threnjen
Aquarium Advice Addict
My bestie, after admiring my tanks for a long while, is ready to set up a tank in her kid's room. She trusts me on this topic obviously and has tasked me with picking out her equipment. I can do it myself of course but I know there are others out there who find this fun so I may as well also solicit other opinions!
Tank: It will either be a 20L or 29. So 30L x 12W, only depth measurement might vary.
Priorities: Ease of maintenance. She is new, even though she has my guidance, so it can't be too fiddly for her.
Future plans: She might be interested in keeping live plants in the future, but they would need to be low maintenance. With that in mind, we need to pick a light that would support low-medium plants.
My task is to put together a couple of different equipment scenarios and then explain the pros and cons to her.
The tank
20L or 29 with a glass top. There will be no hood.
Filters
Considerations so far are:
* Eheim 2213 (for 20L), 2215 (for 29). My kid's has this filter and I like it; it doesn't leak and it is very low maintenance. But I'm not sure she has room for a canister. I also find the flow on the 2213 to be pretty measly when the canister is on the floor next to my kid's dresser.
* Marina Slim S20 x2. I have been really into this filter lately and have two of them on two different tanks. I like that it is a NO PRIMING filter after a water change, which means lower maintenance. It is also DEAD SILENT. On the downside the largest they make is the S20 which is not enough for either a 20 or 29, so she would need two along the back.
* Fluval C3. We know this is a solidly built filter. But it has to be primed after a water change. She would only need one for the whole tank, but on a 30" long tank, she would then probably need a powerhead in there somewhere too or the flow would be anemic.
What other filter suggestions would you consider?
Lighting
My kid's tank has a Current USA LED+ (not the pro) and I think this is a pretty solid light for a non-planted tank which could become planted with low-medium plants. This is really my only suggestion so far. what else might you suggest?
What else? Heaters, a powerhead is stuff I can pick out, but the filter and the lighting are really the big pieces.
Tank: It will either be a 20L or 29. So 30L x 12W, only depth measurement might vary.
Priorities: Ease of maintenance. She is new, even though she has my guidance, so it can't be too fiddly for her.
Future plans: She might be interested in keeping live plants in the future, but they would need to be low maintenance. With that in mind, we need to pick a light that would support low-medium plants.
My task is to put together a couple of different equipment scenarios and then explain the pros and cons to her.
The tank
20L or 29 with a glass top. There will be no hood.
Filters
Considerations so far are:
* Eheim 2213 (for 20L), 2215 (for 29). My kid's has this filter and I like it; it doesn't leak and it is very low maintenance. But I'm not sure she has room for a canister. I also find the flow on the 2213 to be pretty measly when the canister is on the floor next to my kid's dresser.
* Marina Slim S20 x2. I have been really into this filter lately and have two of them on two different tanks. I like that it is a NO PRIMING filter after a water change, which means lower maintenance. It is also DEAD SILENT. On the downside the largest they make is the S20 which is not enough for either a 20 or 29, so she would need two along the back.
* Fluval C3. We know this is a solidly built filter. But it has to be primed after a water change. She would only need one for the whole tank, but on a 30" long tank, she would then probably need a powerhead in there somewhere too or the flow would be anemic.
What other filter suggestions would you consider?
Lighting
My kid's tank has a Current USA LED+ (not the pro) and I think this is a pretty solid light for a non-planted tank which could become planted with low-medium plants. This is really my only suggestion so far. what else might you suggest?
What else? Heaters, a powerhead is stuff I can pick out, but the filter and the lighting are really the big pieces.