just bought a 29 gallon tank... help me choose what to buy

[Ricker]

i also bought a little bit of java moss on the way home yesterday. my wife saw it and insist that i'm screwing around with the tank too much and has thus mandated a design freeze.

No man I am sorry. Al cause of a plant that cost what 3 bucks.

[gil_ong81]

it's not the cost, but more the principle of the matter that's got her feathers ruffled.

she says i need to leave things alone instead of constantly messing with it. my defence of moving things around in the quest of finding optimal efficiency was not accepted as a valid reason.

[CaysE]

Setting up a planted tank requires a LOT of attention at first. You need to discuss realistic requirements for this tank with her, because you will have your hands in it, literally, quite often.

Not to mention the fact that they require regular trimming. Re-organizing plants, driftwood and rocks is a normal part of owning a planted tank.

[JustOneMore20]

Excellent info, CaysE. I totally agree. I am constantly changing something in my tanks....whether it be the direction of my driftwood, trimming a plant, or moving something around. I have my hands in the tank daily probably....but I do have 5 planted tanks.

Nothing ever looks right....so I am always "fixing" it.

Sorry for the hijack, burke!!

[gil_ong81]

Originally Posted by JustOneMore20

Nothing ever looks right....so I am always "fixing" it.

and THAT'S my problem.

[Ricker]

Man I still feel sorry for you lol. I love my little planted tank and have my hands in it every day. If I may ask what is the best way to trim a plant?

[l burke l]

substrate
versa top
moon lights
light timer

all of this came in today.. hopefully the rest will arrive on mon.

[gil_ong81]

burke, start posting pics already. even if it's of individual components and not the whole thing put together.

[CaysE]

Originally Posted by CaysE

Now THAT's something I'd like to have! I just use a "noon light" setup... an extra bulb turns on from 12-2.

I'd like to have the lights move slowly across the tank, too.

Look what I just found: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...4&pcatid=13974

That is too cool.

Anyway, back on topic... I find myself not really using Versatops if I can avoid it. I like open tops.

[gil_ong81]

Originally Posted by CaysE

Anyway, back on topic... I find myself not really using Versatops if I can avoid it. I like open tops.

why? open tops sure look sexier, but are there any other reasons?

[CaysE]

My Coralife fixture uses standoffs that overhang the Versa top, which makes it a hassle to open. It looks nicer, there's no shadow on my plants from the hinge, and it's easier to feed and trim.

You will have to use one if you have jumping fish; that's really the only reason.

[Ricker]

You will have to use one if you have jumping fish; that's really the only reason.

I think you might be wrong the lids also help with evaporation. I noticed this with my 10g tank I had no glass lid on it and I had to top off every other day because water was evaporating so fast I put glass lid on and I went from every other day to once a week. But of course if you don't care to top off so much then that is you. Also your conditions to your tank/house could be different.

[CaysE]

I top it off every day, that's not problem. You don't need the top to prevent a catastrophic evaporation event.. LOL. Fish can leap out pretty quickly, so that's the only time you really NEED a cover.

Keeping the top off helps during the summer, as well, to keep temps down. That doesn't apply just to fish tanks, either. (In your avatar's case, I'd forego that recommendation).

[COM]

^^ Ricker's avatar is pretty gross but it makes me laugh... My family has some fast food business but I'm still amazed that despite all of the information available today people eat that stuff. And smoke. And...

Anyway, how about some updates Burke?

[l burke l]

ok sorry for the lack of updates... currently its 5 am and i have been extremely busy all week... i will give a very brief update followed by a more in depth one later today or tomorrow.... as of right now the tank is has been full of water and running for about a week with everything i mentioned in this thread earlier... i have just been eagerly awaiting the hard to kill plant package that i mentioned earlier to arrive at my house... i ordered it on thurs at 9am with 2nd day shipping and it still has not arrived. hopefully it will come on tomorrow (mon.) i will post pics very soon. sorry for the lack of updates, i have just been extremely busy

[l burke l]

