Filters and substrate

[Carp92]

Hi guys I’m about to set up a 60 litres tank for a tropical community with a few live plants but I have couple of questions which I hope some of you can help me with.
So….
The tank comes with a small internal filter which to me seems to small for the job and I read some mixed reviews on them,I’m thinking to add a small sponge filter in conjunction with the internal…is it too much for a 60lt or can it be a good idea ?

Ideally I would like to put some fine gravel as substrate but I also want to have a few live plants.Is the gravel suitable for some beginners plants or do I need to add something underneath like a soil or similar ?

I’m sure some of you are wondering why I don’t watch a YouTube video for beginners but I swear I’ve seen too many people with different opinions an I’m just so confused.

Thanks in advance to the kind soul that is gonna waste 5 minutes of their life to help me.

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum Do you know the make of the internal filter you have and also the litre per hour or gallon per hour rating? Thats ultimately the most important thing. I tend to just go for external filters these days but some sponge filters are proving to be really good.

In terms of substrate, you don't need aquarium soil to have a successful planted tank but there are advantages. Plants can grow in sand and gravel but you sometimes need to add root tabs, which kind of do the same thing as soil but in a concentrated area. Using soil through the whole tank only really looks good if you plant the whole thing including a carpeting plant, where as with sand the gaps between the plants look good too. I have a mix in my tank with heavily planted areas with soil and the open areas with sand and rock 'barriers' between.

One thing to mention too is that I would always go for sand over gravel too as there are a lot of fish species that should only be kept on sand and none that really need to be kept on gravel, just fish that the substrate doesnt matter to like mid-upper water dwellers that rarely touch the bottom.

Wills

p.s its never a waste of time helping people

 

[Carp92]

Thank you so much Wills,i really appreciate it.
I think the filter is a Ciano but I’m not sure about model/size,I will find out.
I was initially going for sand as substrate but I’ve been put off by some people who reckon it’s harder to maintain compared to gravel but I prefer the natural look of sand and most of the species I will potentially add in future like a sandy bottom anyway so I’ll go with your advice.
Many thanks buddy

 

[Wills]

Thank you so much Wills,i really appreciate it.
I think the filter is a Ciano but I’m not sure about model/size,I will find out.
I was initially going for sand as substrate but I’ve been put off by some people who reckon it’s harder to maintain compared to gravel but I prefer the natural look of sand and most of the species I will potentially add in future like a sandy bottom anyway so I’ll go with your advice.
Many thanks buddy

It can be tricky to keep perfect but you can do things like add fish that dig in it and add Malaysian trumpet snails which live in the sand and keep it moving. Lots of plants help too as their root move around it does the same thing then at water change time just give it a prod with a fork or pincettes if you have them.

Is this your filter? https://ciano.pt/en/produto/cf80-2/ that has a turn over of 380 litres per hour which gives you about 6x turn over which isn’t bad but it is not the biggest filter for media and sponges so not guaranteed you won’t have to upgrade in the future.

Wills