Beginner Advise On New Tank

[malraff]

hi all

i have had a beginner tank for a 2-3 years now and have been able to keep it in pretty good condition with healthy fish, i am now upgrading to a tank with a larger capacity (partly because i want a nicer tank and partly because my Angel fish is getting a little large!).

what i want to avoid with the new tank is the fake looking ornaments etc that i currently have and go for something more natural, i was going to use white sand as a base - but im undecided after reading of the difficulty in keeping it clean

so really im after some advice on what you would suggest for a novice aquarium, i like the idea of some nice green plants and java moss, but if i could do more harm to the fish than good then id be better with my fake plants? would i need another type of substrate with sand/gravel to grow plants?

should i avoid sand?

any advice appreciated

mal

 

[KittyKat]

Sand is fine, I would recommend play sand over any special white sand.. just keep in mind that sand usually benefits from being stirred every week or so.

Live plants do much more good.. and don't really do any harm unless you buy ones which are demanding and you are not ready for the care they require. Any undemanding plants should be fine, assuming you have lighting.. what sort of lighting do you have?

I do not use any special substrates for plants, just standard sand or gravel.

 

[malraff]

hi Kitty

i must take a look at play sand as an alternative - id imagine sand would be much better for my catfish etc as well? rather than the pretty coarse gravel i have at the moment!

the lighting is 25 w t5 - which i have been told should be good for plants?

 

[KittyKat]

Well, that depends.. Corys and some other cats benefit from sand quite a lot, while it doesn't seem to make much difference to most plecos.

25W over what volume of water? I would hope 50+ gallons, given that you have an angel, in which case it's quite low lighting, at 0.5 wpg (using the old method of measuring lighting).. but that's not too bad as I grow some undemanding plants under 0.65 wpg of T5s and they grow well.

 

[micko]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Sand isn't a problem to clean, use a gravel cleaner the same way as you would for gravel but hovver it over the sand an inch or two so it doesn't take the sand up too.

You said you have kept fish for two years so your not a novice and you'll find a bigger tank is easier to keep than a smaller one.

Live plants are great and I would always suggest them to anyone.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Hey, good choice on upgrading

I'd recommend going for plants. They can be frustrating, but overall a planted tank looks so much better and is healthier and more natural for the fish.

I use play sand in my 6x2x2, and it's great stuff. I have also used the 'proper' aquarium sand as there's no difference at all, in FACT the play sand is BETTER as it's softer So save yourself some £££'s there.

What tank are you looking at getting, as then we can advise on lighting? Also, what other fish are you going to keep as well as the angel?