Desperate Empty Aquarium Owner.

[soulmia]

Hey guys,
I need some advise.
2 weeks ago, I got my new tank! It’s 48 inches in length, 24 inches in height and 12 inches in depth. After filling it and then draining it (to check for leaks). Yesterday I started “decorating” my tank.

I have a planted tank with:
Red ludwigia
Anubias Nana (dwarf)
Red Rotala
Brazilian Water Ivy (Hydrocotyle leucocephala)
Dwarf Aquarium Lily (Nymphaea stellata)
Water Sprite (ceratopteris Thalictrodes)
Marti (Ruffle) Sword
And a couple more who’s names I don’t know! :ezpi_wink1:

30 kilos (66lbs) of coarse gravel substrate containing laterite. This is the best I could get in Bangalore. :rolleyes:

My questions:

I have put a regular tube light in the tank but will change it for a fluorescent tube tomorrow ( all shops are close today) How many watts should I have for a tank this size?

I don't mean to sound like a cheap skate but I have a LOT of pellet food as I bought a HUGE bag in Thailand. I don’t want to waste that. Keeping that in mind, what fish could I keep in my planted tank that are hardy, playful, colorful, and non-aggressive?
I have been told that I can have neon tetras, black neon tetras, hockey stick tetras and rasboras. Is true? How many can I keep in my tank?

I saw a gorgeous variety of guppies, how many of those can I keep in addition to the above mentioned fish?

I have taken a couple of pictures of my tank - how can I put them here?

PLEASE HELP ME on all counts !!!!! THANKS IN ADVANCE!

[Lady Hobbs]

When you post again, either hit Post Reply (on the left) or the quite reply button next to quote and then Go Advanced below the posting box and there you will see Manage Attachments under the radio box. This area will post a thumbnail size for you. This size is only required in the Contest Threads tho. Thru-out the forum you can post large pictures. If you have it stored on a website, just enter the url right in the body of the post.

Light for plants should be 2 watts per gallon. Some go a bit higher and some do fine at even lower but 2 is about average. Your tank is 60 gallons.

Don't buy fish that can only eat those pellets because you don't want to waste them. You don't want to be stuck with fish you don't really want when the pellets are gone. But the selection mentioned above is a good selection.

With a heavily planted tank such as yours, you will not need to even cycle but don't overload your tank right off with fish. Start with maybe 10 and in a week add 10 more.

[Rue]

...I agree...you've already named some great fish for a planted tank...

...get some corydoras for the bottom...again, get a school of at least 12 for your tank size...

...a planted shoaling tank is a beautiful thing!!! Make sure you post pics for us!

[soulmia]

Lady Hobbs: Thank you thank you!!! Now I can put my tank pics up!!!!! Do let me know what you think! I have more pics but they wouldn't upload - maybe I didn't store them properly...I'll look into it....but would you call my tank heavily planted?

About the lighting, what you're saying is that I need 120 watts worth of tube light for my tank - right? won't that be very bright? Will my plant's leaves burn with this?

I agree with you about the food, I did some thinking and I'd rather get fish I want rather than fish I want because I want to finish my fish food. If I do stock with tetras, I'll but them those flakes - tetras like them right? Since I've never had such small fish before, what is the right amount of food for them? I know that I should see how much they eat but what's the rule of thumb?

I was thinking of getting a couple of guppies too - with the fish I mentioned, is this a bad idea?

Rue:I was thinking of corydoras as well - 12 you say?? So if I have 12 cory's how many tetras can I have once my tank is fully stocked??

Thanks so much you guys! Really - I have always wanted one of those really pretty tanks - the kind one sees in magazines... and I really hope I can have something similar!

[Drumachine09]

Lady Hobbs: Thank you thank you!!! Now I can put my tank pics up!!!!! Do let me know what you think! I have more pics but they wouldn't upload - maybe I didn't store them properly...I'll look into it....but would you call my tank heavily planted?

About the lighting, what you're saying is that I need 120 watts worth of tube light for my tank - right? won't that be very bright? Will my plant's leaves burn with this?

I agree with you about the food, I did some thinking and I'd rather get fish I want rather than fish I want because I want to finish my fish food. If I do stock with tetras, I'll but them those flakes - tetras like them right? Since I've never had such small fish before, what is the right amount of food for them? I know that I should see how much they eat but what's the rule of thumb?

I was thinking of getting a couple of guppies too - with the fish I mentioned, is this a bad idea?

