# My New Setup



## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

Ive been doing a good amount of research and im finally starting up my first tank, its a 50g.

Here's the set up, tell me what you guys think:

FISH: 4-5" Rhom
TANK: 36" x 16" x 20"
FILTER: Eheim 2217
HEATER: Fluval 150w
POWER HEAD: please recommend one!
LIGHTING: 36" dual T5 ho or no?
SUBSTRATE: Turface Pro league (natural colour)
PLANTS: MED tech - swords, drawf sag, jungle vals,moss etc

For the lighting should i be looking into T5HO or just NO units?

Thanks
cheers


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

superbite said:


> Ive been doing a good amount of research and im finally starting up my first tank, its a 50g.
> 
> Here's the set up, tell me what you guys think:
> 
> ...


Ive had crypts, vals, dwarf sag, anubias, java moss, swords ... in my play sand. The swords, vals and sag could of benifited from a better substrate but if you dont mind not doing them or mayby just trying them out (and not set on having it work) then play sand may be fine.

Better bulbs should be your first priority and if you dont have the fixture yet a triple tube or t5 would be better. If you have the fixture just get some better bulbs. Flourite will give you a bit more options for planting but sand can work too though you may not be able to keep all the plants you want without any supplements.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Ive had paly sand in my 125 gallon tank for 5 years now. Never had a problem growing plants. I do dose Flourish ferts though. At first I did excel and comprehensive but after a while I didnt need to add the comprehensive. Only pain with sand is you have to rinse the ever loving hell out of it. I spent close to 4 hours rinsing sand for my 125. I think I put 200lbs of sand in it. Yes its cheaper but if I did it all over I would spend the money and get substrate thats made for plants. I mixed flourite with plain substrate in my 75 to save on some cash. Your lighting seems a little week. Fine for low light plants but mid level light plants might grow really slow. I have 4x40 watt tubes over my 75 and 125. I agree with cluster be sure you get t5 fixtures.


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

thanks a lot, but right now i have the double flourecent light fixture with 2 tubes, it is compatible with t8, t10 and t12 bulbs.. what do you think might be a good bulb for this set up? and also ive heard good things about using turface as an alternative to flourite, at a fraction of a cost, so i wil most likely go with that.. im more concerned about the lighting im going to be using


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## Hogdog (Feb 1, 2010)

I have a virtually identical set up to you in terms of Fish, tank and filter (single Serra, 36" x 15" x 21" tank and an Eheim 2217)I also have a power head on from 8am until 11pm.

I keep amazon swords and a few other plants but in pots with a fine (2-3mm) gravel...the tank has a bare bottom, I find it easier to maintain the plants that way and no debris collects on the bottom. I use a single 15", 14W T8 aqua glow light which is on for 10 hours a day, the don't seem to need any more than that to flourish and my 6" S.Marginatus is happier with less harsh lighting. I also use a CO2 diffuser and there's very little agitation at the surface, the plants do really well and the Fish never gasps at the surface. I've never been able to keep plants well until I got the CO2.


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

I used flourite black sand for my Rhom's tank, and it's beautiful and realistic looking; however, it took several weeks for the cloudiness to clear up as the flourite sand comes packed with quite alot of dust. So if you are going to go the flourite sand route, make sure you rinse it out in a bucket first. When it's all settled though, it looks pretty sweet when the Rhom darts around because it creates little sand clouds which remind me of the Amazon. I'm sure other sand might offer similar effects though. My Rhoms seem to hate lights, so you might have to experiment a little to see what makes yours the happiest (probably a dimmer one). I used some Java fern in a few of my tanks, and they work great regardless of the lighting or substrate. Plus it looks really nice and offers some hiding places for the P's. Just my experience, good luck and looking forward to checking out your setup.


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

thanks for the info, and yes ive heard a lot of things about rhoms and high wattage lighting, i was wondering what you guys use to achieve med tech plants with a rhom.

What do you guys think of the coralife aqualight 36" 2 x 96w lighting system. I have a chance to pick one up for a decent price on kijiji


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

I have the Coralife Aqualight 2x96 w/ moonlights, it's not too bad, but replacement bulbs can run $40 apiece. If you can get a really good deal on it, the bulb price wouldn't be as much of an issue. I only run one bulb at a time on this tank...









Keep in mind that the remaining life of the bulbs included are a deal breaker if talking about a used fixture -- no sense in paying $100 for the fixture if you have to go out and buy two new bulbs for $80.


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

that tank looks really good, so ive made my decision on the substrate, i picked up a 50lb bag of turface pro league natural colour.. Ive heard some mixed opinions on rinsing it, but i started rinsing it anyway just to be sure.

