Sorry to dust off an old thread but I don't quite feel like making a brand new one on the exact same topic. So with allot of research following the feedback i got from this inquiry and some thought I'm thinking about leaving the entire concept of hightech planting out of the equation and since none of the plants i'm planning on have insanely high requirements going with a lowtech set up as far as the plants are concerned and simply attempting to maintain a planted discus habitat. That being said, I'm going to start assembling the hardware for this tank in the next few weeks and would really like some feedback here. My questions for the current stage are as follows:
-I need a 125 gal double overflow tank shipped to AK, I was thinking amazon, anybody else have some ideas?
-I'll need a filter to carry the stock through a couple months of operation, estimated stocking would be:
_______ 1 JD juvi, 30 cory, 2 rams, 30 tetras, 3 juvie plecs (all around 3 inches), 2x 4-5" ghost knives, 5 misc other fish [Please note: all the fish will be housed in the same 125 (their water is identical currently) but will be divided with egg crate and black plastic so they can't even see eachother, and only short term until my other tanks are shipped and assembled]. Also, once this stage is finished and the tank is running on the sump I'll be re-purposing the filter to a 55 rift lake tank, so I don't want something disposable or ridiculously hardcore either...I need solid, lasting, reliable flow with allot of space for media, preferable custom pack-able.
-Light rigs? I'm aiming for 4WPG at < $500, I'll be simply going low tech planted with general ferts and trace elements with mineralized top soil, I've built all my hoods to date and if nothing looks cool then i may do it again, but please what do ya'll know of?
-Heat? I was thinking 4x aqueon pro 200w
-Substrate....something cheep to be replaced
-probably a liquid test kit huh? or can he just dump in a bunch of ammonia and wait lol...we should have about 6-7 weeks for cycling
Is there anything I'm forgetting for this stage?
I'm planning on having the tank shipped to my old man up in AK, he'll fishless cycle it for me once the tank gets to him, once he's done with that I'll ship him the fish and then break down my tanks ship all my stuff and drive up the Alcan. The tank will be set up on the floor in his basement all bare bones and i'm not planning on anything really happening to it other than him plopping in what i ship him, so don't worry about frills at this point.
