[dantimdad]

A buddy of mine decided to get out of the aquarium hobby so he gave me his entire 46 bowfront setup.

Here is a list of equipment:

46 bowfront tank with glass top
2x55 watt PC fixture with 6700K bulbs (need to be replaced soon)
Eheim canister filter
ebojager 200 watt heater
glass co2 diffuser but no co2 setup
lots of test kits and extra filter pads for the eheim

Now, I have had several reef tanks and still have two (50 and 118XH), but, planted tanks have always fascinated me and I want to go that route with this one.

Livestock:

Two very large bunches of Java lace fern on rocks
4 harlequin rasboras
1 neon tetra
1 cory cat
1 rainbow fish(I think but can't find a picture of one exactly like it)

There are some other plants in the tank but are doing so poorly I can't ID them so I am going to remove them. The gravel looks like standard natural color aquarium gravel about 1/16th to 1/8th inch diameter 2" deep.

I want to grow a carpet of Glossostigma or HC and make the gravel like rolling hills in the tank with a few larger rock in a golden ratio setup. Also, I like the rasboras and want to add a few more, do you think that would be ok?

What recommendations do you have to make this work?

Should I add more of the same gravel? or remove all of it and go different? or combine some other type?

Is the lighting sufficient or do I need more?

I can't afford a full on CO2 setup so I was going to DIY two soda bottle setups and feed the output to the input of the eheim.

I know this is long but, I only want to start this thing once and then enjoy maintaining it and watching it grow.

Thanks for your help,
Steven

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

Good luck. I should be getting my 46g Bowfront in a few week. Getting it for $50 with a stand. Just needs some silicone work.

 

[redfalconf35]

my recommendation is for you to be very patient... nothing looks better than a good iwagume, and nothing looks more mediocre than a rushed iwagumi. the gravel may pose issues with the small carpet plants. take a look in the substrate forum for more info on that. i think your lighting should be alright, though. it may be on the low side for hc and glosso, but it should be sufficient.

 

[dantimdad]

My opinion exactly on the look.

Thanks for your input.

I will check about the substrate.

Thanks,
Steven