Posible Tank Idea, Have A Few Questions

[Zikofski]

okay so i am wanting to do a tank dedicated to small fish, like neon tetras, and corey's now i want this to be a different tank not one that can be looked at from the side but more of a tank to look at from above, so my question is would a 20cm tall tank with around 15cm hight of water be to shallow for these fish, tank maybe 100L+ but very shallow, high tech planted with more shallow plants (carpets small crypts, moss.
 
what you all think

 

[fluttermoth]

It's a nice idea, but I think you're going to be sorely disappointed if you do it!

Nearly all fish, with the exception of things like fancy goldfish, that have been deliberately bred to be viewed from above, are just brown or dark grey if you look at them from above; even really bright ones like neons and blue rams

 

[Zikofski]

yea, i was thinking more for the cores, i had orange and green lasers in my old tank, they looked far more nicer from above with that stripe down them, but in general i kinda like fish from above, il still be able to look at it from the sides but its going to be close to the floor more like a coffee table style tank, again still in design phase at the moment i have not even thought of stocking really, but cories is a yes wasnt planning on mid level fish but i thought a huge load of neons may look quite nice shoaling together even from above

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's an interesting concept Zik.
 
From the sound of it, you might be best served just sticking to the cories.  I have neons and they don't look all that colorful from the top.  I suppose the bigger concern is that if you are focusing on viewing from above, you wouldn't have a very large viewing range for the tank.  I could be wrong, but the 15 cm also seems far too swallow for much in the way of mid-water shoalers. 
 
And cories and carpeting plants is not a good mix, in general.  They will be rather busy shuffling around digging in your substrate. 

 

[Zikofski]

hmm gd point with there, i have had 0 luck with carpet plant (DHG) but i love it so much, if i allow the DHG to grow for a month or two without fish in the tank, would the cories still dig it up? this is the method i am going to use in my 88L cabinet tank I'm going to get up and running in a month to 2 months time when i finally get back to the uk, as i want it to be predominately planted tank, but this one is more going to be cory's also another question i could ask at the moment, mixing cory's now i did this in my last tank, green and orange lasers as well as false julie? they also looked nice from above, is mixing cory's like this say 3 or 4 different styles kinds together with having 6 to 10 in each group, that could be 40 cores in a 160L tank so far a floor space of 100x80cm at 20cm height for side glass, with a maximum high for whole table 50cm i am also having problems finding a suitable filter at the moment but have two options, powerful filter to cover the 10x flow rate for plants/co2/ferts or go with a small filter and a powerhead hooked up to a spray bar. again i want it all in house, il show up come designs in a sec, 
 
just to make thins simple, il list my question to answer here
 
1) 20cm high tank (15cm water lvl) for cory's enough (YES)
2) Mixing different types of Cory's in a single tank?
3) Canister filter thats around 800-1000Lph and is bellow 50cm in height including adapters?
4) I would prefer a powerhead thats external with an inlet and outlet do these exist links or brands appreciate?
5) any more ideas you want to give feel free to mention
6) LED lighting but how to light a vast area without compromising the view from above

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Cories mix just fine, no issues.  Cories are like sheep... they go about their own business and don't bother anyone.  They prefer their own species, but get along fine with other species.  If you had 6-10 of each, that's fine.  Keeping all the same cories might look better, in terms of their behavior, but there's certainly no problem with it. 
 
 
Not sure about the filter you are looking for, but as far as powerheads go... I've only ever seen internal powerheads.  Not sure that they make ones that are 'external'.

 

[DerpPH]

How about you just make a paludarium? that would be a nice idea considering your description of the tank

 

[Zikofski]

thnx derp i didn't know what that was but a quick google and i don't think its what i am after tbh, i have come up with a design idea that i think may work, gives me enough space for equipment and keeping it low profile to my next hurdle is designing the lights, i will be making custom LED's again keeping it looking nice small and low profile wish they could be invisible but sadly no. don't think i will be able to design this on the computer and maybe buy a load and see how we go with things try a few concepts once tank is built but here is a picture so far what do you all think?
 

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It looks pretty neat.  Is this all going to be a custom build?
 
 
LED lighting on this, eh?  What about having the lights around the edge only, but aimed at the center of the tank?  Sort of a 'ring' - as you would see in a football stadium.

 

[Zikofski]

yes this will be a  custom build, i want the tank to be rimless, so i looked online at a calculator unsure how accurate it is, it suggested tank to be 2mm thick, so I'm gona go with 3mm thick to be safe, the lid will be 5 or 10mm thick should be okay with 10mm i recon as obviously its a table,
 
now lighting yes, i was thinking about that, having two strips run down the sides i believe that can be doable and look okay il look into some ideas either wooden strip it like a metal bar