New 54 Corner Build - Need Advice

Hi, I'm in the process of setting up a 54 gallon aqueon corner aquarium. I've been doing a lot of research and eco complete seems like the best option in terms of ease of maintenance (no washing) and performance. However, I don't like black substrates and was wondering if I could cap the eco complete with new gravel or gravel from my existing tank. I currently have CaribSea "Peace River" which is a light substrate. I understand that over time the finer gravel might sink below the larger pieces of ecocomplete which won't look particularly good. Nonetheless is that an option ?

Also any recommendation on lighting ? I was considering the Finnex 24/7 30" as the versa top is only about 30" max but wasn't sure how I could amount it or if it was even enough. I have the 36" current led pro currently on my 45 and that works fine but they only make a 24" and not a 30" which wouldn't seem to be enough light. I wish I could just use my current 36" satellite pro but doesn't seem feasible. Any suggestions ? Thanks.

 

I started my 54 gallon corner about three years ago. This was the original setup

24" fluorescent that came with the tank and swapped the bulb for a new one after a year.
Eco-complete under gravel
Magnum 350 canister filter
Air bubbler
100 watt heater

My plants grew fine although they were low light (anacharis & Amazon swords).

After about a year the small heater burned out so I replaced it with a 200 watt Aqueon 06108 which has been working great.

I decided to add a 24" LED bar to the tank for more light during the day. The lights were on a timer set to 4 hours of light in the morning in and 5 hours in the afternoon.

The 24" fluorescent bulb burned out again so I bought a 24" Finnex 24/7. The 24" Finnex fits on the tank but I wanted more light and returned it. The replacement is the 30" 24/7 you see in the pictures. Originally I had the Finnex run it's 24/7 program but my wife didn't like the night lights on all the time (it's in a totally separate room but you have to pick your battles ). Instead I have a timer turn on the 24/7 and bubbler at 6am and turn it off at 8:30pm. The software always starts the program on the morning setting so it works fine. Another timer turns on the 24" LED for a couple of hours mid day. It's on in the photos.

I recently changed the aquascape around because I needed to attack an issue with black beard algae. You can see I still haven't won that war. The rocks are just garden slate you buy at Home Depot. When you buy them they're glued to plastic mesh so you can use them as stepping stones.

I use root tabs with my plants. Unfortunately my choice of fish means small leaf plants like anacharis are destroyed.

The Magnum is working fine but lately I've been thinking about a bigger tank or a sump with a refugium to grow small fish and plants.

 

I started my 54 gallon corner about three years ago. This was the original setup

24" fluorescent that came with the tank and swapped the bulb for a new one after a year.
Eco-complete under gravel
Magnum 350 canister filter
Air bubbler
100 watt heater

My plants grew fine although they were low light (anacharis & Amazon swords).

After about a year the small heater burned out so I replaced it with a 200 watt Aqueon 06108 which has been working great.

I decided to add a 24" LED bar to the tank for more light during the day. The lights were on a timer set to 4 hours of light in the morning in and 5 hours in the afternoon.

The 24" fluorescent bulb burned out again so I bought a 24" Finnex 24/7. The 24" Finnex fits on the tank but I wanted more light and returned it. The replacement is the 30" 24/7 you see in the pictures. Originally I had the Finnex run it's 24/7 program but my wife didn't like the night lights on all the time (it's in a totally separate room but you have to pick your battles ). Instead I have a timer turn on the 24/7 and bubbler at 6am and turn it off at 8:30pm. The software always starts the program on the morning setting so it works fine. Another timer turns on the 24" LED for a couple of hours mid day. It's on in the photos.

I recently changed the aquascape around because I needed to attack an issue with black beard algae. You can see I still haven't won that war. The rocks are just garden slate you buy at Home Depot. When you buy them they're glued to plastic mesh so you can use them as stepping stones.

I use root tabs with my plants. Unfortunately my choice of fish means small leaf plants like anacharis are destroyed.

The Magnum is working fine but lately I've been thinking about a bigger tank or a sump with a refugium to grow small fish and plants.

Thanks this is very helpful,

I started my 54 gallon corner about three years ago. This was the original setup

24" fluorescent that came with the tank and swapped the bulb for a new one after a year.
Eco-complete under gravel
Magnum 350 canister filter
Air bubbler
100 watt heater

My plants grew fine although they were low light (anacharis & Amazon swords).

