Khuulio
Seedling
- Joined
- 17 Feb 2014
- Messages
- 17
Hello friends,
My parents recently allowed me to set up my first large scale (for me) aquarium tank, under the conditions that it fits around the budget of $500 AUD.
Being inspired by the shallow tanks such as the Bucket Of Mud and A Chocolate Puddle, I wanted to try something on a smaller scale.
I called up a local guy and he quoted me 150 for a 70x70x30 cm shallow cube tank (with 30cm being the height), which I think is reasonable, and am planning to go through with it If I can find suitable equipment.
Please bear in mind that it will be a heavily planted tank with a dirt/soil base, with emergent plants (basically a riparium, planning for peace lillies, and similar popular plants). Stock will be probably a shoal of fish and a pair of Dwarf Gourami. Plants, any low-moderate light plants such as Hygrophilia, Water Wisteria, Crypts, Amazon Swords, maybe Dwarf Sag.
Here is where I need advice from the experienced.
Any advice is helpful.
My parents recently allowed me to set up my first large scale (for me) aquarium tank, under the conditions that it fits around the budget of $500 AUD.
Being inspired by the shallow tanks such as the Bucket Of Mud and A Chocolate Puddle, I wanted to try something on a smaller scale.
I called up a local guy and he quoted me 150 for a 70x70x30 cm shallow cube tank (with 30cm being the height), which I think is reasonable, and am planning to go through with it If I can find suitable equipment.
Please bear in mind that it will be a heavily planted tank with a dirt/soil base, with emergent plants (basically a riparium, planning for peace lillies, and similar popular plants). Stock will be probably a shoal of fish and a pair of Dwarf Gourami. Plants, any low-moderate light plants such as Hygrophilia, Water Wisteria, Crypts, Amazon Swords, maybe Dwarf Sag.
Here is where I need advice from the experienced.
- Filtration: Many websites all have different advice on the filtration, some say a turnover of four times per hour, while other say ten. I personally feel that a filter is not extremely necessary for my tank (heavily planted), and I'm getting one for the sake of a fallback on filtration and as a device for surface agitation. I'm planning on getting an Aqueal 1000 because it seems sufficient (1000l/ph) and fits my budget. I want to get a canister, but unless I can find a cheap one of eBay, I'll stick to this filter. I might just get a used Koralia if I can pick one up.
- Lighting: I am extremely stumped here because of how tricky this topic is. Some people state that the WPG is outdated, and you should rely on PAR, while others say WPG is viable. Since I want to keep crypts and swords, I want moderate light. To meet my needs, I'm planning on getting a 2 feet T5HO ballast (2 tubes). I'm just hoping the emergent plants can live off the indirect sunlight from the windows. Or else, I need to get a light that I can hang from above, any recommendations that I can look out for? I saw the Kessil spotlight but that is way out of my budget, I have seen a few Metal Halide lights, but I don't know what strength I should be looking for...
- Heating: This seems straightforward. I plan on getting a heater later, but when I do, I feel that a 150W heater is sufficient because where I live (Sydney), the temperature range is around 30 degrees to 10 degrees Celsius. If I can afford a canister filter, I think I'll look for inline filters which can fit.
Any advice is helpful.