I need youall to help in my garden

[RedEyedRooster]

Hello

I'm a novice aquanaut. I like Rainbow fishes especially Melanotaenia and Glossolepis. I have a 55g that I had retiered that I'm bring back (this time full of plants). My hopes are to create a aquatic garden for these fish and for my family to enjoy. I need this forum for the comradery, understanding, experiance and solutions as I journey up this aquapath I've chosen. My names Bert how the ___ are ya.

 

[ecotank]

Didn't you already ask this exact same question twice already?

Stick to asking it once, not spreading it around, you won't get faster answers, infact you'll usually get fewer answers.

 

[kool_sk8a]

so what are u actually asking??

 

[Lotus]

I answered a couple of your questions on the other thread

 

[Lotus]

Eco-complete is supposed to be good. Flourite is also a good substrate. Flourite is about $20 per bag (depending where you get it), and I think you would need 3 bags in that size tank. I think Eco-Complete comes in smaller bags, so you might need 4. You should aim for a substrate of at least 1.5", but 2 or 2.5" is better. It will make it easier to aquascape. You can mix either of the above with gravel if you want to save money, then supplement with root fertilizers.

I don't have a problem with the Magnum 350. You might want to add another hang on back type filter if you plan to stock fairly heavily with fish.

I would suggest you get between 2 and 3 watts per gallon of light for the widest choice of plants and good growth potential. If you are good at DIY you can build your own lighting system with parts from home improvement stores. If you use 30w 24" bulbs, you would have to fit 4 of them in the hood, or 5 if it's physically possible. AH Supply also has parts, or you could see if they have a 3 x 55w fixture that would suit your needs.

There is a nice plant database here: http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php where you can search for plants by a number of factors. That way you can choose plants that suit your light levels and placement in the tank. If you choose the easier ones to start off, you should be all set Many of the online sites have plant assortment packs that might suit your needs.

 

[FroggyFox]

I know next to nothing about the setup you'd like...except that harlequins love a planted tank and are a great fish to get Good choice.

Welcome to the tank!

(btw, the search function will help you dig up old posts that might help you out quite a bit. Guidelines on plants and wpg, good filters, gph for filters, fish compatibility...etc)

 

[Lotus]

You should remember to leave some room in your fish plans for some algae eating fish/shrimp. Good ones include otos, amano shrimp, Siamese algae eaters (NOT Chinese algae eaters). You could also have one of the smaller plecostomus species in that tank, like a rubber lipped or a bushy nosed, both of which stay small and eat algae. Unfortunately, algae is a fact of life in a planted tank, and when you're first planting, you may get lots of it, and all different kinds. Once you have a balance of fertilizers, light and CO2, there will be minimal algae

 

[catfishmike]

have you seen the ecocomplete ads,and diagrams,it's designed to be a complete stand alone substrate ?your plan is self defeating.just use the eco complete.by adding the sand and pea gravel your just going to gum up the works.you have 80 pounds of eco..substrate.that 80 pounds should be more than enough to fill a 55 with at least 3 inches if not more.if you add the sand it will all settle inbetween the smaller size grains of the eco comp.and that could actualy inhibit plant growth 2 ways.one is that roots don't grow well densly compacted substrates,like sand.two all that gravel and sand will be pretty deep,so deep that pockets of oxygen consuming bacteria will develop and whenever you stir the gravel it will stink(and it's unhealthy for fish,as this situation can lead to areomonas bacteria,thats bad!)to avoid this healthy plants with a proper substrate draw water down through the roots and prevent this to a better extent.of course i haven't been too indepth.i'm not really too good with plants.but my opinion,just stick with the eco-complete.

 

[Leopardess]

I'm not quite sure why this is in the Welcome section...


but..its probably too late to say you should have gotten Schultz's Aquatic Soil (aka Profile). Its at Home Depot and costs 6$ per 10lb bag. less than half the cost of flourite and eco complete.

But if anyone else is getting ideas...get Profile! lol.

as for bulbs, just aim for something in between 5500-6500K