INFORMATION OVERLOAD!!!!

LizSagara · Feb 1, 2011

dundadundun · Feb 1, 2011

LizSagara said:
Lighting: $47.60 http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/209846/i/7/product.web

Tank: $55.69 http://www.petinsanity.com/product.php?pid=28539

Filter: $35.98 http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3610

Substrate: $25.98 http://www.petsolutions.com/storefr.../prodEcoCompletePlantedAquariumSubstrate.html

Plants:

Anubias Nana: x3 $12.83 http://cgi.ebay.com/Anubias-nana-Li...224?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5c076358

Java Fern: x3 $12.83 http://cgi.ebay.com/Java-Fern-x-1-b...358?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item414fa5d556

Weeping Moss: x1 $5.36 http://cgi.ebay.com/Weeping-Moss-Fi...694?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cadfb13a6

Cryptocoryne Crispatula Var. Balansae: x6 $32.15 http://cgi.ebay.com/Balansae-x3-Liv...788?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3ca7ffe78c

Dwarf Hair Grass: x4 $23.82 http://cgi.ebay.com/Dwarf-Hairgrass...684?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2309e9a9e4

Hardscape:

Rocks:

$15.05 http://cgi.ebay.com/PETRIFIED-WOOD-...218?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e5a23bfa

$21.65 http://cgi.ebay.com/PETRIFIED-WOOD-...740?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e5a2518c

$23.22 http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUARIUM-ROCK-D...808?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e5be3e40

Tank inhabitants:

German Blue Rams: Pair $64.95 (male and female where possible) http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi/?fwapisto&1296850202

Japonica shrimp: x3 $15.98 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140480604577 - ht_568wt_1128

Oto catfish: x3 LFS $8.09

Total (excluding fish and rocks): $252.24

Total with rocks not fish: $312.16

Total with fish (estimated): $401.18

All prices include shipping and tax ( total multiplied by 1.0825) when applicable.

Ways to lower this:

1. Buy fish from LFS

2. Buy rocks from LFS

3. Shop around at LFS and find out prices on all of this stuff

not bad
good
you can do MUCH better for the price, imo
you'll probably need more than one bag. there are substrate calculators to help with that. i would probably just start out with play sand but it might prove to be a little tougher. however... fertcicles can bridge the gap.
get them from the marketplace here, from mgamer or from msjnkzd... but get them all at once in one shipment to save on shipping. you'll be more than happy with your tank buster order if you do.
good plant
good plant
not sure
may be a little tough for a beginner, may not... but worth a shot
same as 9
local watering hole
pick out free rocks
take them home and make a 1/10 bleach/water solution
scrub them with the solution then rinse well
de-chlor once or twice and let sit out overnight... be sure to get all rocks that look the same so they come together well in the tank
those
prices
look
a bit much... check around on this site to see what you can get at better prices
ouch
double ouch
for a 20 long??? we can do you better than that... a whole lot better
gotta include tax *** just filling space here
some mentioned above
from this site, apc, etc.
free... rocks are free... but bleach isn't
shop around here and find out prices on all this stuff.... you'll appreciate it

MoonstruckMuse · Feb 1, 2011

dundadundun - hahahahahaha!
Ultimately though, he's right. You can get all of the livestock (plants AND animals) online here for cheaper, if you search around the classifieds. Conversely, most LFS will carry rams (not necessarily German Blues, but I hear those are hard to start out with...). Most also have amano shrimp too - japanese shrimp, algae shrimp, or some other common name will probably be used though.

You could easily shop around on craigslist and find tank and such for cheaper, as well.

LizSagara · Feb 1, 2011

I've checked Craigslist They didn't have anything ATM. The only two they have listed are ridiculously overpriced. One is a 30 for 350 and the other is a failed saltwater for 1000. I can't and won't pay that much for a 30 gallon.

I didn't know they sold plants on here that's an idea. I think it's high too... it's down from 510.... I'm finding better priced stuff... that 20 long is the cheapest I can find. Can't get to the LFS till probably friday... snow is making things difficult. I will check prices for this stuff there. Hopefully just an empty 20 gallon will be cheap... I doubt it though... after 10 gallons they get ridiculously priced. Would aquarium silicon seal a cracked filter? I have an old HOB aquaclear with sponge... If I could I could use that. I don't know what GPH it is though but it's about a foot long so I"m guessing it's for a larger aquarium. I've also got one I could take off my Tanganyikan tank if 350 GPH would be sufficient for a 55 gallon.... I dunno though.... It would however already be cycled so that would be a plus. BUT it would cause that tank to go through a minicycle... GAH! It's not though so yeah... I do have a sponge filter rated for 80 gallons that I could use to help cycle the aquarium (NOT AS THE ACTUAL FILTER) wouldn't be enough.

LizSagara · Feb 1, 2011

I"m not finding anything on the Classifieds...

asukawashere · Feb 2, 2011

LizSagara said:
Questions:

1. What's the minimum size I should attempt as a newbie... I'm aiming for 2.5 gallons up to 20 as I'm working with a tight budget.

