new 50 gallon community tank advice

[sidheshb]

hi everyone,

im planning to setup a 50 gal planted community tank for my new apartment living room. ive had some experience with small planted tanks in the past, and presently im having a 7 gallon planted betta tank (with 10 rcs and a siamese algae eater as mates)

so for my new tank (36 x 18 x 18 inches) im planning to have fluval stratum as the substrate, with a hangon filter at one corner and a sponge filter at the other. 2-3 pieces of driftwood, a few rocks. asfor the plants, im thinking dwarf crypts, dwarf sags, twisted vals, java fern and moss, cabomba and amazon swords

i need an opinion regarding my stocking plan.

im thinking of getting a pair of german blue rams, 8-10 schooling/shoaling fish (cardinals/rasboras/penguin tetras), 5-6 cory cats (love 'em!), and 5-6 male guppies. plus 2 siamese algae eaters, an apple snail and 15-20 red cherry shrimp.

is this too much? or do i need to cut down on the numbers? please advise. and which fish do i add first? and is my filtration ok? or should i get a larger external canister filter? also, will API co2 booster suffice for this tank? do i have to get injected co2? i find it too complicated..wanted to keep it simple/low tech.. do i need a heater? i am from coastal india..

sorry for so many questions. thanks!

 

[arcab4]

nice size tank! that's about the size of my saltwater tank.

- why two filters? is it b/c you already have them and want to use them? if not, i usually prefer the canister filters.
- thumbs up on the german blue rams. they are great. schooling fishes are fine too for your tank. cory cats for bottom feeders but i think at that point that should be it. instead of siamese algae eaters, how about some ottocats. the shrimps are fine too since they won't put too much bioload on your tank. and i'm sure you know to add them in slowly and not at once. i'd probably do the schooling fish at first once your tank is cycled.
- the plant choices seem fine but what kind of lighting are you using for this tank?

 

[sidheshb]

thanks for replying!

i have a spare sponge filter, so thought i could use it. i think ill go for the external canister instead.. regarding otocinclus i read they are very delicate and need pristine water conditions, so was not sure

as for the lighting, im getting an LED strip (around 3 watts per gallon)

 

[FreshyFresh]

Sounds like a great plan. I do like multiple filters in the event one of them poops out on you, plus you can transfer well seeded filters to a new setup to 'instantly' cycle it. I'd skip the SAEs for this size tank. I've got 2 in my community 55g and they're hotdog sized.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I'd bump up the number of cories. There is a lot of space on the bottom there and you could easily do a larger group.

I believe the plants you have listed are lower light plants (I'm not sure about the cabomba - but the rest are). Typically with the lower light plants you do not need to add CO2.

What temperatures do you have in your house? Unless it is always above about 75, you will probably want to have a heater. It could be a smaller sized heater if it is not having to heat too much above room temperature, but that way you won't have temp swings overnight when it cools down.

 

[sidheshb]

thanks for the input guys!

omg! i thought SAEs stayed small, like 2 inches or so think ill stick with the RCS for algae cleaning

the room temp here is in the 75-80 F range...in summer, goes upto 85

oh and another thing.. in case of heavily planted tanks, with little substrate seen from the top, will cories have a problem? i mean do they need good amount of 'free' (unplanted) space? just something i was thinking about yesterday

 

[arcab4]

if you're worried about temperature rising in the summer, just install a cooling fan to blow air across the top of your water. it'll cool it by a few degrees easily. here's one you can try out. i don't have this particular one but i can't seem to find the one i use but they all do the same thing.

Aquarium Cooling Fan:
http://amzn.to/1KElCah

i think you'll be fine with the cories in a planted tank unless you're going to have a ground-cover planted tank where there's no open substrate.