Rue:I was thinking of corydoras as well - 12 you say?? So if I have 12 cory's how many tetras can I have once my tank is fully stocked??

Thanks so much you guys! Really - I have always wanted one of those really pretty tanks - the kind one sees in magazines... and I really hope I can have something similar!

You are only allowed 4 images per post.

You have an AWESOME cabinet too! i love it!

[soulmia]

Thanks for the compliment about the cabinet! I designed it myself! I stock all the fish stuff in their "closet" :hmm3grin2orange: Basically the base is a thick log of wood so that it can take the weight of the water - so I added two drawers too...

[Drumachine09]

Thanks for the compliment about the cabinet! I designed it myself! I stock all the fish stuff in their "closet" :hmm3grin2orange: Basically the base is a thick log of wood so that it can take the weight of the water - so I added two drawers too...



Well, you did a heck of a good job! I like it. What kind of wood is it?

[Rue]

I love the drawers!!! I want cabinets with drawers!!! Why don't ALL cabinets have drawers???

...corys aren't huge waste producers...although I suppose 12 individuals adds up...

...just add fish slowly...once you feel your tank is fully stocked, take water readings...odds are with all the plants and adequate filtration, you can overstock a bit...

[Lady Hobbs]

Generally when I post pictures the site only allows for 3 but I believe it must be due to the fact your pictures even without being thumbnail size are well sized. YOU DID SO GOOD! Glad you could understand my instructions.

Your tank looks awesome. Your plants still need some growing to do before I would consider it densely planted so I would definately start with not a full load of fish. No point in taking a chance of an ammonia spike if it can be avoided.....right? With small fish you will be able to add lots anyway but adding 40 right off the bat is not wise.

A light that has two 60 watt bulbs is fine. Some plants require more light than others, of course, especially those that flower or plants that you want to show up nicely like red plants. It takes good lights to bring up those nice colors. You also want watts good enough to hit the bottom of the tank and not get lost somewhere in the middle and your tank is higher than the standard 55 gallon.

Do you have CO2 for your plants? You can put together an easy CO2 set up with a pop bottle, some water and some yeast and it works pretty well and saves you from buying the professional outfit..... tank and regulator.

Your selection of fish sounds great. Ever check into the cichlids? Those are pretty darned awesome, as well, and some can go in planted tanks like the Apistogramma's. They only get about 3 inches. But hey.......there is always the NEXT tank, right?

Isn't this just so much fun!

[soulmia]

You know, fish keeping is still in nascent stages here. You get very little in terms of substrate, plants, lighting, fertilizers etc..so I try and gt stuff when I travel.
But India is good for one thing - getting handmade things cheap. I hired a carpenter and he charged me appox. 60 dollars to make the base and roof, inclusive of wood, polishing, handles , light fixture and labour.

My problem is access to correct information. The local aquariums are just interested in selling their fish so they misguide you about good tank mates - that way, if the fish die, you'll come back for more! It's horrid. I've boycotted 4 shops because of this! So you guys are who I rely on!

I'm thinking that I'll stick to tetras...maybe 2 or 3 female and 1 male guppy..(ther are stunning all gold guppies at the shop and I'm in love!) So I was thinking of having about 6 corys, 4 guppies and an assortment of tetras amounting to about 20 - 25. Is this too much?

Thanks so much for the tips!

[Drumachine09]

You know, fish keeping is still in nascent stages here. You get very little in terms of substrate, plants, lighting, fertilizers etc..so I try and gt stuff when I travel.
But India is good for one thing - getting handmade things cheap. I hired a carpenter and he charged me appox. 60 dollars to make the base and roof, inclusive of wood, polishing, handles , light fixture and labour.

My problem is access to correct information. The local aquariums are just interested in selling their fish so they misguide you about good tank mates - that way, if the fish die, you'll come back for more! It's horrid. I've boycotted 4 shops because of this! So you guys are who I rely on!

I'm thinking that I'll stick to tetras...maybe 2 or 3 female and 1 male guppy..(ther are stunning all gold guppies at the shop and I'm in love!) So I was thinking of having about 6 corys, 4 guppies and an assortment of tetras amounting to about 20 - 25. Is this too much?

Thanks so much for the tips!


Idealy, you should have three females to one male guppy.


The beauty about this site, is that noone is here for financial gain. We dont get anything out of giving you advice, so we might as well give good advice, right?

