[Maxx.Kir]

Hi there guys, just signed up for this forum and want some advice. I bought a UNS 60U about a year ago to drill and set up as a mixed reef, but decided to setup as freshwater, i have some questions:

what should i do for co2? a fluval system? diy?

is the twinstar 600E a good light choice for up to high light plants?

is this a good stocking list!

stocking fish:

sparkling gourami ( pair )
german blue ram ( pair )
Kuhli Loach
scarlet badis ( pair )
chili rasboras
selection of snails

overstocked? would they fit well?

in terms of plants i dont know along with aquascape, id like a good bit of hard scape in it, and a nice carpet of something

Thanks, Max

 

[minorhero]

Hi there guys, just signed up for this forum and want some advice. I bought a UNS 60U about a year ago to drill and set up as a mixed reef, but decided to setup as freshwater, i have some questions:

what should i do for co2? a fluval system? diy?

is the twinstar 600E a good light choice for up to high light plants?

is this a good stocking list!

stocking fish:

sparkling gourami ( pair )
german blue ram ( pair )
Kuhli Loach
scarlet badis ( pair )
chili rasboras
selection of snails

overstocked? would they fit well?

in terms of plants i dont know along with aquascape, id like a good bit of hard scape in it, and a nice carpet of something

Thanks, Max

Hello and welcome to the green side!

For co2 you will need 3 things. A regulator that includes a bubble counter and check valve, a pressurized tank, and a means of getting the co2 into the water (my preference is a reactor, but many people like diffusers, either in tank or inline). I would not bother with diy co2. Most people that try it, immediately abandon it because it is inconsistent and annoying. Total cost for a co2 setup will be around 250 dollars. You can go low tech (without pressurized co2) but you won't be able to carpet effectively or grow plants nearly as fast (like 10x slower without co2).

The twinstar e line is their midrange light if I remember correctly. It will do what you want just fine.

Your fish list will need some adjustment. The rams are high temperature fish. The absolute lowest they go is around 82 degrees and they would be quite happy going higher. This is warmer then some of the fish can tolerate or on the outer edge of their range. I would either dump the rams, or base the tank around the rams, depending on how much you want them.

The scarlet badis is a weird fish, I've not kept one but my understanding is that finding a proven female is SUPER HARD, so if you actually had a pair, I'd be tempted to do a species only tank for them to see if you could breed them. Almost all the ones sold are imported and for whatever reason, only males get imported.

Regarding aquascape. For a first time planted tank, I highly suggest looking at pictures online of 60U tanks, finding one you like, and then seeing if you can copy it. It will never be a perfect copy as your rock/wood will be different and it will give you an appreciation for what it takes to build a nice aquascape.

Just my 2 cents, good luck!

 

[Maxx.Kir]

Hello and welcome to the green side!

For co2 you will need 3 things. A regulator that includes a bubble counter and check valve, a pressurized tank, and a means of getting the co2 into the water (my preference is a reactor, but many people like diffusers, either in tank or inline). I would not bother with diy co2. Most people that try it, immediately abandon it because it is inconsistent and annoying. Total cost for a co2 setup will be around 250 dollars. You can go low tech (without pressurized co2) but you won't be able to carpet effectively or grow plants nearly as fast (like 10x slower without co2).

The twinstar e line is their midrange light if I remember correctly. It will do what you want just fine.

Your fish list will need some adjustment. The rams are high temperature fish. The absolute lowest they go is around 82 degrees and they would be quite happy going higher. This is warmer then some of the fish can tolerate or on the outer edge of their range. I would either dump the rams, or base the tank around the rams, depending on how much you want them.

The scarlet badis is a weird fish, I've not kept one but my understanding is that finding a proven female is SUPER HARD, so if you actually had a pair, I'd be tempted to do a species only tank for them to see if you could breed them. Almost all the ones sold are imported and for whatever reason, only males get imported.

