33 gallon planted

Adroit

Adroit

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Apr 3, 2008
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So i want to start to build my 33 gallon planted aquarium. The stocks i want are 3 silver dollars, 6 cardinal tetras, 3 corys, and 3 otos. Currently i have the eclipse 3 hood on the tank, so I'm not sure if it has adequate light for the plants. I have also supplemented the filter from the hood with a Rena xp2 filter canister. I have also bought a big chunk of driftwood, which has been boiled, some fluorite as the substrate and white gravel. The plants i found from Petsmart are some "assorted" swords, corkscrew val-something, and Cabomba. [the other plants looks really bad] What else do yall think i need or buy for this to be an awesome tank?
 
Sounds like a nice start. I'm not familiar with Eclipse hoods, but you want 1- watts per gallon for low to medium light plants. :idea:

Also, I think a 33g is too small for Silver Dollars. They get up to 6" and like plenty of swimming room. Also, I guarantee they'll turn your plants into a salad.
 
Can i at least keep one silver dollar and than supplement the rest of the space with cardinal tetras? My dad's friend gave a 5in silver dollar. He's currently in a 10gallon right now until i get this up and running. Do you think he will be fine by himself with a about 15 cardinal tetras?
 
Honestly, I wouldn't. Silver Dollars, like a lot of characins, are schooling fish -- happiest in groups. And, if I recall right, SDs are more nervous than most. You'd basically be stressing the poor guy. And, don't forget, he'll mow your plants like a lawn on Saturday. :eek:

My recommendation would be to find an LFS that will take him for credit and stock the tank with something more fitting, such as more Cardinals. :)
 
Sorry but silver dollars do not belong in a 33 gallon tank. It is too small for them since they need to be maintained in groups. I would try to trade him for some other fish that are more appropriate for the size tank you have. You can have a decent size school of cardinals for example and they will look really awesome in a planted tank.

Marinemom
 
SDs don't belong in a planted tank of any size, unless you like feeding them the expensive way. They tend to treat anything tastier than Java Fern (that's everything, really) as a self-service salad bar. Mind you, they say that of Buenos Aires tetras and mine are fine, even leaving the nice crunchy Egeria alone.
 
I agree with above. I had 2 young silver dollars in my 55 years back and within a year and a half you could tell they needed more room. I had tried doing some planting at that time (a poorly researched attempt) and they just ate everything. I traded them into the LFS. I'm sure they found a happier, bigger home.
 
How much credit would i get for my 5 inch silver dollar?
 
What do the bulbs say on then?Looks like the hood comes with plant light bulbs.Get a bottle of liquid plant food that contains micro and macro nutients and plant away.
 
I bought the tank used, so i'm sure the bulbs inside are very old. i'm planning to buy the aqua glo and flora glo from petsmart. Now im not sure about the wattage but a new eclipse 3 comes with two 24" 5,500°K 18W T-8 bulb. Translation?
 
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