[soulmia]

Drumachine09: I agree that the 3:1 ration for guppies is good as this makes them less stressed but my worry with the extra female guppies is that that's thrice the amount of babies!!!! I currently have three betta bowls as well and I am planning on adding one more betta to my family this week!!:hmm3grin2orange:
and yes,this is a great place for advise. It's very heartening to know that people who don't know each other help so willingly!

Lady Hobbs: Find my replies between yours - in red :)
Generally when I post pictures the site only allows for 3 but I believe it must be due to the fact your pictures even without being thumbnail size are well sized. YOU DID SO GOOD! Glad you could understand my instructions.
Thanks :) I used microsoft office picture manager! Compressed for websites :)Thanks for the tip!

Your tank looks awesome. Your plants still need some growing to do before I would consider it densely planted so I would definately start with not a full load of fish. No point in taking a chance of an ammonia spike if it can be avoided.....right? With small fish you will be able to add lots anyway but adding 40 right off the bat is not wise.
Thanks for the compliment! This is my first serious attempt at a planted tank...so I am very nervous! I purposely chose smaller plants so that they grow with me...or rather with my knowledge of planted tanks :) I agree with not putting too many fish in at once. Since I only filled the water and plants etc yesterday, I was thinking of introducing fish on tuesday. Maybe a few neon tetras ( 5 pairs). Then a week later,if all is well, I'll add another lot - this time corydoras and the subsequently add similar batches at regular intervals and stop when I reach around 35 - 40. Does this sound ok?

A light that has two 60 watt bulbs is fine. Some plants require more light than others, of course, especially those that flower or plants that you want to show up nicely like red plants. It takes good lights to bring up those nice colors. You also want watts good enough to hit the bottom of the tank and not get lost somewhere in the middle and your tank is higher than the standard 55 gallon.
When I assembled the aquarium yesterday, I realised 2 things, to my horror - 1) the electrician who had fitted the light holder had fixed one where I can only have one tube light. I will chck to see if this can be changed.
2) In my excitement of setting up the tank, I had forgotten to buy a flourescent tube! So I used a regular tubelight of only 50 watts! Since all shops were closed today, I'll buy the light first thing tomorrow. 120 watts!! :)

Do you have CO2 for your plants? You can put together an easy CO2 set up with a pop bottle, some water and some yeast and it works pretty well and saves you from buying the professional outfit..... tank and regulator.
we don't get Co2 here :( Only one shop stocks it (the whole kit) and he's charging 630 USD for it!! That is way out of my budget!!! so I'll try what you suggested. How do I do this? and when do I do it? how often?

Your selection of fish sounds great. Ever check into the cichlids? Those are pretty darned awesome, as well, and some can go in planted tanks like the Apistogramma's. They only get about 3 inches. But hey.......there is always the NEXT tank, right?

I just donated my 25 gallon tank when I got this bigger one. I had kept cichlids in that tank and was very unhappy - they were very agressive and were attacking each other all the time! Maybe I got the wrong ones I don't know but I am just done with that - that's why I want small, non-agressive, hardy, colourful and playful fish!:hmm3grin2orange:

Isn't this just so much fun!
about the next tank, I think my boyfriend will disown me :hmm3grin2orange: I currently have this tank, and three betta bowls. I plan to add one more betta to my family so.... :))))
Thanks SO much for helping me out!!! I hope we can stay in touch!

[soulmia]

Well, you did a heck of a good job! I like it. What kind of wood is it?

I initially thought of using rosewood but then did a rethink. Since I plan on having the aquarium for a while, I figured it would be best to use the sturdiest wood I could get - so I used burma teak!

Got a melamine polished finish done so that water spills dont affect the polish.I'm glad you liked it! Thanks!

What did you think of my planting? It's my first attempt at a planted aquarium so any advise or tips are very welcome!

[Drumachine09]

I initially thought of using rosewood but then did a rethink. Since I plan on having the aquarium for a while, I figured it would be best to use the sturdiest wood I could get - so I used burma teak!

Got a melamine polished finish done so that water spills dont affect the polish.I'm glad you liked it! Thanks!

What did you think of my planting? It's my first attempt at a planted aquarium so any advise or tips are very welcome!

I LOVE teak wood. I have a didgeridoo that is made of teak, and one that is made of eucaliptus. I like the teak one, even thought the eucaliptus didge was 2x as expensive.

[Lady Hobbs]

CO2......

