Upsizing Freshwater Setup

[TheRandomHero]

Hey everyone
 
Currently I have a small setup, 40L, 4 Harlequins, 4 Endlers & 3 Peppered Corys. The tanks been set up about 6 months now and everything is going fine. I'm wanting to get a larger tank soon, and make it more of a centrepiece in the room rather than just a 'hobby' tank. I came here to get an idea of what i'll be undertaking
 
I'm thinking 150-200L, that's a certain.... after that things get kind of vague
 
Is it worth considering a planted tank? If so what plants would be ideal. I've seen this tank (http/www.aquariumguys.com/lib/yhst-85300140756196/potm-winner-may09.jpg) which I think looks lovely, plenty of green along the floor with a nice big 'hideaway' area for the fish. I'm assuming the driftwood sold in aquarium stores would be the best bet for wood? Would any wood purchased need treating? If planted what is a good substrate?
 
When the new tank is setup how should I cycle it? Am I right in thinking half my old filter media sponge and a ladies tights full of gravel will kickstart it massively? Or could I set it up, with the new (inevitably larger) filter AND the old one (so 2 filters until the cycle completes) and a tight full of gravel, and move the fish in immediately. As much as I'd hate to stress the fish, I figured by technically putting my 'old tank' WITHIN my new tank (Filter/Gravel etc) the 150L could handle the tiny bio-load of 11 small fish while newly cycled bacteria is established on the new filter media (this sounds very confusing I hope you've managed to follow )
 
Thankyou so much for reading and any comments will be much appreciated!
 
Rob

 

[BerryAttack]

yes it is always worth having a planted tank.
with the right set up any plants will do.
Wood really depends on what style of the tank you want to go for..but i always like the spider aquarium wood.. it is very neat. probably not the right name for it but that is what i call it hah
for the substrate.. i would advise to dirt the tank, and have a black small gravel on top. the dirt will allow all plants to do very well and without having nutrients put into the water (liquid from bottle you buy from store) you don't need to spend the money on it and far less algae issues.. i find that it is the best IMO.. the plants are always lush.. the downside is that you cannot remove plants.. dirt will go around tank and you'll have a mess.. but in the end it looks beautiful.
for the new tank i would advise to do a fish less cycle.. always better on the fish and your wallet.
if you set up the tank, you can take already filtered material and put it into the filter.. it'll cycle your tank way faster... but i would always wait at least a month and before adding in fish test the water to make sure all is good.
for the fish i would say have the tank that you already have stay up and running until you have the other one cycled and planted, and designed the way you want.

 

[TheRandomHero]

Cool, thanks for the reply
 
I'll read more into a planted tank then. You say for planted I should 'dirt' the tank? Is this special aquarium substrate or would any good quality soil/fertiliser bag work?
 
OK I'll stick to fishless once I get round to it then, I still have some ammonia crystals left from my current tank so that in combination with my own filter media should seriously kickstart it Plus I still have lots left in my API kit so that's good to go again. Yeah you're right, I could do with aquascaping the new tank without fish in it, because it'll need ages to settle once I've fiddled with it.
 
Thanks for the advice

 

[BerryAttack]

with the dirt you can use anything, BUT it has to be 100% organic..