just starting ^^

[imma24]

That is plenty of filtration

Also, if I were you, I would also invest in a 5-10gal tank for quarantine purposes - as long as you are planning on a larger tank, it would help to quarantine new fish so any potential illnesses can be treated instead of infecting your whole tank (unless you have plans for one already).

[HarryB]

For substrate you can just use a simple substrate such as gravel or sand and then when you add your plants you can get your nutrients from something such as root tabs that you can push into the substrate where you need them. This saves on the expense of specialist substrates that you are only going to need if you are looking to plant very heavily, I use API Root Tabs and have seen amazing growth in my plants (especially in Vallis).

[ChaosWolf]

ohh ty i forgot about the quarantine tank the plant substrate i found is actually not priced badly its 8.50$ for 15lbs n im paying 17$ per 25 gallons on gravel so its acutaly slightly cheaper so works out good for me link to it:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInUS%2FNo

i just have to go to store to get it so was going to wait on that till i pick up tank because its n 2hr drive back n forth to the petsmart that has the tank i want.

[ChaosWolf]

Also how do i tell what kind of lighting would work? do i just need to get a stronger bulb or? i was looking at them on amazon going 0.o lol

[Lady10Godiva]

For lights the watts of each bulb is determined by the length. You really cant get strong bulbs if the fixture is lacking.

If you plan on plants on the bottom of the tank I would suggest a 4 bulb t5ho setup with all 6700k bulbs for plant growth. That would give you 156w of lights with a 36" fixture. I use the odyssea brand t5ho fixtures. They are about thr cheapest I have found. I buy mine off of ebay since they are cheaper there and come with bulbs.

[ChaosWolf]

i found a light fixture from Aquareon for a reasonable price and lights don`t look like that cost to bad 10.19$ per n lasts 6-18months if i remember right for Fluorescent

heres the ones i found just to make sure this is right.
Fixture:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Lighting:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[ChaosWolf]

i got my tank but i got 56 gallon instead of 65 -.- i called them ahead of time asking ifthey had tank in stock i get to store n they tell me "oh we don`t carry that one.. im like WTH which one did they think i was talking about.. they show me some 60 gallon one instead -.- im like RAWR but then i see this 56 one n it is so nice! so i ended up with it lol im starting to cycling today trying to get to 4ppm ammonia in it lol i messured it at about 45 gallons of water with 30 lbs of plant substrate and 50lb of gravel so cycling here we go! lol then i`ll work on plants then fish so i figure probly by june will be 1st fish lol
also im glad i didn`t buy the lighting yet XD because this is 30inch tank heres link to it if u guys want to see also i stuck 2 filters into it + water current + heater so its looking pretty nice for now.Also dose anyone know where i can buy driftwood? i noticed my petstores only carry fake kind.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...AvailInUS%2FNo

for tank its umm Marineland® 56 Gallon Column Style Aquarium and Stand - Black
56 gallon glass aquarium w/ a plastic frame
Includes black MDF stand with a glass door
Ideal for tropical or marine applications