A two liter soda or juice bottle. Drill or punch a hole in the top just large enough for airline to go thru. (I have no drill so just punched a hole with a punch.) Run about two inches of airline thru the hole.

With either aquarium silicone or plumbers putty, seal up around the airline on the bottle cap to make sure no air can escape around the airline. Let dry overnight.

When you're ready to hook it up:

In your soda bottle, fill it half full of hot water. Add two cups of sugar and 1/4 to 1/2 t. of bakers yeast. (If you have soft water, a pinch of baking soda as well. ) Shake it up well to dissolve the sugar. Let the bottle sit for a few minutes until it clears up some and you'll know when it does the sugar is all dissolved. Finish filling the bottle about 3 inches from the top making sure water in the bottle is lukewarm. Add the yeast, give it a quick shake and screw the top on the bottle. Attach a bubbler to the end that goes in the tank and hide the bottle under the stand. You may need 3-4 of these set ups and whoola.......your very own CO2. This mixture will last about a month.

And it only takes about an hour to get it going with the bubbling.

What ya think of them apples?

I take it your lights are under the canopy? Your guy will have to run another light but have him tie them into each other if he can so you only have one switch. If it can be done that way. I don't "do" electrical.

[Chrona]

Keep in mind you will need 3-4 of those setups to provide enough CO2 for such a large tank (or one giant 5 gallon water container or something), which would be a royal pain to maintain imo. I would recommend just sticking with low light plants like cryptocoyrne, anubias, java fern, any variety of moss, etc. 2 watts per gallon over a 60G (or 100 watts total since you said each tube is 50w) will be sufficient lighting without bringing up the need for CO2 supplementation and fertilizers. Make sure you have some reflectors for the tubes though. I am assuming they are the shoplight variety (T-12 diameter). Those waste a lot of the light unless you have something to reflect it back into the tank.

You will not be able to get a picture perfect planted tank of that scale without spending money, and that means roughly 200 watts of lighting, pressurized CO2 and lots of fertilizer. The vast majority of the nice looking tanks you see are achieved so. Lower light (2 w/g) will grow most plants, but not enough light will penetrate to the bottom and you'll see stringy and not dense growth.

Imo, DIY CO2 is not consistent or reliable enough for a high tech tank of such a large scale (heck it's not even reliable enough for my 10g), and if your CO2 should fail for any reason at 3-4 watts/gallon, you will be immediately engulfed in algae hell. I'm surprised a CO2 rig would cost so much in Bangalore though. It is standard equipment for any kind of brewery, so look around for that. You need a regulator with a high pressure (intake) and low pressure(output) gauge, as well as a needle valve (can be ordered online) and an electronic solenoid if you want to automate things. (can also be ordered online)

A low tech tank can still look great (use driftwood with plants tied to it - do a search online for some pictures) at a fraction of the cost.

Just my two cents.

[Lady Hobbs]

I wouldn't use it either. I think those things might be good enough in small tanks but in a tank her size........blah. It would end up looking like some Mickey Mouse hook-ups and ruin the effect she has going in that nice huge tanks. Plants are gonna grow no matter what under good lights and with fertilizers.

[Chrona]

I wouldn't use it either. I think those things might be good enough in small tanks but in a tank her size........blah. It would end up looking like some Mickey Mouse hook-ups and ruin the effect she has going in that nice huge tanks. Plants are gonna grow no matter what under good lights and with fertilizers.

Although with more than 2-2.5 watts per gallon of good lighting, CO2 becomes a requirement. Even in low light conditions, plants will still benefit from CO2 injection, but whether or not it's worth it is up to the owner.

[soulmia]

Drumachine09: I know what you mean! I love teak too! the colour and texture is awesome. Also, it's very durable! Eucalyptus is also expensive here... but I'm not a fan... glad u liked my tank stand!

B]Lady Hobbs and Chrona:[/B] Hey guys thanks for the tips! Lady Hobbs, thanks for the homemeade CO2 set up - although I must admit, I will never be able to do this... I think I made one mistake when I ordered the tank... my tank's height is 2 feet(24 inches) and I'm short - and so are my arms :-) so to rig up this system often would mean a LOT of trouble for me.....
Chrons, From what I understand - you're saying I should forget adding cO2 if I can manage to get my lighting right - correct?
Lady Hobbs : I spoke to a friend who can redo my lighting situation for me... so, should I get 2 of these: 14W, 220V-240V, B22 Lamp, 6500K, 760 Lumen, 54lm/W - basically what the lighting guy said was that one of these would give an output of 75 watts each ( in terms of a regular light bulb)
but these tubes come without reflectors! What should I do??!!
VERY stressed now!!!! HELP PLEASE!!!!!

