65 gal. planted tank (planning)

[finfan]

i have finally decided (after much debate with myself) that i am going to do a ADA 65gal planted tank, but i want to seriously plan this tank before i buy fish/plants, i don't want this to be impulse like all my other tanks,  so i need advice from you guys,  here are my thoughts so far, please let me know what you guys think:

Hardware:

Tank: ADA 120cm (48L*18W*18H, ~65gallons)
Stand: want a simple looking black stand that won't break my bank - need suggestions
Substrate: Eco-complete (due to ease of use and familiarity), or regular "neutral" light colored small gravel
Filtration: Eheim thermofilter (i hate the look of heaters in the aquarium)
Lighting: 48" Coralife aqualight (4*65=260watts)
Decorations: driftwood & rocks

Livestock:

Plants: Regular amazon sword and anubias nana (I want a clean/simple/non-jumbled look), no ground covering plants

Fish:
Angels (6)
Checkerboard Cichlid pair (2)
Krib/Pulcher Cichlid pair (2) - will they be too much for others or is the size of the aquarium enough to eliviate aggression from them
Another dwarf pair (2)
Ocats (4)
BN pleco (3)
1 type of not common/colorful/fast schooling tetra (15) - need suggestions

[J-WS6]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

Everything looks good to me. Only thing I'd change is the lighting. Sunlight Supply makes some nice T5 fixtures which run cooler and bulbs last longer. They have hanging light cables that work with this fixture which will go nicely for the minimalist appearance. Check it out...

Manufacturer

http://www.sunlightsupply.com/product.cfm?sid=3E34B22FE0815D5534985098F69AE9DE&p=966&cs=products%2Ecfm%3Fsid%3D3E34B22FE0815D5534985098F69AE9DE%26c%3D55%26kys%3D%26pgi%3D1

These guys sell them a bit cheaper

http://oceanencounter.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=OE&Category_Code=SST5

Either way the fixture doesn't come with bulbs, which will add to the price in the end, but well worth it IMO

[finfan]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

thanks J, i will look into that, also, based on me just wanting to have amazon sword and nanas, i don't know that i need vigorous lighting, however, if i change my mind and get other plants i don't want to buy a new light, so i will go with something around 4watts/gal.

[finfan]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

ok slight change of plans (i am sure i will change more)

instead of 15 schooling tetras, i am going to opt for 8 dwarf neon tetras (2m 6fm)

also, i forgot about cories, i want 5 leopard cories

also get 2 bnplecos instead of 3

and finally 3 blue or opaline gouramis (1m 2fm)

[finfan]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

ok slight change of plans (i am sure i will change more)

instead of 15 schooling tetras, i am going to opt for 8 dwarf neon rainbowfish (2m 6fm)

also, i forgot about cories, i want 5 leopard cories

also get 2 bnplecos instead of 3

and finally 3 blue or opaline gouramis (1m 2fm)

[J-WS6]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

where are you getting this tank from? adgshop?

[J-WS6]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

About the lights, consider the additional cost you'll spend on replacing 4 bulbs every 6-8 months compared to T5's which can last up to 3 years.

As for a stand, All-Glass or Perfecto makes pine stands in 3 different colors. all my tanks have the black ones..and they're decently priced. Here's a picture so you can get an idea...

http://j.tonn.tripod.com/agablackpine.jpg

Only $145 for a 48x18 at PetsWarehouse

http://www.pets-warehouse.com/Vpasp/shopexd.asp?id=91400&zmam=90031077&zmas=12&zmac=62&zmap=91400

Good Luck

[armthehomeless]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

I have known a large number of people that have been unlucky with 3 gourami. Usually one dominant one emerges. I would recommend either getting more (5-6) or just one. It may work out well with you though.

After helping a friend move who has angels, I'm unsure if having 6 adults in a 65 would work very well. He could put his 6 in a 75 without them picking on each other. If you get two of them to pair off, then what? Keep in mind that I have absolutely no experience with angels and am just bouncing my thoughts out there for others (many of whom are more knowledgable than I) to reply to.

[jklntx]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

I agree with Tim about adding 6 adult angels to a 65....unless they grew up together in same tank. Its possible a new tank would create new territories for them...but if any pair up the others are in for a rough time. I tried to add 6 adults into a 75 and it didn't work. I ended up having to split a pair into their own and  move a third to another tank. The three remaining are not on th best of terms..actually I am watching one get relentlessly picked on as I write. So I would not recommend combining adults...Juveniles would be safer for all. But that is my opinion..there are others on this board that have angels and may have different views.

Also, I have learned a lot about Kribs, and if they mate, I would say the rest are in for a hard time in a 65. Kribs demand absolute power and control when they bring their fry out of their cave. I have many different dwarf cichlids and they are the most aggressive dwarfs I have seen.

