Hello there everyone!

[SolarianXIII]

Hey everyone, I’m Connor, and I’m excited to join the Fishlore community. I’ve been interested in aquariums for a long time, but I’m now taking the hobby seriously and documenting the entire journey from the ground up. I recently picked up a 50‑gallon acrylic tank from DreamTanks.com, and it’s become the foundation for what I hope will be a long‑term planted setup. FYI, my tank is not set up yet, but pre-planning is everything, and thats were your advice comes in!

I bought a Marineland Penguin 250 and an air pump for extra oxygenation. I also grabbed a plant‑capable LED light off Amazon, so I’m planning to go pretty heavy on live plants once everything is dialed in. I’ve always loved the look of lush, natural tanks, and I want this build to be something that grows and evolves.

Even though I’m still early in the hobby, I’ve made sure to learn the most important basics — especially cycling. I’m big on doing things the right way from the start, making sure water parameters are stable, and giving fish the best possible conditions before they’re ever acclimated. I want this tank to be a healthy, stress‑free environment, not just something that looks good.

I’ve also been thinking about starting a YouTube channel to document the entire process. Not as an expert, but as a hobbyist learning step‑by‑step, sharing the successes, mistakes, and everything in between. I feel like a lot of people appreciate seeing the real journey instead of just the polished final result, and I’d love to contribute something helpful to the community.

Looking forward to learning from all of you, sharing updates, and getting advice as this tank comes to life. Thanks for having me here! Please feel free to give me as much advice as possible!

 

[Gnop1950]

Welcome to Fishlore.

 

[ruud]

Good luck!

Few pointers:

• Most aquatic plant species are grown emersed and first need to transition to their submersed form. This is where unwary beginners often conclude that they do not have a green thumb.
• The main difference between a tank with CO2-injection and one without is expectation. A lush planted tank without a CO2 system is perfectly doable, but it will never match some of the "high-energy" aquascapes you'll find online. And some plant species should be avoided in low CO2 tanks.
• Plants cause daily swings in gases and pH, so you may want to rethink 'stability'.
• Anything that drives plant growth, also drive algae. Shifting your focus from plant growth to plant health is your key in preventing algae.

 

[SolarianXIII]

ok good to know, i do plan on getting some algae eaters like snails, i have heard(when i cross that bridge) that once i start introducing animal life, snails and bottom feeders are first to be acclimated? so maybe some plecos and cordys aswell?

i have a shopping cart on buceplants.com, thinking about some palnts that require minimal CO2 or atleast medium nothing to major

 

[ruud]

I would purchase this plant in any case: Hemianthus Micranthemoides (Pearl Weed)
The URL says micranthemum-micranthemoides, the page says Hemianthus Micranthemoides, but its actual name is Hemiantus glomeratus. To make it more confusing, a few other species are also labelled pearl weed. The plant is currently sold out at Buce, so perhaps search for Hemiantus glomeratus at other shops.

I cannot praise this plant species often enough. For starters, the transition to submersed life is smooth for this plant. Just plant it and make sure to include a few leaves in the substrate in order to anchor it.

Make sure to keep the light intensity subdued from day 1, but this holds for any plant species. After a month, increase the intensity a little bit. Once the total plant biomass becomes significant in all directions, further increase the intensity. I would write this paragraph on a Post-it and stick it to your tank

I never understood the concept of algae eaters. Algae eaters want algae. I don't want algae...

Cheers.

 

[Cyberfish]

Welcome!

 

[SolarianXIII]

I would purchase this plant in any case: Hemianthus Micranthemoides (Pearl Weed)
The URL says micranthemum-micranthemoides, the page says Hemianthus Micranthemoides, but its actual name is Hemiantus glomeratus. To make it more confusing, a few other species are also labelled pearl weed. The plant is currently sold out at Buce, so perhaps search for Hemiantus glomeratus at other shops.

I cannot praise this plant species often enough. For starters, the transition to submersed life is smooth for this plant. Just plant it and make sure to include a few leaves in the substrate in order to anchor it.

Make sure to keep the light intensity subdued from day 1, but this holds for any plant species. After a month, increase the intensity a little bit. Once the total plant biomass becomes significant in all directions, further increase the intensity. I would write this paragraph on a Post-it and stick it to your tank

I never understood the concept of algae eaters. Algae eaters want algae. I don't want algae...

Cheers.

got all this down thank you, i wanted a little mini lily pond in the aquarium more so condensed in one side sort of im sure that needs weekly trimming. but i need to think about sustainability than the decor at this point and not get to ahead of myself

here is my dansfish.com shopping cart..you think a single angel is ok?

 

[ruud]

You can always experiment with plants, like Lily / Nymphaea, but I would work on bulk first. Starting your planted tank journey in a 50 gallon sounds challenging.

I’m not the right person to ask about fish. I’m very much into single-species tanks and heavily understocked setups, so I probably can’t give satisfactory advice on fishkeeping. Others can.

 

[Caliban]

A single angel will most likely be perfectly fine. However, I did see that you only have 1 false julii, and 2 Venezuelan cories. Both of these species need to be in groups of at least 5 of their kind. Were you planning on getting more of each?

 

[SolarianXIII]

A single angel will most likely be perfectly fine. However, I did see that you only have 1 false julii, and 2 Venezuelan cories. Both of these species need to be in groups of at least 5 of their kind. Were you planning on getting more of each?

sure, you think 50 gallon is fine for that amount?

 

[Caliban]

sure, you think 50 gallon is fine for that amount?

Most likely? I have a sixty gallon with somewhat similar stocking, but 2 angels. I’d ask some other people though, as I am not always sure on stocking stuff.

 

[SolarianXIII]

i read that angels can be solitary which is fine since its the centerpiece

 

[Fishfur]

Welcome to Fishlore. I hope you will enjoy it here.

 

[Caliban]

i read that angels can be solitary which is fine since its the centerpiece

I was mostly talking about bioload, and 1 angel is usually fine. I’m just saying I have a larger bioload than your plan