New Tank Set Up Questions

hI everyone,

haven’t had an aquarium since early 90s, just purchased a “clear for life 100 gallon rectangle” (18x60x20) with blue color in the back, also purchased a fluval fx6 canister filter & two fluval c4 power filters

I plan to stock the tank with 1.5” comets, the room this tank will be located in never drops bellow 73 degrees, so no heater will be installed

my questions are:

1-do I have filtration covered, never owned a tank over 30 gallons(under gravel filter needed) or power heads for circulation?
2-I would like to have live plants in the tank, low maintenance plants only any recommendations?
3-what gravel should I use, size?texture?inches thick? i’ve read about using several layers of different gravel/substrate in order to add live plants, not sure what direction to go
4-do I need airation, back in the day an air stone was my only option, now I see emitter & diffuser

any info would be greatly appreciated

mike

 

Not much of a coldwater guy, so I don't know much about comets...
Those 2 C4s should provide all the surface agitation you need for aeration, depending on stock level.
The fx6 in addition is a little overkill, but that's not a bad thing.
Elodea Canadensis is a hardy coldwater plant that doesn't really require any maintenance (aside from ripping it out by the fistfull when it gets to thick).

 

can I use sands with plants? or do I need to stick With Gravel?

 

Plants work better in sand, but some don't require substrate as theyre column feeders (you don't plant them) and some are floaters. As far as what kinds of plants, there are TONS of low maintenance choices! Do some looking around on youtube. Any java ferns, anubias, amazon swords and a host of others are readily available and cheap.

 

what about grass type plants?

 

There are easy ones and hard ones. Just do some google searching for easy plants.

 

ok, I need to see what kind of light the tank comes with, or if it comes with one at all

 

Overkill of filtration is a good thing for goldfish. But what do you plan to do with them when they reach closer to full growth? There is a goldfish subforum where you might find more specific advice.
Also I would do some serious research on plants - I have heard many goldfish see them as a snack OR uproot them. People do plants with goldfish- but carefully

 

Overkill of filtration is a good thing for goldfish. But what do you plan to do with them when they reach closer to full growth? There is a goldfish subforum where you might find more specific advice.
Also I would do some serious research on plants - I have heard many goldfish see them as a snack OR uproot them. People do plants with goldfish- but carefully

where is the goldfish subforum?

 

I concur with everyone. No, it's not overkill filtration, ESPECIALLY when it comes to goldfish lol And also, if and when you do opt for any live plants, be wary that you'll be housing goldfish, and they can sometimes chew and uproot plants rather frequently. They like duckweed, (whic will spread rather quickly, it's really cheap and easy to find, and also especially since it's a floater, not to mention goldfish WILL eventually eat 'em) anubias, Swords, those type of plants are very very tough to get chewed upon lol Any "grass" type of plants would not have to be the grass types at all; possibly and MAYBE s. repens, although it's not really a grass type of plant though. but probably not Pearlweed...Vallisneria is cheap, easy and I've never had any goldfish tear that plant up...maybe Crypts too...or Anacharis...