2. What substrate should I use... I've found planting with sand is easier than gravel. Maybe a special plant substrate?

3. What plants should I use as a newbie that's looking to not use CO2 injection systems? I would like a variety but I would like it to look balanced tall plants foreground plants and carpeting plants?

4. What sort of lighting should I use... to simplify links to specific kits work well for me... I don't get the whole process of finding WPG and what not.

5. I get that Hardscape is like rocks and driftwood... but I really have no idea how to do any of this.... can someone give me some pointers?

6. Trimming? WHen should you trim how much and where? (as in stem... just leaves or whole plants...)

7. How do I make sense of what fertilizers and what not I need and how much of them...?

8. I want to do some fish and/ or shrimps. I want to do some Japonica shrimps some Otto's (if I get algae) and Killifish... COLORFUL killifish... any suggestions words of warning for this? I'd like to start with a 20 gallon tank...?

9. FIltration? What type of filtration is good for planted tanks with fish in it (won't be heavily stocked)? HOB? Sponge? Definitely not UG.

10. Anything else that's absolutely necessary to know for a beginner?

1. I'd go for the 20 - small enough to light inexpensively, large enough that you can let the plants grow w/o it turning into a tangled mess.

2. Substrate should be fine to give the plant roots something to latch onto. Fine gravel/coarse sand are good choices. I often like to use a 1-1.5" layer of a nutrient rich plant substrate (ADA AquaSoil, Red Sea Flora Base, Azoo Plant Grower Bed are all suitable choices - but if you feel adventurous, try ordinary topsoil), then cap that off with 2 inches of fine gravel or pool filter sand.

3. Hornwort is a great, bushy plant for backgrounds. Vals are a good choice if you like grassy plants. Try Crypts like C. Wendtii, C. walkeri 'Lutea', C. undulata, etc. or Anubias/Java Ferns (attached to driftwood) for midground. If you want a swordplant for a smaller tank, look into Kleiner Prinz, Rosette, or Kleiner Bar swords. For foreground, easiest low-light is Dwarf Sag (Saittaria subulata), but there are a few Marsilea species (M. minuta, M. crenata) that might work for you. In the way of stem plants, look into Hygrophila species (H. corymbosa, H. 'Bold', H. 'Tiger', etc.) and a few of the Ludwigias (L. arcuata, repens, palustris, brevipes, repens x arcuata, x lacustris)

4. I like to use a single SunBlaze 24" T5HO with a reflector for a low-tech 20gal high. If you decide later to upgrade the lighting, you can buy a 2nd SunBlaze - they can be daisy-chained together.

5. Pick rocks/wood that you like. Arrange in a manner you think looks good. Attach moss/rhizome plants if you like. Here's a link to a site with some hardscape/finished scape photos.

6. With stem plants, trim the stems themselves when they get taller than you want them. This also encourages them to branch. With non-stem plants (rhizomes/rosettes), you can trim a leaf here and there if it looks ugly, but for the most part they don't need pruning.

7. Low tech = low fertilizer requirements. Simple dosing according-to-bottle of Flourish Comprehensive and FLourish Excel is fine in a single low-light tank. It's only when you go crazy (*cough*me*cough*) and set up several (or a few large) tanks - or if you're trying a high-tech tank -that you'd best start using dry ferts/custom dozing.

8. Japonica (Amano) shrimp will eat algae, which may leave otos hungry (and vice-versa). I'd personally go with neither, and get a colony of cherry shrimp going instead. They'll eat algae, are more colorful than otos and Amanos put together, and they're easy to breed. If you get killies, make sure they have small mouths (giant-mouthed monsters like "golden wonder" killies will go after small shrimp). Maybe also look into a shoal of small rasboras or tetras. They look nice in planted tanks and few things are as colorful as, say, cardinal tetras.

9. If you're not adding CO2, a sponge filter is a great choice

I like them much better than HOB because they don't suck up baby fish/shrimp.

10. Have fun. If you're going neurotic over too much conflicting info, you're not having fun... which totally defeats the purpose of a hobby.

Also, try to buy plants from fellow planted tank hobbyists. Most of your money will stay in the hobby then, and people who grew the plants themselves can usually offer much better advice on keeping them than an LFS that sells plants just because people buy them.

LizSagara · Feb 2, 2011

I'm gonna go eco complete for substrate and do German Blue rams, Ottos and Japonica shrimps. (I have cherries in another tank).

jasonG75 · Feb 2, 2011

LizSagara said:
I didn't know they sold plants on here that's an idea.

From MonsterFishKeepers, post #60

"You can save money by buying plants from HERE or over at AC.
Hardscape, well I would look locally. But there is an awesome seller that sells wood at AC."

AC= AquariaCentral
MFK=MonsterFishKeepers

:duh:

LizSagara · Feb 2, 2011

ah.... I think I missed some posts... I will go back and look from the beginning. But I didn't see anything in the classifieds here. Saw some red cherry shrimp I want though... he he...

dundadundun · Feb 2, 2011

don't forget msjinkzd, mgamer2000 and the other vendors here. i know those 2 at least hook it up. can't vouch for the others.

unfortunately the classifieds is slow right now... but you should place a "WTB" add asking for easy, low light plants.


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