Ok it has def. been a busy week but as i promised here are the updates finally. The tank was set up last week on wed with everything in it except for the plants. My friend then donated his pleco which was in the smallest container ever since he had to get rid of his tank. I figured even with the brand new tank set up it would be healthy then what he was in. I then ordered that hard to kill package that I mentioned earlier in the thread to Kristen. I put two day shipping on it so that i could get fish as soon as possible. Since I thought the plants would be arriving within a day, I then went to the lfs and picked up what I thought to be a school of rasboras. I saw a fish in the store I liked and asked the owner what they were. He replied with rasboras, which under my impression were very peaceful. I told him I would take 6 of them and did just that. I then bring them home and immediately notice that they are a little nippy. I look online and they are red serpae tetras. This was at first disappointing but im learning to like the little guys lol. Fast forward till sunday. Still now plants, I was more than worried for the fish since the ammonia was starting to rise very slowly. I called the company and they told me that they only ship on mon through wed so I shouldn't expect the plants till wed or thurs the latest. I was disappointed but there was nothing I could do so I just made sure to keep on eye on the levels of the tank. The ammonia never went above 1ppm so im pretty sure they weren't harmed. The plants did indeed come today "thursday". Since it had been a week and I had to plant the new plants I thought it would be a much easier process if I did a water change at this time. I did exactly 6 gallons so it was roughly a 20% change for the 29 gallon tank. Everything went very well with the planting. I wasn't sure exactly which plants were foreground and background but I think I did a pretty good job. My girlfriend then brought me over a school of 6 peppered cories which are the coolest little guys ever. (btw she did not go to the other crappy lfs, we went on a recommendation and found one that was leagues better) Its been a whole day now and everyone in the tank seems extremely happy and active. There is a ton of movement. I was shocked at how active the corys are. They do spend some time at the bottom to feed but for the most part they are swimming everywhere including way up at the top. Its actually kind of funny because the corys are trying to school with the tetras lol.



As a remminder the tank is a 29 gallon with the following.

AquaClear Powerfilters 50
Versa-Tops 30"
Eco-Complete Plant Base Substrate 40 lbs
Theo Heater 200 watt
Satellite Compact Fluorescent Fixtures Dual 30"
Coralife Digital Thermometer
Mopani Driftwood
Large Pepple Substrate
30" 1x65W Coralife Freshwater Aqualight 6700K
Lunar Lights Moon White
Power Center Single Dual Power Outlit Timer
Pruning Tool Aquarium Plants
Aquatic Forceps 10" Straight Tip
Resin Rock Medium

temp set to stay between 80 and 82
ammonia: 1.0ppm
nitrite: 1.0ppm
nitrate: 5.0ppm
ph: 7.4

6 Red Minor Serpae Tetra
6 Peppered Cories
1 Pleco

Java Fern
Anubias nana
Java Lace Fern
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne wendtii small
Hornwort
Wisteria
Dwarf Sag

What would be a good short growing plant to put in the opening on top of the driftwood? There is a big open hole in the wood and I think it would look great with something growing out of it.

Originally I was planing on getting an angel fish but now that I have these tetras im thinking that might be a bad idea. I did some research and I really like the idea of getting a pair of ram chichilids. Im just not sure which to get. My options would be

German Blue (I def like these the most but im worried about my ph being to high as its been about 7.4 in every test. Would my plants lower that?)

German Gold (My girlfriend wants these the most lol)

Bolivian Ram (I think these might be my best choice)

I have read that they like to be in pairs, would I be able to mix and match with these three choices? Would rams eat shrimp?


Here are a bunch of pictures as promised... The tank is still pretty cloudy but the pictures make it look much worse than it actually is. Included in the pictures are views from every angle of the tank and all the supplies used. I also found that the moon lights I used were very sloppy looking just laying on top of the glass with the long wire in between so I shortened the wire and double sided taped them down in positions that light the tank up nicely at night. The fixture is on for 11 hours of the day and the moon lights are on for 13. I tried to take a picture of just them on but couldn't capture how cool it really looks... you can see a lot more with them on then the pictures show.

onto the pictures:



















Just a couple more questions:
Is the selection of food good for my selection of fish?
Do I have the lights on for too long during the day?
Should I move any of the plants due to how they grow?

Thank you once again for reading... any and all comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[gil_ong81]

nicely done, burke.

dammit, now i need a bigger tank for more plants!

[Ricker]

LOL Maybe get one mre LED so the whole tank is covered with them looks great. So do you like eco-complete. did it cloud your water cause mine didn't unless you poured it straight on to it then it might.

[gil_ong81]

what's this grassy stuff?

[l burke l]

Originally Posted by gil_ong81

what's this grassy stuff?

to tell you the honest truth im not sure what each plant is called since I bought them in a package but I think it might be Dwarf Sagittaria