Few Questions About A 60 Gallon Tank

[catfish101]

Hi everyone,
I have a 60 gallon tank(48in long x 12in wide x 24in high) right now with some rainbowfish, a black angelfish, a pleco, a raphael cat, 4 clown loaches(getting more soon) and a rainbow shark, with driftwood and fake plants. I would like start a somewhat high tech planted tank with(sorry i dont know scientific names) anubias, tiger lotus(the red kind) vallis(jungle val and the twisted kind; italian val?)ludwigia repens(red, which i beilive color has to do with light) red ivy, java fern( for the driftwood) some crypts, sword plants, fox tail, and combomba(i dont know if i spelled that right) and maybe some type of small plant to cover some of the foreground(not all of it)posibly dwarf hair grass or micro sword. I would like to know where to order the plants from, I was looking at azgardens and that looked pretty reasonable. also i need help with lighting i would like to order from az gardens becuase they also have reasonalbe light prices. right now i just have small aquarium gravel for substraite so I will need to upgrade that as well. Also i idont know much about injecting Co2 so i will need some help with that to. And finaly i would like to possibly get a pair of discus. i dont know much about them but i have always liked the was they look.
Thanks in advance!
-Nate

 

[aaronnorth]

with the plants you have listed, you do not need to go high tec, the plants would comfortably survive with 1.5wog and no CO2 but it will help. the ludwigia may be a bit hard though. good plant companies are plants alive & greenline, never heard any reviews about AZ? maybe someone could give you advice?

If the pleco is a common, then it will uproot your plants, mine used to get on my nerves i stuck to rossette plants.

 

[catfish101]

with the plants you have listed, you do not need to go high tec, the plants would comfortably survive with 1.5wog and no CO2 but it will help. the ludwigia may be a bit hard though. good plant companies are plants alive & greenline, never heard any reviews about AZ? maybe someone could give you advice?

If the pleco is a common, then it will uproot your plants, mine used to get on my nerves i stuck to rossette plants.

the plec is a clown pleco only 2 inches so i dont think i need to worry about that .but are you sure red ivy will be ok i thought i read that it needs more then 2.5 wpg?

 

[aaronnorth]

the red ivy will need high light, but with the size of your tank, i think you will be able to get away with it. for It will need CO2, for a tank this size, about 5 DIY bottles or nutrafin cannisters will be needed - a lot of maintenance! A pressurized system is better if you have the money, a cheaper way of setting this is up is to use a fire extinghuisher (FE) and buy the accesories needed. I did this, i ordered a regulator built in with a solenoid, bubble counter, needle valve, check valve for £60 from aquatic magic on ebay:

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/__Fish_CO2-Regulator...id=p3286.c0.m14

in addition to this, another check valve, CO2 airline & a diffuser or reactor is needed, and a FE

It cost me £82 to set up with a 2Kg fe which will last me a year on my 60l! thereafter it will costa few pound to get it refilled. Alternativley, you can go with a set that is already built up like this D&D set:

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...products_id=649

 

[catfish101]

what is the difrance between the really expencive Co2 systems and the 40 doller ones also could you recomend a substrate?

 

[aaronnorth]

the expensive ones are pressurized, they will give out a constant CO2 output which is controllable so you can add more or less depending on the levels i your aquarium which can be measured by a drop checker. Here is the FE guide:

http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/21...ressurised-CO2/

the cheaper ones use fermentation for example the nutrafin kit. A mixture of yeast, sugar and water is made in the cannister which reacts to produce CO2, this can fluctuate which will cause algae and at the initial start up and as it tires, CO2 production will be low/ none. The mixture will need changing every wee to try to avoid this, 2 cannisters are better as you can change one midweek, so the other is still injecting CO2 while the other is reacting t early stages. The same can be dine with a DIY kit, a 2l pop bottle acts as the cannister, take a look in my sig at the DIY CO2.


Substrate wise, ADA aquasoil is the best, bust is also the dearest. another good choice is eco-complete, i would next reccomend flourite, then as the cheapest, but better than nothing the tetra plant. All can be found here:

http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...x&cPath=220

for tetra plant, it is cheapest at warehouse aquatics:

http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/tetrap...58kg-1055-p.asp

 

[catfish101]

ok thanks what would you recomend as fa as lighting? right now i only have a 45 wat bulb so i will need to upgrade that

 

[aaronnorth]

If you are going to be running CO2, then i would get 120watts of lighting, if you dnt want CO2, then go for about 90watts of lighting. With the hight of your tank, go for T5's, Metal halides or power compacts/ compact flourescents so that the lighting is powerful enough to penetrate to the bottom.

 

[catfish101]

could you point me in the right direction of where to buy the lighting equipment.
thanks,
Nate

 

[aaronnorth]

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_...cfm?c=3578+3733

I know these are un the US but i am not sure anywhere else as i am in England, there is also ebay.