With lighting, im gonna try to talk him down to about $60 for the aqualight, he claims the bulbs have been running for about a year, whats the average life of one of those bulbs? and what K rating are those on your set up joe?

also im in the market for a good powerhead since the maxijet 300 it came with is really not substantial, ive heard many good things about the koralia series but i was wondering which one will fit my need for the tank. I will be housing a rhom and plan to eventually keep the powerheard on all the time

Thank you


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

If they have been running for a year, you're gonna need new bulbs, which brings the price of the light up to around $150, I'd look into one of these fixtures...

http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Lighting_Light-Fixtures_T5-HO-T5_Freshwater-Aqualight-T5-Series-Double-Linear-Strip-Lights.html?tc=fish

It'd give you plenty of light for low/medium light plants and the fixture itself as well as replacement bulbs are cheap. Plus if you spend $75, you get free shipping.

I am in the process of setting up a new tank and went with Turface as well -- can't beat the price, especially since it's the same stuff as some of the "planted tank" substrates that sell for over $1/pound. I've used it in the past and I didn't rinse, never had issues.

If you want a nice strong current, you could go with this...

http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Water-Pumps-Powerheads_Power-Heads_Koralia-Evolution_9659649_82.html?tc=fish

You could also get the 750, which is a step below that one if you don't want as much flow.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

superbite said:


> thanks a lot, but right now i have the double flourecent light fixture with 2 tubes, it is compatible with t8, t10 and t12 bulbs..


Each bulb type has its own fixture so they are not compatible. The diameter of each is different and so is the pin distance so they need specific outlets for the bulb to attach into since a t5 has pins alot closer together then a t12


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

superbite said:


> that tank looks really good, so ive made my decision on the substrate, i picked up a 50lb bag of turface pro league natural colour.. Ive heard some mixed opinions on rinsing it, but i started rinsing it anyway just to be sure.Ive seen some awsome tanks with this stuff so it will be great. I beleive "dippyeggs" used to use this stuff so you may be able to find some of his tanks though at the time it was called "soil master select"
> 
> With lighting, im gonna try to talk him down to about $60 for the aqualight, he claims the bulbs have been running for about a year, whats the average life of one of those bulbs? and what K rating are those on your set up joe?At a year old they will probably be clsoe to needing a replacement. They should be replaced around a year though they won't burn out by then but the intensity will fade and could cause other problems
> 
> ...


For lighting you dont need anything fancy if you only want basic plants. You can still do a nice tank thats low light though growth may be slowed and it may be abit harder to find a good variety of plants that will work other then the common anubias, moss, java fern, crypts...


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

JoeDizzleMPLS said:


> If they have been running for a year, you're gonna need new bulbs, which brings the price of the light up to around $150, I'd look into one of these fixtures...
> 
> http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Lighting_Light-Fixtures_T5-HO-T5_Freshwater-Aqualight-T5-Series-Double-Linear-Strip-Lights.html?tc=fish
> 
> ...


that lighting system looks good, but i was reading under the description that the bulbs are 21w ea? isn't that low? and ive heard lot about these daylight 6700k t5's.. are they any good?

thanks


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

They are T5 bulbs, the old WPG rule doesn't really apply to them. Any more light than that without co2, you'll most likely be dealing with algae.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Like said 1wpg HO T5>1wpg t8 or t12

A more acurate way to measure lighting is to measure its PAR (the amount of light useful for photosynthesis). Things like tank dimentions and depth also play a role so as a tank gets deeper lighting will fade.


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

ok so i just ran into a problem, i placed the tank in the corner of my office room on the second floor. i filled it to the top and then noticed that the water level was slanted, it was off about half an inch. I then emptied the tank almost down to the substrate and moved the tank closer to the center of the room to see if it was the floor that was not leveled, as i moved the tank away from the corner and into the center of the room the tank leveled its self a little, the difference from each side is less than a quarter inch now.

what should i do!!?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Not many floors out there are perfectly level... Buy some shims, drain the tank, and put a level on top of the tank -- add shims until level and fill tank.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Like joe said just add a piece of wood under the stand to level it but IMO a quarter inch isnt worth the hassle to level it. Generally I think if you can fill the tank and keep the water level on both sides highter then the plastic trim so that you can't see it its close enough.

If it will make you feel any better just add a piece of wood or somethign to even it out. Having a good level handly is the best way to get it close enough the first time.


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

thanks guys! i will try that and report back


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

should it be placed under the stand or the tank?


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

in terms of chemicals, meds, water additives.. what should i be stocked on


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## PiranhaLos (Feb 13, 2007)

read the forums


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## Brian762 (May 18, 2010)

superbite said:


> in terms of chemicals, meds, water additives.. what should i be stocked on


A dechlorinator (Prime) and a test kit (API master is one of the best) You may want to pick up some aquarium salt to have on hand for treatment of Ich if he gets it.


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## superbite (Mar 9, 2009)

The tank is up and running, the last step is to look into some proper lighting, thanks for the advice Joe, i think the aqua light would be the best option. Im waiting for my media to come in for the 2217 so the tank has no filter running until next week. I will post pictures soon.


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## franomania (Jan 10, 2011)

just set up the 75!


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