For father's day my wife has let me buy an aquarium and I was lucky enough to get my hands on a 55 gallon set up off of craigslist with all the trimmings, everything but plants and fish. I've done quite a bit of research over the last month, reading up on the nitrogen cycle, equipment, fish, etc. Along with visiting several LFS and talking to anyone who will listen about it. I'm just going to toss out my plans, a few questions and any advice/suggestions are more than welcome.
Freshwater tank. Easier, cheaper, more goober proof.
Fish:
Neon Tetra (~12)
Rummy-nose Tetras (~8)
Serpea Tetras (~8)
Panda Cory Catfish (~4)
Red Tailed Black Shark (1)
Fake plants. I want to plant my tank eventually but I figure I'll save myself the added complication to begin with. Just how much cover do the tetras need to relax? One thing I've found is that decorating a 55 gallon tank is far more expensive than I'd have guessed.
Substrate. I was initially planning on using small red/brown river pebbles from Lowes, I was thinking it would set off the colors of the tetras nicely and it looks more natural to me. However I was reading that the corys would do better with a sand substrate. So now I'm considering either splitting the tank with half sand and half pebbles or even mixing the two, mostly sand but with some pebbles mixed in. Is there anything special I would need to know about using sand as a substrate? I was planning on using play sand from Lowes if I went with it. Also, will the corys really benefit from the sand or will they do just fine with the pebbles?
The shark. The advice I have received in regards to the RTBS is that it can be just fine in this tank if I introduce it properly. If the shark is the last fish added to the tank, and it is still young it will do just fine with the other fish, ignoring them as it grows up.
The number of fish. I think I'm fine with the number of fish I'm planning on, would I still have enough space for a small school of harlequin rasboras or maybe some more corys?
My filter is an Emperor 400.
This tank also comes with an undergravel filter but I have no intention of using it. Since it's coming with an air pump and I like bubble stones I was planning on putting one or two in the corners of the tank, just for visual appeal and maybe a bit of added aeration.
That's everything I can think of at the moment.
Freshwater tank. Easier, cheaper, more goober proof.
Fish:
Neon Tetra (~12)
Rummy-nose Tetras (~8)
Serpea Tetras (~8)
Panda Cory Catfish (~4)
Red Tailed Black Shark (1)
Fake plants. I want to plant my tank eventually but I figure I'll save myself the added complication to begin with. Just how much cover do the tetras need to relax? One thing I've found is that decorating a 55 gallon tank is far more expensive than I'd have guessed.
Substrate. I was initially planning on using small red/brown river pebbles from Lowes, I was thinking it would set off the colors of the tetras nicely and it looks more natural to me. However I was reading that the corys would do better with a sand substrate. So now I'm considering either splitting the tank with half sand and half pebbles or even mixing the two, mostly sand but with some pebbles mixed in. Is there anything special I would need to know about using sand as a substrate? I was planning on using play sand from Lowes if I went with it. Also, will the corys really benefit from the sand or will they do just fine with the pebbles?
The shark. The advice I have received in regards to the RTBS is that it can be just fine in this tank if I introduce it properly. If the shark is the last fish added to the tank, and it is still young it will do just fine with the other fish, ignoring them as it grows up.
The number of fish. I think I'm fine with the number of fish I'm planning on, would I still have enough space for a small school of harlequin rasboras or maybe some more corys?
My filter is an Emperor 400.
This tank also comes with an undergravel filter but I have no intention of using it. Since it's coming with an air pump and I like bubble stones I was planning on putting one or two in the corners of the tank, just for visual appeal and maybe a bit of added aeration.
That's everything I can think of at the moment.