[Lady Hobbs]

I'm no lighting expert and will leave that for Chrona who knows more about lights than anyone here. My question would be if those lights would be directly over the water or do they have a cover of some sort over the bulb or does your tank have a glass top? You need to have some protection between the bulb and the water.

However if you don't intend to use any sort of CO2, my guess would be to have plants that would grow in lower lite tanks and stay with a lower watt bulb.....like no more than 2 watt per gallon. But as stated earlier, Chrona will offer better advice than I can give you.

[soulmia]

Thanks for the quick response!!! Unfortunately the tubes are without a cover... but theyare at a safe distance from the water....
I will ask chrona... basically i don't seem to have an option... maybe i'll take a couple pictures and post them.... may make it easier to understand...

on a new thing : i was admiring my tank:41: and suddenly I spotted a teeny tiny snail cover which looks a lot like this : [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
it is attached to my java fern... should i get it out???? I haven't put it there so it prolly came with the tank!!!!

Thinking of adding:
1 male and 3 female guppies
10 neon tetras

to the tank today - good or bad idea??

[Lady Hobbs]

Most likely come attached to one of the plants. Snails will take over a tank in short order so if you don't want them, I'd get him out. Or let them mutilple and get loaches as they will clean them out for you. Some snails eat plants, as well, but I don't know one type from another. I don't like them so never have bothered reading about them.

A picture really would help. But I wouldn't have a light installed without the reflector. You want them to shine down not all over.

A piece of metal can be bent and shaped as a reflector, mounted to the inside and then a light added to that.

Teakwood is so lovely and you picked an excellent wood. That stand would cost a whole lot here. I used to work in a boat factory and the cabinets for boats were all made of Teakwood. Odd wood to sand, tho. Instead of getting sawdust you get a very fine powder that gets into your pores and causes boils on your skin so we always had to wear protective clothing in the sanding department.

It's nearly 5:30 AM here in the States but I am still unable to fall asleep so will take a pill and give it another try.

[soulmia]

:19: eeeeeeeeee I added fish!!!!!! :19:

I added:
6 neon tetras
6 hockey stick tetras
2 albino corydoras (same size as the neons)
2 green/gray corydoras (same size as the neons)

While I was putting the tank's top back on, one of the hockey stick tetras jumped right out of the tank and fell on my foot! I almost had a seizure!!!! I quickly scooped him/her up and put it back into the tank.... hid in the leaves for 2 minutes ...and then, joint the pack...

But an hour after I put them in, 2 of my neon's died!!!!! The fish guy said it happens (!!) and he said that some fish get a shock with the change and can't handle it... But the rest all swimmin' around and look very happy - weird thing though... I thought they would all hide in the plants.. nope... swimmin' away.. one of the cory's is quite a weird one... he keeps swimming towards the filter's throw...so he's basically swimming "upstream" and he keeps doing that like he's decided to conquer this ... it's so funny to watch!

One or two of the neons swim at the top all the time while the rest are in a pack... does this mean there is less oxygen in my tank?? I have attached a pipe to the filter and it's sticking out of the tank... this is from where the filter sends oxygen into the tank.... should I add one of those air pumps which give bubbles in the tank?

I tried to find the snail but couldn't ... I hope this doesn't start a snail epidemic in my tank!! I'm really NOT a snail person!

I plan on adding these on saturday, 21 April:
12 cherry barbs
4 guppies ( 3 female and 1 male)

On Saturday, 28 April:The fish tank guy recommended :4 Golden widow tetras and 4 Black widow tetras... but i'm not sure of these... I read somewhere that they tend to be "nippy" when their in smaller schools.... should I add in about 6 lemon tetras and 4 more hockey stick tetras and 6 more neon tetras(2 extra as 2 died)

and then I'm done. This would make a total of 46 tetras. I have a 59.8 gallon tank... I don't want to add more as I feel my guppies will breed! Will this be too many fish?? I figuered - not ... but then again - what do I know??!!!

I have a LOT (like 1 kg/2.2 lbs) of pellet food and didn't want to throw it out... so I decided to powder it and give it to them.... I did that and gave them just a pinch ( i know I shouldn't have fed them today, but I just wanted to see if they take it.... otherwise I would run to the store and buy tetra flakes) .... but they ate it in a second!!! Is this ok??