[finfan]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

jw, arm, jk - thanks for your suggestions, i am thinking about talking to citypets to see how much they charge for an ADA 120cm, if the are better priced, i will go with them, otherwise adgshop is my only othr option in htown, i wish i could find those very smooth finish completely boxy adg looking stands somewhere in reasonable price, i have four juvi angels in my 30gal planted, they seem to get along fine, i was thinking of moving them into the 60gal along with 2 more, but i am ok with just having those 4, since i plan on planting a lot of amazon swords, i was hoping there would be enough plant cover for at least 4, but maybe not, i will try with the four i have, i do hope that at least one of them is a male or female and they pair off, as far as pulcher, i have heard the same thing too, so maybe i will get a couple of female pulchers (i have heard thet are usually more colorful), this way they won't breed and get too aggressive, jk, you noted that you have had many dwarfs, give me some suggestions, i want to rams, but i was a little discouraged from losing my male from the breeding pair after two spawns, the female was alright but out of nowhere one day she developed something and the next day she was dead, they seem very sensitive, as far as blue/opaline gourami, maybe i will think about pearl gourami instead!

[jklntx]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

finfan,

The 4 juvi Angels who know each other should do well together. They should enjoy a 65 gal.

Rams are tough to keep...my experience is they dont have stamina to ward off predators of their fry because they succumb typically a month after their fry are born. But I am a community biotype buff and don't look to breed them. Rams do well by themselves or if they do not have to ward off many predators. A big challenge with them is water and where you are buying them from...its hit or miss from any lfs in town.  I don't think one lfs supplies better rams than any other. A planted tank really gives you the best chance keeping your rams healthy and happy, so it sounds like a winner there.

Kribs are very nice looking inho , but look best when they are in breeding colors. I wanted to mix them in a larger tank but my pair are in almost constant wedded bliss, so they are kicking out a new batch every other month. And no other fish stands a chance when they start moving their fry around the tank. So they live in a 29 gal by themselves ...and a couple surviving fry. I found they caslm down quite quickly when their fry are removed.  I prolly will get hate mail for this , but I feed the fry to my other fish. Last time I did it the female got terribly upset and ate those I didnt catch. She didnt breed for several months. If that doesn
't bother you, you could keep kribs in a community tank. But they are bottom dwellers as are apistos (that i talk about later) and corys...so having all three bottom dwellers may lead to some tense times.


Apistos are another neat dwarf, and a pair may do quite well in your tank. Stick with the apisto complexes that include cacautoides and macmasteri. They are the hardiest I find. But you will need the right light for their colors to truly show. And, if you get a pair breeding in a community tank, while a few fry will survive to adulthood, the parents, like rams,  don't have stamina to ward off a lot of predators.

Good luck with checkerboards...their requirements are extremely finicky and I have yet to learn the secret keeping them alive, let alone healthy and happy...so not much positive experience from me on them.

Have you thought of Bolivian Rams? They don't show well because of the water the lfs keep them in...but get them home into a softer water and they color up very nicely though not as bright as German Rams. They will breed for you and have stamina to live after their fry are born and grown...though they aren't the best parents and the fry mortality rate is extremely high in a community tank.

[finfan]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

jk, thanks for the detail info. it helps me make up my mind, my goal for this community tank is to make it well planted and have some species that will breed and let nature take its course as far as survival of the fry, i would love for one or two to survive from a spawn, at the sametime, i also want some colors, but don't want fish that are too sensitive and require a lot of care and or die off or get sick easily, so i think i will strip rams and checkerboards from the equation, maybe i can try with apistos (never tried them), i need to see which one's are colorful and not so sensitive (please feel free to suggest), bolivian rams might be another good contender, i do love their looks although much more drab compared to blue rams (maybe keep some make blue rams), i really hope the there is one angel pair that spawn, i wonder if there are any tetras or barbs that will spawn in a community tank with one or two fry surviving!  maybe i will get a pair of kribs for my 30gal planted when i move the current inhabitants to the 65gal.  note that the ada 120cm 65gal tanks have the same footprint as a typical 75gal tank, of course my dream aquarium would be 6 discus, one type of schooling fish, cories and algae eaters, but i don't want to get discus because it seems like they might be too sensitive and need too much maintenance

[eklikewhoa]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

I would ditch the BN's for more ocats and a few Nerites.....also if it's going to be an ADA tank you might want to reconsider the gourami's since the tank is probably gonna be an open top?

[finfan]

Re: 65 gal. planted tank (planning)

thanks ek, bn's are ugly compared to ocats, but ocats are sensitive at the beginning and are far less effective in cleaning compared to bn's, but maybe a troop of 8 to 10 ocats will be able to control algae, yes i want to keep the top open, i love the open top look, even my current 30gal planted is open top, i didn't know pearl gourami's jumped, but if they do, i will plan on not getting them