Justahannah

Hi! I'm not a complete beginner to fishtanks as I always helped my mom maintain her 55 gallon freshwater tank when I was younger...but it's been a few years since I moved out and this website has been both a great refresher as well as full of new info...I'm very impressed. I've been wanting fish for a while and found a deal I couldn't pass up on Craigslist...a 46-gallon bowfront with stand, lights, lid, filter, heater, and gravel for $175. I'll be picking it up Friday and will be replacing some of that stuff once I get it and examine everything (the current owner's been using a saltwater setup in it), but the stand and tank alone are more than worth it. I'm too excited :P.

Anyway, my intention is to use it as a live-plant freshwater aquarium, and I have ideas on how I'd like to eventually stock the fish but would appreciate feedback, recommendations on substrate (I'll be potting the plants for ease of cleaning and know I need something very small and rounded for the fish I want), and plant recommendations for a medium light setting and this kind of tank.

I was thinking:
3 Oto Cats
5 Cory Cats
10 Neon Tetra
5 Dwarf Neon Rainbow
4 Kuhli Loach
Maybe a couple/few ghost shrimp

I originally wanted a few dwarf guorami instead of the rainbows, but then I read about the iridovirus issues and thought better of it. Like this, it would be overstocked (47" of fish in a 46 Gal tank) but the loaches are so skinny, and with live plants to help out, a great filter, and weekly maintenance, I think it would really be doable. I want to stick with the recommendations for schooling and socialization... It seems to really help their personalities come out. Thanks for any input!

Hannah

MissMTS

Hi Hannah,
Welcome to Fishlore!!! That looks like a great set up. I think that the colors of the neons and the dwarf rainbows will really compliment eachother. I wish I could find Kuhli loaches near me, they are such cute little fish. I think you will be fine at 47 inches with the planted tank as long as you keep up on your water changes Just an idea....I really like flower shrimp and cherry shrimp.....you can see them a little better than the ghost shrimp lol.
Kate

Taku

I think it will be fine. Personally i find it better to school your fish instead of just having one type of many different fish. Your setup will do fine. The loaches are scaleless so be careful if you add medication to the water.

Barbrella

With the corys and loaches in mind, the very best substrate would be sand, but you can use something round like Eco-Complete if you want a planted tank. How many watts are the lights?

IF the wattage of the lights isn't much, you could use only plants like Java Ferns, Anubias and mosses and attach them to driftwood, and have a sand bottom.

You could also put some potted plants in sand!

HatchetHaven

Potted plants don't grow as well as unpotted ones... You can buy them potted, but unpot them when you get them. Look here: http://www.tropica.com/article.asp?t...aristic&id=227

Justahannah

I'm really excited about this project...I feel like I've had fish on my brain non-stop ever since I realized I could finally afford it. I'm going to go with silica sand for my substrate, and with potting the plants (repotted out of the nursury stuff, of course) I can keep the sand relatively shallow and easier to keep clean. I found this site to be particularly informative on how to keep the plants happily potted http://www.aquabotanic.com/potplants.htm.
I even have a project in mind for safely disguising the pots that I'm almost thinking I should patent since I haven't found a single thing like what I'm building referenced anywhere on google :P.

Barbrella

I see that article talks about the undergravel filter.

Do not use this with sand, if you're thinking of it. It won't work and you'll be left with a real mess to clean up.

The rest of the article, about using the peat pots and Flourite as planting "soil", sounds interesting. You can of course also use fertilizer tabs in them.

Let us know how it goes!

Justahannah

Yea, I understand why that wouldn't work . I'm heavily leaning towards getting one of those Penguin bio-wheel filters, the 350B model, but I'm still looking at options and definitely open to suggestion since I don't actually have the tank just yet.

*I was also thinking it would be a good idea to supplement that with a sponge filter for occasional use in my quarantine tank.

HatchetHaven

Sounds like an OK idea. Just don't pot up the plant you are planning to use as a carpet!

How many watts of light do you have, and what plants are you considering? www.Tropica.com and www.PlantGeek.com will be useful to decide.