Your idea about adding a metal plate sounds great! I'll see how I can do that!!THANKS!!!!!

Taken some pictures of my new babies :-) Lemme know what you think :luxlove:

Thanks again for everything - I haven't figured out how to give you one of those ribbon or gift thingies... if i did, i'd send u a whole bunch!!!!:41:

[Chrona]

You should see if you can get a test kit. 46 fish is a lot to add to an uncycled tank and you may well get some deaths due to ammonia/nitrite poisoning. I would recommend downloading our free ebook (menu on the left) and reading up about the nitrogen cycle. The tank looks good though

As for lighting, when we are talking about wattage, we are talking about fluorescent wattage, not the equivalent in incandescent lighting. so 2x 14 watt fluorescent lighting would give you 28/60 or less than 1/2 watt per gallon. Not enough to grow anything but algae. You need 2x 50 watt fluorescent light bulbs with reflectors, or 3x 50 watt fluorescent light bulbs if they do not have reflectors.

[soulmia]

I don't even think I can get 50W flourescent lights here!!! I'll check tomorrow!

I did download the ebook... but can I confess something... I got very bored reading it (no offense)... since half of the things are unavailable I lost interest!:41: Yeah! I know,I know.... if I want healthy plants and fish I should read.... sigh....
2 of my neons died an hour after adding them... :( but the others seem ok.... the cory's are acting really weird though... they'r swimming very energetically but a couple of them are swimming upside down and look like they're cleaning the surface of the water!!! Is this normal?? I got worried so I put in an airtube and attached an oxygen pump, thinking maybe they need oxygen.....

HALP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chrona]

I don't even think I can get 50W flourescent lights here!!! I'll check tomorrow!

I did download the ebook... but can I confess something... I got very bored reading it (no offense)... since half of the things are unavailable I lost interest!:41: Yeah! I know,I know.... if I want healthy plants and fish I should read.... sigh....
2 of my neons died an hour after adding them... :( but the others seem ok.... the cory's are acting really weird though... they'r swimming very energetically but a couple of them are swimming upside down and look like they're cleaning the surface of the water!!! Is this normal?? I got worried so I put in an airtube and attached an oxygen pump, thinking maybe they need oxygen.....

HALP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, as you will find, reading is key to a successful tank in this hobby. I thought you said you had a 50 watt tube light? I assumed that was a fluorescent tube? Any combination will work, you just need about 120 watts of fluorescent lighting total, be it 3x 40's or 4x 30's or 6x 20's (I don't know if fluorescent tubes are the same standard wattages over there as in the US.)

As for the fish, how did you introduce them to the tank? You should be floating the bag for 20 minutes, then putting 1 cup of tank water into the bag every 10 minutes for an hour. That will greatly reduce stress on the fish. Also, how far away is the fish store? If the fish died within an hour, that means they were either weak fish to start off with or the acclimation process was too quick.

[soulmia]

can you please browse this link and tell me what I should get??
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Chrona]

can you please browse this link and tell me what I should get??
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Well, I didn't really find any idea bulbs on there, as most were too small and the site doesn't seem to tell you how long they are

This was the closest to what you need (although the K value is pretty low - is gonna look yellowish). It had a built in starter (!?!)

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I think you are better off looking for something like this, possibly off of ebay, or see if you can get a local store to order it for you:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

48" 130 watt 6700k bulbs

Or something similar to that

[Lady Hobbs]

Chrona, I was reading the other day that even a piece of galvanized gutter works pretty good as a reflector. I thought that was rather a novel idea in a pinch.

Soulmia, I would try to find something to use as a relector. Even one of those large foil heavy-duty cooking pans would work. They are pretty tough and used for cooking a huge turkey so should work well enough as a reflector if you were to cut it and shape it in such a way. Or get a big piece of stainless steel ( even galvanized).

As Chrona already said, watch your ammonia and nitrites in a few days to make sure your fish don't give you a "spike". Feed them only a bit for the next few days, as well. Food + poo=more ammonia.

[soulmia]

will look for these in the light shops tomorrow... thanks again!

[Chrona]

Chrona, I was reading the other day that even a piece of galvanized gutter works pretty good as a reflector. I thought that was rather a novel idea in a pinch.

