Thanks myswtsins! A buddy of mine may have an old tank in his shed he's going to give me. It's an older odd size tank he says. 48L x 16W x 21H. Once I get the tank, I'll build a stand and get the substrate and start from there. I think I'll go with BDBS from Tractor Supply. Would that be a sufficient substrate for live plants by any chance?
Newbie thinking about starting a simple community tank
- Thread starter cadd
- Start date
I think substrate will depend on what sort of plants you want to go, and where they will get their nutrients from.
BDBS, PFS, or gravel are inert, so cannot even hold nutrients for plants.
Flourite, Safe T Sorb, Oil Dri, or the like have high CEC, so can hold nutrients for anything that needs them... and can hanve bunches added to them before they are even use
Lots of planted aquarium substrates like aquasoil, stratum, tropica or whatever will already have nutrients in them...
If you're looking to grow stem plants, it's not necessarily as big of a deal... nor would slow growing plants either.. but it is something to bear in mind. No idea if you plan to add nutrients outside of changing water and feeding fish.
BDBS, PFS, or gravel are inert, so cannot even hold nutrients for plants.
Flourite, Safe T Sorb, Oil Dri, or the like have high CEC, so can hold nutrients for anything that needs them... and can hanve bunches added to them before they are even use
Lots of planted aquarium substrates like aquasoil, stratum, tropica or whatever will already have nutrients in them...
If you're looking to grow stem plants, it's not necessarily as big of a deal... nor would slow growing plants either.. but it is something to bear in mind. No idea if you plan to add nutrients outside of changing water and feeding fish.
While I was laying in bed trying to sleep I said to myself "you forgot to mention Safe T Sorb" lol. Good job dougall 
And ditto to everything else dougall said, stem plants use water column nutrients (mostly) and big rooted plants use substrate nutrients (mostly) so plan accordingly. You can add root tabs or do a soil layer under whatever substrate you use to help with plants as well.
Personally I prefer to just choose a good CEC substrate whenever I am doing any plants (cause I like keeping my options open), unless I only do things like floating or rhizome plants that don't get planted then it doesn't matter at all. I think you mentioned you liked dark substrate so for the cheapest dark option I'd suggest Oil-Dri. Here is a picture of it in my 58g. It is a nice natural looking dark.
So like others have suggested, figure out what fish and plants you want keep and then we can plan better. Also have you tested your water yet? That may be the most important thing.
As far as DIY tops, I am currently making some out of glass that will slide open. If you look up sliding glass tops you will find the thread about them. Glass is far superior to plexi-glass or plastic in this situation.
And ditto to everything else dougall said, stem plants use water column nutrients (mostly) and big rooted plants use substrate nutrients (mostly) so plan accordingly. You can add root tabs or do a soil layer under whatever substrate you use to help with plants as well.
Personally I prefer to just choose a good CEC substrate whenever I am doing any plants (cause I like keeping my options open), unless I only do things like floating or rhizome plants that don't get planted then it doesn't matter at all. I think you mentioned you liked dark substrate so for the cheapest dark option I'd suggest Oil-Dri. Here is a picture of it in my 58g. It is a nice natural looking dark.
So like others have suggested, figure out what fish and plants you want keep and then we can plan better. Also have you tested your water yet? That may be the most important thing.
As far as DIY tops, I am currently making some out of glass that will slide open. If you look up sliding glass tops you will find the thread about them. Glass is far superior to plexi-glass or plastic in this situation.
If you're on the subject of forgetting things... soilmaster select or turface is cheap, not so readily available and is available in a dark color... it is also one of those inert but high CEC ones.
I happen to use it in at least 3 of my tanks... and it's great
As for tops, unless you have something that is known for being jumpy, I'm find not having any tops at all, it also saves on the cleaning too
I happen to use it in at least 3 of my tanks... and it's great
As for tops, unless you have something that is known for being jumpy, I'm find not having any tops at all, it also saves on the cleaning too
I try not to mention those 2 anymore cause they seem impossible to find and I hate getting peoples hopes up. Mine were once crushed by the discover of these great dark substrates and then immediately finding out they are discontinued. I'm so happy I got some colorquartz before it also went away, the new replacement seems to still be under review.
I agree tops are not necessary, I prefer to be topless whenever possible. They help with evaporation and jumpers though.
I'm so happy I got some colorquartz before it also went away, the new replacement seems to still be under review. I agree tops are not necessary, I prefer to be topless whenever possible.
They help with evaporation and jumpers though.I'm going to disagree on topless tanks for the reasons myswtsins said, evaporation & jumpers, any fish may jump. A glass top also lets you put a light on it without worrying about legs/hanging it somehow or accidentally knocking it into the tank (I'm a klutz).
But it will also depend on your friend's tank having a rim to hold the glass. Maybe he has a top for it or other good stuff (light, filter?). & you may have to reseal it. That's not super hard & only costs ~$10 or so (silicone without mold inhibitors, razor blades & rubbing alcohol & masking or painters tape). You may already have a caulking gun etc, you sound handy to me, lol. It's all about the prep & not goofing around.
