]

Agreed on the Harlequins. They are so pretty schooling.

 

[stevenht]

I was planning on transferring some of the media yeah. As for plants it has a florescent hood so it's gonna be a low tech setup until I get the money for a finnex planted+ 24/7 led light. I have some crypto wendii for a carpet but I eventually am going to go for baby tears. I also am going to get a good driftwood piece for my BN pleco one side and a big cave for my dragon goby. I'm not a big rock guy. I like more of a heavy planted look and driftwood

 

[Toad]

This is all going in the same tank?

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[stevenht]

Yeah. The rasboras, Betta, and goby are in the same right now

 

[Toad]

I know I said this before but the goby really should be in brackish and that's not going to work with the pleco and loaches as they are very sensitive.

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[Barliman]

I like the idea of a larger school of rasboras in that size of tank.

Agreed. They have such a light bioload, I might go with a school of 13-15. That would be pretty.

 

[Fresh2o]

If you plan on doing a carpet with DBT, then plan on a getting a pressurized CO2 setup.
With that depth (~22"), a single Finnex 24/7 might be enough light for DBT. Not sure. Staurogyne repens would be an easier choice for a carpet plant. Especially for the size of the tank.

 

[HookedOnFishh]

I have a depth on my 72gal bow front of 20inches I will be using the Fluval Fresh & Plant full spectrum LED it reaches par levels 87 at 18inch for the 48-68inch. And 57 par at 18 inches depth for the 36-48inch version. On my 29 gal bowfront it is 18inches deep and I use Elive customizable Leds and I created a light soecktrum that works so WELL with plants. Hope this helps with your deep tank!

 

[stevenht]

Toad I know they're brackish water fish but mine doesn't behave like he's unhealthy. My LFS had him in tap water and not r/o water and he did fine.

I was looking at repens as well. I have liquid co2 but not pressurized :'(

As for lighting, it actually came with two led strips that have white and blue LEDS. They're probably 6-8 inches long on both sides of the tank. I was hoping along with those LEDS, the finnex would be enough

 

[stevenht]

I also thought about the possibility of doing a discus tank but I just don't think I'm ready for that commitment yet. Are these really as hard of a tank to preserve pristine water conditions or is it more about the equipment you buy? I'm not lazy when it comes to my tanks by any means. I also thought about a pair of rams but I don't know how they would mesh with the rasboras and the male betta.

I actually thought about giving my whole stock away except the rasboras and a few other fish that I can't live without and that way I'm starting off sort of fresh and with less restrictions on my stocking.

I'll be purchasing 60lbs of eco-complete, an Aqua Clear 70, Eheim heater. I also like to run a sponge filter on a battery operated pump in case of a power outage (I live in Tornado alley, so I have no choice but to run a back up).

If anybody wants to add anything, feel free

 

[nirbhao]

Blue rams and Harlequin rasboras actually do really well together. A lot of sources will say that rams need higher temperatures, but the Harlequins breed at about 82° F.

 

[stevenht]

That would be awesome. I'm going to pick up a pair of rams after I get my pH levels to their exact liking. I think 6.5 is good? Correct me if I'm wrong. are H. Rasboras very nippy? I was thinking about getting some Gouramis.

 

[nirbhao]

I don't know about toward angels, but mine don't bother any of the other live creatures. They love bloodworms, though.

Gourami can be neat. They like water slightly cooler than blue rams, although they can adapt.

 

[stevenht]

Well I don't want it to be a brackish water tank either. Just thought about that. I was thinking about expanding on tetra schools. I have 2 lone tetras. A bloodfin and black neon. So I could have 3 decent sized schools with some Corey's on the bottom and loaches and my pleco.

 

[stevenht]

I've never done a planted tank with sand before. I have some rootless bunch plants that I have in my 5 gallon tank with a dwarf puffer but what about heavy rooted plants? Will they grow ok?

 

[nirbhao]

I have sand. I use root tabs, and my plants are happy.

Which rootless plants do you have?

 

[stevenht]

Well I'm going to have a dragon goby in there. Do you think he will find those root tabs? I just don't want them leaking in my water column. He already dug 2 inches down in 2 of my corners in his tank now and every time I fix them, it goes back to dug out by the next morning. I know sand would allow him to dig and burrow more but eco-complete is hard to contend with.

Currently I have Anachris or whatever it's called and hornwort.

I would like to get some Green Temple Plants (Hydrophilia Corymbosa) for my thick part and probably get more Wisteria just cause it grows like crazy. I would love to try swords but I don't have pressurized co2 and high light. I think they would die.

 

[Barliman]

are H. Rasboras very nippy?

Heavens, no. They're about as inoffensive as you can get.