Soulmia, I would try to find something to use as a relector. Even one of those large foil heavy-duty cooking pans would work. They are pretty tough and used for cooking a huge turkey so should work well enough as a reflector if you were to cut it and shape it in such a way. Or get a big piece of stainless steel ( even galvanized).

As Chrona already said, watch your ammonia and nitrites in a few days to make sure your fish don't give you a "spike". Feed them only a bit for the next few days, as well. Food + poo=more ammonia.

Heh, I never thought about that. A gutter is a pretty good idea. One thing to avoid though is aluminum foil. A pure white reflector is better than an an aluminum foil one.

[soulmia]

I thought that was a brilliant idea as well... thumbs2: (can't wait to get me enough points to buy you all those gifts!!)
I ordered a piece of stainless steel (very shiny and reflective) which will come tomorrow. It will basically cover the roof of my tank's top.
For tonight, I just taped kitchen silver foil to the tank's top....

Thanks hobbs, I really hope it works...

[Lady Hobbs]

Whoever is doing this for you, ask them if they can bend the sides down lengthwise (like a two sided box) leaving enough room for the lights. Leave enough room incase you want to add another light later. This will direct the light downward rather than outward as will happen if you just mount the stainless flush with the cover.

If you bend 3-4 inches down on each side lengthwise, you will have plenty of room. Stainless has some very sharp corners so maybe if they could round the corner off a tiny bit there will be no cuts for you!

I'm glad you have this under control. I know it's been stressful for you. All we do is go online and order what we want and your situation certainly made more complications.

[soulmia]

Oh God! i'm telling you, I was beside myself! I was feeling so guilty and felt like a horrible cruel person who has killed off these helpless things!

I did tell the guy who's making this for me to do that - the way I explained it was that it should resemble a shallow-er upside down shoe box with two sides (and they say shoes don't come handy! Bah! what do men know!! LOL)
sigh now I just hope he understood me!

Stressful is putting it mildly! It's so frustrating when people give you all this good advise and I can't implement it! Arrrgh!
Please don't leave me Hobbs... you guys are my life savers - more importantly, my fish's life savers!

[Chrona]

Oh God! i'm telling you, I was beside myself! I was feeling so guilty and felt like a horrible cruel person who has killed off these helpless things!

I did tell the guy who's making this for me to do that - the way I explained it was that it should resemble a shallow-er upside down shoe box with two sides (and they say shoes don't come handy! Bah! what do men know!! LOL)
sigh now I just hope he understood me!

Stressful is putting it mildly! It's so frustrating when people give you all this good advise and I can't implement it! Arrrgh!
Please don't leave me Hobbs... you guys are my life savers - more importantly, my fish's life savers!

Hobb's is going nowhere - She's retired ;)

[soulmia]

You have NO idea how much I am depending on Hobbs and you! My face currently resembles a swollen tomato - I have cried my eyes out all day!

Listen - on a completely different note, when my tank settles down and I add fish, if I put in a betta, what other fish can I safely put with it in my planted tank?

and yes Hobbs and Chrona: If I haven't said it before - thanks. Seriously. Thanks.

[Chrona]

You have NO idea how much I am depending on Hobbs and you! My face currently resembles a swollen tomato - I have cried my eyes out all day!

Listen - on a completely different note, when my tank settles down and I add fish, if I put in a betta, what other fish can I safely put with it in my planted tank?

and yes Hobbs and Chrona: If I haven't said it before - thanks. Seriously. Thanks.

It depends on what other fish you decide to get. In a 60g tank though, it should not be an issue regardless. Betta's don't get along with fancy guppies and anything they can fit in their mouths, (and other bettas) but that's about it.

Neon tetras, zebra danios, oto cats, cories, rasboras, are all good choices. Better choices imo, include dwarf gourami, cardinal tetra, discus, rummynose tetras, but they are harder to keep.

[soulmia]

It depends on what other fish you decide to get. In a 60g tank though, it should not be an issue regardless. Betta's don't get along with fancy guppies and anything they can fit in their mouths, (and other bettas) but that's about it.

OH! So no guppies then? I saw GORGEOUS golden guppies and was thinking of getting 3 females and 1 male... so it's either them or a betta... hmnn.

Neon tetras, zebra danios, oto cats, cories, rasboras, are all good choices. Better choices imo, include dwarf gourami, cardinal tetra, discus, rummynose tetras, but they are harder to keep.

While these are all nice, I can't help but wonder if they are way to delicate for me to keep... should I go for fish like Black & Albino widows and the like??