[Hobbes1911]

Hey everyone,

I am planning to build a new tank up from scratch. The tank will be a 50 breeder with canister filter Eheim 2213, or 2234 or fluval 305 or anything comparable, press. CO2 high light, etc. Any suggestions welcome, especially regarding lighting.

I want to keep plants like but obviously not all of them:

rotala wallichi,
rotala green,
blyxa japonica,
R. arcuata,
R. verticilaris,
UG,
R. mini I &/or II,
R. nanjenshan,
M. mattogrossense green,
R. yatabeanus,
E. tenellus,
L. aromatica hippuroides,
peacock, taiwan, or any other moss,
Proserpinaca palustris,
D. diandra,
M. tuberculatum,
B carolinia,
H. difformis,
R. macrandra green
Rotala sp. 'green'

and any suggestions anyone has. I was planning to use ADA amazonia aquasoil or eco complete, not quite sure yet.

What are your guys' thoughts on the plants? Would they all be compatible in this environment?

Life stock I haven't decided yet, and I would love to keep some S. resplendens but they like a little basic and hard, so thats a no go. Probably some sort of tetra and otehrs, not really looking to breed in this tank, thats what my other seven are for

Hardscape will be consisting of some sort of stones, and driftwood. The stones should not be seen, so I'll have to hide those.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Simon

 

[seds]

Looks vaguely familiar...





In all seriousness, My 35 cost about that much so far and you don't want to see a picture of that... (no substrate, BGA, cloudy water, surface scum, midges in all stages of growth... haven't been maintaining it at all)Plant list looks good, maybe a few too many species, but I've accumulated quite a few so far...

Why shouldn't the stones be seen? Are they just for having moss on them? Or are they to be actually hidden?

Lastly, rotala sp. 'green' is a magnificent species, and it is a very versatile plant that you should definitely love. I think you listed it twice though. (twice)

You probably know more than me about the planted tank hobby...

 

[Hobbes1911]

Also what kind of a light fixture would you use to achieve high light conditions in such a tank? Would a GLO T5 HO 2x39W fixture be enough?

 

[yikesjason]

$500 will go very fast on a high tech tank like you want. There are some areas where you can save though.
Substrate- go with mineralized soil, it is cheap but very effective.
hardscape- find your own instead of paying a lot of money
equipment in general- craigslist and patience
plants- find a local club or just local members that you can get plants and maybe even some fish from.
lights- There are some cheap lights on ebay. If you can't afford something nicer, those will do. 2x39w would be ok, but it wouldn't really be high light. If you can find a 3x, that would probably be better. 4x would be good too, but you would have to be careful.

Take your time and look for good deals and you can put together a nice tank. You might want to look at doing a low tech for a while while you build up your budget for things like co2.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[EdwardN]

For $500 I would build a nice, comfortable dog house for my wife...

And I don't intend to patent this idea!!!

 

[Hobbes1911]

Well 500$ is a guide line but the budget goes as high as 1000$ if really needed

 

[Hobbes1911]

I really would like to know a specific lighting system that would be suitable. I mean I can buy 2 fixtures of 2x39W T5HO GLO systems but I was wondering if there is not a more elegant version.

 

[WarDaddy]

here is my $500 build ... Tanks, Stand, Canopy...

It is in the process of becoming a Planted tank... Transformation is costing about $250. I had to buy Ferts, tools, CO2 Regulator, bulbs, Soil, rocks, plants and fish...

 

[skiboarder72]

My 40g tank has run about $500 so far,

200$ in lighting
100$ in gravel
100$ on tank, filter (craigslist)
100$ on Misc

Already had a pressurized c02 setup, which was about 100$

 

[brohawk]

A 2213 on a 50 gal is laughable, sorry. It's just seriously underpowered. A 2217 is more like it, and that'll cut into your budget by quite a bit, even used.