So my daughter is planning her Christmas list and wants a tank. She has a 12 gallon Aquapod currently which she inherited from me when I upgraded my reef tank to a 40 Breeder. The Aquapod is stock with 54 watts of power compact lighting. She has a piece of driftwood, a java fern and one other live plant in a gravel substrate. Fish wise she has 4 fancy guppies, a molly, a cori catfish and 2 zebra danios. THings have been going ok but the plants have only been in the tank for about 3-weeks fertalized with root tabs.
K, on to the present. She wants a bigger one so she can have more fish. She also like the look of the planted tanks she has seen on this site. Specifically, she likes the look of tanks with ground cover and some floating tanks. My concern is that she is 9 years old and that in order to have a tank like that she would need a CO2 system. I have read about the DIY systems and they seem simple enough to build but I am concerned about her having to test/monitor those levels, etc.
I am willing to help her but the last FW tank I had was a cichlid tank many moons ago. I also want this to be her tank and therefore be responsible for its upkeep. I saw this tank at Petsmart. It isn't as big as she wants but it looks like something more manageable.
http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/live-plant-aquarium-25-deluxe-kit.htm
I am not a big fan of kits so I was also thinking about getting her a 30-40 gallon tank with a nice T5 light (any recommendations would be appreciated!), filter, good substrate and heater. Can she have the tank she wants with these components alone or should I start steering her in another direction? Thanks very much.
K, on to the present. She wants a bigger one so she can have more fish. She also like the look of the planted tanks she has seen on this site. Specifically, she likes the look of tanks with ground cover and some floating tanks. My concern is that she is 9 years old and that in order to have a tank like that she would need a CO2 system. I have read about the DIY systems and they seem simple enough to build but I am concerned about her having to test/monitor those levels, etc.
I am willing to help her but the last FW tank I had was a cichlid tank many moons ago. I also want this to be her tank and therefore be responsible for its upkeep. I saw this tank at Petsmart. It isn't as big as she wants but it looks like something more manageable.
http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/live-plant-aquarium-25-deluxe-kit.htm
I am not a big fan of kits so I was also thinking about getting her a 30-40 gallon tank with a nice T5 light (any recommendations would be appreciated!), filter, good substrate and heater. Can she have the tank she wants with these components alone or should I start steering her in another direction? Thanks very much.