My rimless was kinda tricky to have a glass lid made for it (I wanted thicker) & silicone dots to keep it from slipping off. The glass on the tank was extra thick so light legs I had then wouldn't fit securely. I had tried plexi since I had some but it didn't last long before warping.
For lights, I'd go with 2 fluorescent bulb fixture, T-8, T-12 or T-5 (for preference). LEDs are much more energy efficient but I haven't gone there yet, too pricey when I have others. I've grow a few plants with only 1 T-12 bulb but it severely limits choices.
I like a medium darkish or black substrate, not a fan of my almost white pool sand, nor are my plants, but my fish are. A dark background looks good too, either painted, taped or velcroed on (fabric, foamcore or even poster board).
But it will also depend on your friend's tank having a rim to hold the glass. Maybe he has a top for it or other good stuff (light, filter?). & you may have to reseal it. That's not super hard & only costs ~$10 or so (silicone without mold inhibitors, razor blades & rubbing alcohol & masking or painters tape). You may already have a caulking gun etc, you sound handy to me, lol. It's all about the prep & not goofing around.
My rimless was kinda tricky to have a glass lid made for it (I wanted thicker) & silicone dots to keep it from slipping off. The glass on the tank was extra thick so light legs I had then wouldn't fit securely. I had tried plexi since I had some but it didn't last long before warping.
For lights, I'd go with 2 fluorescent bulb fixture, T-8, T-12 or T-5 (for preference). LEDs are much more energy efficient but I haven't gone there yet, too pricey when I have others. I've grow a few plants with only 1 T-12 bulb but it severely limits choices.
I like a medium darkish or black substrate, not a fan of my almost white pool sand, nor are my plants, but my fish are. A dark background looks good too, either painted, taped or velcroed on (fabric, foamcore or even poster board).
I'm honestly not aware of a rimless standard 4' tank, especially not one that would be given away free.
If it is, and you do want to have a top, I think Marineland make clips you can use, there way may be others.
And I really would not use anything but glass for a top if I was given half a choice.
If it is, and you do want to have a top, I think Marineland make clips you can use, there way may be others.
And I really would not use anything but glass for a top if I was given half a choice.
Mine was a homemade or old? 40g long, thick glass (& heavy!!) with an extra 5" piece of glass as a bottom center brace. no bottom rim either, flat. But cadd's friend's tank isn't standard either, 48" X 16"?!? A friend got a strange tank size (for free) of more European/Canadian measurements, sort of 46 x 16 x ?h or the metric equivalent. It came with a light but we couldn't find that size bulbs in the US easily. She may install LEDs in the lamp housing but for now it's a sunlit tank last I saw.
You can buy hinge plastic for lids (thin glass, 1/8"?) & I've (seen like Jen did?) J track (or is it more like an E?) DIY sliding glass lids. That's what I considered for my rimless but my glass was thick, 1/4 inch.
I think cadd needs to look at & measure the free tank. Probably reseal it too. But "he" sounds up to DIY if he's considering building a stand & with an odd size will need to. I'd never trust my lack of skills but many have done so.
You can buy hinge plastic for lids (thin glass, 1/8"?) & I've (seen like Jen did?) J track (or is it more like an E?) DIY sliding glass lids. That's what I considered for my rimless but my glass was thick, 1/4 inch.
I think cadd needs to look at & measure the free tank. Probably reseal it too. But "he" sounds up to DIY if he's considering building a stand & with an odd size will need to. I'd never trust my lack of skills but many have done so.
The Marineland clips for a top on a rimless aquarium look like :-
I believe they are sold by bunches of other companies too, like truaqua, Fluval, and probably bunches of others, you should be able to look for links if you want.
They will basically clip onto the lid, say 2 per side, roughly 1/3 of the way along, and then the other part will rest on top of the wall of the aquarium.
I still prefer to change water before evaporation becomes an issue (I lose maybe an inch of water from an open topped 30g tank each week) and don't keep jumpy fish.
We are likely to get a species of wild betta soon, likely Channoides, and will definitely be having a lid there.
Where evaporation causes more of an effect than just a noisy filter return, say a reef aquarium and it affecting salinity, we are more like to keep the lid as a necessity.
I believe they are sold by bunches of other companies too, like truaqua, Fluval, and probably bunches of others, you should be able to look for links if you want.
They will basically clip onto the lid, say 2 per side, roughly 1/3 of the way along, and then the other part will rest on top of the wall of the aquarium.
I still prefer to change water before evaporation becomes an issue (I lose maybe an inch of water from an open topped 30g tank each week) and don't keep jumpy fish.
We are likely to get a species of wild betta soon, likely Channoides, and will definitely be having a lid there.
Where evaporation causes more of an effect than just a noisy filter return, say a reef aquarium and it affecting salinity, we are more like to keep the lid as a necessity.
I didn't think my 3/4" tiny loaches would jump either...until they did. Those clips look like "J's" to my untrained eye but would not work on my "DIY 40g" with 1/4+" glass, as much as I hoped they would.
Let's hear what cadd's free tank & other goodies look like before offering too many options. We don't want to overwhelm "him", he's just starting again.
Let's hear what cadd's free tank & other goodies look like before offering too many options. We don't want to overwhelm "him", he's just starting again.
