So New 55 What to do! (planted, filter questions)

patadams66

i dont see anything about ammonia

ph is 7.7-7.8

hardness is 122 ppm or 7.1 gpg

nitrates: 5.1 ppm

doesnt say anything about nitrites

Byron

That is not at all bad water. No mention of the KH (alkalinity) which is what buffers the pH, but as the GH is 7 dGH the carbonate hardness is not likely higher. Which means the pH will tend to lower a bit as the tank matures. So you are fine with a majority of fish options. Some of the hardier soft water fish would work well. For livebearers you might want ot harden the water a bit, with dolomite or coral (crushed gravel for either).

patadams66

hey byron,

so i bought some small gravel and 2 25 lbs of play sand at home depot today

i also bought some t8 bulbs, i got 6500k and some 3k ones i couldnt remember what the second bulb you recommended was?

also i was looking into these species for my tank:

Rosaline Shark
Redtail Botia
Odesa Barb
Rainbow fish
Cardinal, pepperment, Panda, and Rummy Nose Tetras
and some Cories.

any opinions on those? i was never a tetra fan before for some reason but as i walked through my LFS i kind of liked the differences and they caught my eye.

the rosaline sharks have been on my "to get" list for a while but they are pretty expensive so i have put it off till now.

patadams66

also,

i tried searching "cycling planted aquarium" and my brain hurts lol

can anyone tell me the differences between cycling planted vs non planted?

at what point can i put the plants in?

BarbH

You can place the plants in right away. If you have enough plants in the tank, than you could add a couple of fidh right away. With a planted tank as it is going through the cycling process the plants will use up the ammonia that is being produced, and will help to keep the ammonia from getting too high. Also if it is planted heavily enough you may never even see a rise in the nitrites. I am sure someone else will probably be able to explain in better detail.

Nubster

If you add plants AND use some of your old gravel (just stick it in a filter bag or old panty hose) to seed the tank, you'll likely never see a cycle. Keep the seed gravel in there a week or so then remove it. You'll be good to go.

Byron

You can read info on some of these fish in our profiles, click on the shaded name [if the name in posts is exactly the same as used in the profile it will shade, common or scientific]. Roseline shark is actually the Denisons Barb. Odessa Barb. Many species of Corydoras are included under "Catfish" section. Three rainbow fish species are under the "Atherinids" section. Many tetra are under the Characins; the Panda Tetra is under Dawn Tetra and as noted there this is not a good community fish, I would avoid it. Cardinal Tetra and Brilliant Rummynose Tetra need soft acidic water, so I would consider waiting to see how acidic your tank becomes, or maybe diluting the water with pure or soft water; we can discuss later.

Redtail Botia is Yasuhikotakia modesta also sometimes called Blue Botia; not in our profiles yet, but it reaches 7-10 inches, will really dig in the substrate, needs a group (like all loaches, they are highly social fish) so you may want to reconsider; a 60g is not a lot of space for this fish, and it will certainly limit plants and other fish species. A group of 5-6 7-inch loaches that actively dig will decimate a planted tank.

Byron.

patadams66

is there anything you would suggest? right now cories the rosaline sharks and a cpl rainbows are all i have planned, if you think somehting would be cool let me know!

also plant suggestions?

im getting some swords for the background, but not really sure i bought a cool piece of drift wood today so i would really like to attach some Java Moss to it, but other than those i really have no clue!

Thanks in advance!

Byron

I'm not too fond of suggesting fish as others should have the type of fish they like,not what I like, but I will comment when I see probable issues. I could point you toward fish species, but are all the fish in your signature still in this tank, or will be?

patadams66

this is a new tank not that 55 in my signature ;)