Theexp

Hey,
Sorry the tanks not up and running...yet. It should be by the end of the month* though.
But the 65 is custom, 4' long, 20" high, and 16" deep, Acrylic. I got it super cheap becuase its scratched pretty good. So i may upgrade to a 75, which is only 2" deeper.
But so i sketched up this picture of what I liked. I like alot of open room for the fish. The tank is gonna primarily be a fish tank, but since i had reef lighitng (didn't have enough money to finish the whole reef, I'm only 16) so i went for planted tanks, and became intriuged. So i drew up this picture, of what I liked. Here it is.





The second picture shows the stand and hood, i was thinking of something more modern and sleek for the stand. But i'm not sure. maybe a black with cherry trim, or wood and aluminum. Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks for any input on the design, and stand.

Theexp

Ohh yeah for fish i was thinking a fairly large school of rosy barbs. and maybe a few other fish. idk suggestions on that would be great as well.

Aussie_hippie_2

Well, first off I'll make sure that you know you can't use that SW light on a FW tank. But, on to the fun stuff.

So you like barbs? How about a nice big school of tiger barbs? They look really spectacular in large groups. It is however better to keep them in a species only tank. If you prefer to go down the more peaceful community route, with rosy barbs a school of rainbows would look really cool. You have near limitless possibilities with this tank, since it's so big!


Keep us posted.
Cheers.

ianmoede

I second tiger barbs. Not too many people use them. and i think theyre striking. As far as the scape, just make sure that rock is off center or it will look too symmetrical.

Aussie_hippie_2

Oh, and what are you thinking plant wise? I think (going off the first drawing) that Jungle Val behind the rocks, and chain sword infront would look really cool. You may still want a smaller carpet plant for the rest of the tank, since it may look kinda bare without it. I also second the need for having the rocks assymetrical.

Theexp

Its a retrofitted t-5 so i'm gonna get new bulbs, so then its basically just a t5 hood. Yeah i'm gonna have a carpet, of something in the front micro sword looks to be a possibility, the rocks will be offcentered, as in the drawing, i'll probably extend the carpet even further, but i do want an open look, with a lot of swimming room. I'll look into tiger barbs. But i really do love the way the rosys interact and swim about even in my 29. Thanks

Any recomendations on t5 bulbs for growing/keeping plants while looking nice at the same time?

Troy McClure

I bought two Giesemann 6000K Midday bulbs on the recommendation of a few other APC members and I really like them, so you could give those a shot. ReefGeek.com carries them. I'll be mixing those with 10000K bulbs.

redstrat

how much T-5 lighting are you planning to use, have you considered CO2 injection for this tank? What about fertilizer? Just want to make sure you consider all of these things as their need becomes much greater with higher lighting. T-5 can become very intense expecially if it was initally designed for SW. That being said I really look forward to seeing this tank setup and watching it progress. APC is definately a great place to get help and support for planted tanks. Good luck

goalcreas

I would also throw one aquamedic Planta bulb into that mix.

http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=982

These are the pink bulbs, I think they look really good to tone down the really BRITE light that will come out of yout T5 and they grow plants really well when mixed with good DAYLIGHT bulbs.

Theexp

I have 4 t-5 bulbs with the parabolic slr reflectors (one for each bulb).
Are there any cheaper (10 dollarish) bulbs that are good? I'm doing the PPS pro fertilization, getting chemicals from my dads work.
And I'm gonna buy a co2 cylinder, and i have a regulator, idk if it works though so I might need to check that out. I'm working on the plan for co2 right now, i'll update later.

so right now the t-5 recomendations are

giessman 6000k midday bulbs
10,000 k bulbs
aquamedic Planta bulb

I really like the look of a bright open tank. Thanks again