Regarding aquascape. For a first time planted tank, I highly suggest looking at pictures online of 60U tanks, finding one you like, and then seeing if you can copy it. It will never be a perfect copy as your rock/wood will be different and it will give you an appreciation for what it takes to build a nice aquascape.

Just my 2 cents, good luck!

is there a neat centerpiece fish that you’d recommend thats not a cichlid? on the scarlet Badis my lfs has females, and me and my dad have kept them, I have a bunch of pieces of co2 regulators and such that i can show once im home, and i have a small fluval system i bought second hand. I’ll take the advice on aquascape!

Max

 

[minorhero]

is there a neat centerpiece fish that you’d recommend thats not a cichlid? on the scarlet Badis my lfs has females, and me and my dad have kept them, I have a bunch of pieces of co2 regulators and such that i can show once im home, and i have a small fluval system i bought second hand. I’ll take the advice on aquascape!

Max

Depends on temperature. Are you looking at keeping the rams or dumping them? The rams could definitely be centerpiece fish if you kept them and based the tank around them.

If you dump them, the two non cichlid 'center piece' fish you will find mentioned over and over again are dwarf gourami and Betta. Those would be my recommendations as well.

 

[Aquascaper1]

If you are not looking to spend alot on CO2 system, consider the FZone mini regulator. I have used mine for over 2 years now. The beauty of it is that the FZone can be setup to connect to a CGA full size CO2 tank or also a Paintball canister or also a 90g disposable CO2 cartridge. In my case, my aquarium is in my home office and I do NOT want to have a large industrial looking full size CO2 tank in plain sight. I have a 24oz Paintball canister that sits out of sight underneath the 38 gallon aquarium in the tank stand cabinet. It has a solenoid and most people review it better in terms of build quality over other mini-regulators.

The FZone mini-regulator is in the $100 range which is quite affordable when you compare it with more expensive units. I go to a sports shop to get my Paintball canister refilled for less than $6 and each refill lasts me about 40 days.

I have the solenoid plugged into a timer. I have the CO2 regulator come on about 1 hour before I have the light come on and have the CO2 regulator shut down about 1 hour before the light is turned OFF. I keep the working pressure set to around 24psi and set the fine adjustment to have approximately 2 bubbles per second rate and that works in my case. I have a Fluval CO2 monitor on the opposite end of the tank and measure pH daily, kH and gH weekly to confirm the CO2 remains consistently at levels I prefer.

Bottom line: there are excellent choices out there but if you do not wish to spend alot, just consider the FZone mini-regulator with solenoid for the $100 range. Mine has worked excellent over the past 2+ years. I only recently replaced the bubble counter with one I found on Amazon which fit perfectly.

 

[GreenViews]

I am no expert but I can tell you this much. Unless you are trying to achieve a perfect looking tank, you do not need CO2 injection to have plants. You can do research on which plants needs CO2 injection to thrive but many can do with out the extra expense and work.

Look up at people on youtube that have "low tech" tanks. Some are not even running filters but that need some expertise on when you can do that

 

[somewhatshocked]

Look up at people on youtube that have "low tech" tanks.

Or look right here on the forum. The Tank Journals section alone has tens of thousands of tanks that don't use CO2 injection.

 

[Mortis]

If Im not mistaken Kuhli Loaches will eat your snails. Since you have kept Scarlet Badis before then Im sure you know that live food is essential for their survival. Also I would skip either the rams or the Gouramis and keep only one of the two. Both are relatively easy breeders in decent tank conditions and can get territorial.
Another option for a showpiece fish is a single male Betta of the "plakat" variety. These short finned bettas do just fine with the heavier flow of planted tanks. Or if you want more than one then 2-3 female bettas or a pair of wild Betta species

 

[GreenTerror]

Just a thought about Rams have you looked at Bolivians instead of GBRs? They prefer cooler water that makes them good in community setups. They can be really stunning if you get some nice ones.