Need advice on tank setup

[Europian]

Hi,

I just bought a 60 gallon (48l x 15w x 20h) of craigslist, and have a few questions.

I would like to get a canister filter, but not sure which one to get - I've read a lot and it seems like people like the Rena XP3 or Eheim 2026/2028 ? Would any of those be suitable ?

The canopy did not have any bulbs, but came with a Coralife 2 lamp electronic ballast for T12 bulbs. Would 2 x 48" T12 (40 watts) be suitable for growing low light plants, or would it be best to get a new ballast for T5 bulbs to attach to the canopy - or a complete T5 light fixture to sit on the top of the tank - if so, what size and watts ? 36" or 48" and how many watts of T5 for low light plants.

I plan to use the tank for Freshwater community fish, cories, tetras, mollies etc.

Thanks for any advice,

Ian

 

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

fluval 405 which i use several would be my choice but i always prefer to overfilter. as far as lighting i dont grow plants so the plant people can help you on that.

 

[Star_Rider]

part of the benefit of the T-5 lights comes from the reflectors. usually single lense(one for each bulb)
T-5 would be the way to go.. shoot for around 2 wpg and you open the door for aquiite a few plants.

but 2 t-12 40watt bulbs will also work for low light plants.
a lot of folks here use shop lights with good results.
make sure you get bulbs rated for plants (daylight or 6700-10000k)

 

[thesixis]

Hi
I just bought a magnum 350 for ($85 from Big Als) my 75 and I love it. I will buy 2 more in the next few pay cycles...

 

[SubRosa]

If you don't mind the color rendition a combination of a CoolWhite and a WarmWhite tube will grow plants nicely, and the cost will be less than half of the cost of a single specialty bulb. T12's are really outdated, and very wasteful of power. I'm not certain but since the Coralife is an electronic unit it could very well be used to drive 2 normal output T5's. You'll need to change the endcaps. Two 28W T5s will make more light than two 40W T12s. You'll need to verify whether it will run the T5s but I suspect it will.

 

[Europian]

Thanks for the responses,

I think I'll try 2 new T12 bulbs first, as that won't cost too much, and then buy a T5 retrofit if I need to.

As for the filter, I'm still undecided - is there a minimum flow rate required, I've seen a flow of 10x gallons suggested for a power filter - but not seen anything suggested for a canister.

Thanks

Ian