cubist
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi to everybody out there.
Just a quick intro' and then to business.
I'm a retired Engineering Designer / Project Manager whose interests include fishing, camping, bird watching and fish keeping. The budget is limited which is why i'm dropping marines.Have been keeping fish on and off for about 40 years and gone through a number of tropical set ups, a koi pond and most recently a D-D 24 gallon marine nano reef measuring 450w x 450d x 420h.
I still have the marine nano set up but should be closing it down later this week.
What do i want out of this forum?.....Hopefully you guys will be able to give simple straight forward advice when needed and who knows i might be able to help one or two out myself.
I intend completely stripping and cleaning the nano after which i will fit all the original filtration that i removed prior to marine use.
This tank has the filtration totally on board in 3 chambers spread across the width of the rear of the tank.
Chamber 1 normally has 2 x coarse sponges but i will fit just 1 x black sponge and then some white filter wool/floss that i will regard as disposable on a regular basis.
Chamber 2 will have 1 x fine black sponge, ceramic rings, poly balls and possibly activated carbon (if required).
Chamber 3 will have the heater and filter pump.
In operation the pump draws water into the filter via a grill at the top left rear and discharges the filtered water back via a directional nozzle at the top right rear.
Lighting will be the standarrd 36 watt T5 fluorescent, half of which is 10,000K daylight and half 7,100K actinic blue.
What i want to achieve is a low maintenance (if possible) really well planted tank.....possibly a biotope.
What i dont know is just where to start and this is where i need your thoughts please..............should i go for an Amazon biotope with lots of Neons etc, or a Lake Malawi cichlid set up or even a straight forward community tank? How many fish (or inches of fish) can i have in this set up?
What i will defineately do is lay down a decent Substrate (separate fertiliser or all in one complete type??). I want to fill as much of the tank as possible with plants.
Does anybody have any thoughts on a CO2 system or can i forget it for now?
Any input / ideas / recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
PS: If and when required i will try to understand how to post photo's but in the meantime i dont have a clue.
Peterg
Just a quick intro' and then to business.
I'm a retired Engineering Designer / Project Manager whose interests include fishing, camping, bird watching and fish keeping. The budget is limited which is why i'm dropping marines.Have been keeping fish on and off for about 40 years and gone through a number of tropical set ups, a koi pond and most recently a D-D 24 gallon marine nano reef measuring 450w x 450d x 420h.
I still have the marine nano set up but should be closing it down later this week.
What do i want out of this forum?.....Hopefully you guys will be able to give simple straight forward advice when needed and who knows i might be able to help one or two out myself.
I intend completely stripping and cleaning the nano after which i will fit all the original filtration that i removed prior to marine use.
This tank has the filtration totally on board in 3 chambers spread across the width of the rear of the tank.
Chamber 1 normally has 2 x coarse sponges but i will fit just 1 x black sponge and then some white filter wool/floss that i will regard as disposable on a regular basis.
Chamber 2 will have 1 x fine black sponge, ceramic rings, poly balls and possibly activated carbon (if required).
Chamber 3 will have the heater and filter pump.
In operation the pump draws water into the filter via a grill at the top left rear and discharges the filtered water back via a directional nozzle at the top right rear.
Lighting will be the standarrd 36 watt T5 fluorescent, half of which is 10,000K daylight and half 7,100K actinic blue.
What i want to achieve is a low maintenance (if possible) really well planted tank.....possibly a biotope.
What i dont know is just where to start and this is where i need your thoughts please..............should i go for an Amazon biotope with lots of Neons etc, or a Lake Malawi cichlid set up or even a straight forward community tank? How many fish (or inches of fish) can i have in this set up?
What i will defineately do is lay down a decent Substrate (separate fertiliser or all in one complete type??). I want to fill as much of the tank as possible with plants.
Does anybody have any thoughts on a CO2 system or can i forget it for now?
Any input / ideas / recommendations will be greatly appreciated.
PS: If and when required i will try to understand how to post photo's but in the meantime i dont have a clue.
Peterg