After about a year the small heater burned out so I replaced it with a 200 watt Aqueon 06108 which has been working great.

I decided to add a 24" LED bar to the tank for more light during the day. The lights were on a timer set to 4 hours of light in the morning in and 5 hours in the afternoon.

The 24" fluorescent bulb burned out again so I bought a 24" Finnex 24/7. The 24" Finnex fits on the tank but I wanted more light and returned it. The replacement is the 30" 24/7 you see in the pictures. Originally I had the Finnex run it's 24/7 program but my wife didn't like the night lights on all the time (it's in a totally separate room but you have to pick your battles ). Instead I have a timer turn on the 24/7 and bubbler at 6am and turn it off at 8:30pm. The software always starts the program on the morning setting so it works fine. Another timer turns on the 24" LED for a couple of hours mid day. It's on in the photos.

I recently changed the aquascape around because I needed to attack an issue with black beard algae. You can see I still haven't won that war. The rocks are just garden slate you buy at Home Depot. When you buy them they're glued to plastic mesh so you can use them as stepping stones.

I use root tabs with my plants. Unfortunately my choice of fish means small leaf plants like anacharis are destroyed.

The Magnum is working fine but lately I've been thinking about a bigger tank or a sump with a refugium to grow small fish and plants.

Thanks, this is extremely helpful and thanks for sharing the pics. A few questions. Are you strictly running the finnex 30" now and how is that working for you ? I couldn't find a better option so far. You mentioned the 24" LED bar, are you still using that ? When you put the gravel over the eco complete did you experience any mixing ? It looks like you have large gravel so I imagine the finer grained eco would actually tend to sit at the bottom. I prefer a lighter substrate but only found the eco black locally and didnt want to create a blended mess. The eco red or flourite might be more forgiving but couldn't believe the amount of mud the flourite gave off. I've had pretty decent success with the regular super natural gravel and root tabs and the current satellite pro but I like the look of the corner tank. It's also slightly bigger than my 45 tall.

 

Yes the 24" led bar is under the glass top. You can barely see it at an angle across the back. It runs from 10am to 2pm every day.

The Finnex is great, I'm very happy with it. The automatic light changes add some interest to the tank. It is bright enough by itself but I already had the 24" so I use it. People have mentioned that there's a newer model but this is what I have.

Finnex Planted+ 24/7 Fully Automated Aquarium LED, Controller, 30 Inch



I also prefer lighter gravel or sand. Of course I figured that out after getting the tank running. I put sand in the right front corner but it didn't take long for the cichlids to re-arrange it. The sand has now sunk to the bottom. I think a lot of people have used sand on top of substrate so there must be a way to do it.

The colors do mix when you use the vacuum but I imagine you could minimize that by not pushing the vacuum so deep. When setting up the tank I rinsed the eco-complete first and put it in the tank by itself. Once it had settled I added the gravel and it sat on top nicely.

 

Can you show me a picture of the 24" LED bar ? Where did you get it ? There's a Finnex 24x7 SE but I've not seen it for sale anywhere. I might try the ecocomplete with Tahitian moon sand over it, looks pretty cool or try two substrates. I've been discouraged lately as I've lost a lot of fish but my water parameters seem normal.

 

Sorry for taking so long to reply. I did a water change today and took a picture of the 24". It has a channel for mounting so I put that on the lip of the tank. I fill the tank so the light is touching the water, it's a submersible light.

 

I have the same tank! I use the Finnex Stingray Aquarium LED light and the original light that came with the tank. I need to get a timer for them since I am having an algae problem right now. I picked that light since I wanted it as simple as possible; on or off.

 

I have the peace gravel in one of my tanks, my plants all do just fine with it. Just be sure to add root tabs.

 

I'm still debating how to light this guy. I picked up the 54 gallon tank and stand at petsmart. I see amazon sells the planted plus for around 85 bucks. The current satellite pro is 170. Big difference. Since the glass versa cover is 30" wide, is it better to do a 30" finnex or a 24" satellite pro ? Which would provide higher par levels ? I wish there was 30" pro model. I think I'm going to use the eco complete substrate and try a pool sand for a sandy beach for the corys. I see a lot of people suggest Tahitian moon sand but even caribsea did not recommend it for corys.