My new fish tank :D

[Sowa]

My old tank started to leak so I decided to upgrade from my 25 gal to a 45 gal bow My fish seem pleased with the extra space. It was a lot of work transferring the water from my old tank to the new one D:




I need to add more stuff to it, it looks pretty naked right now haha. I just took the stuff from the 25. Not sure what to do with all this space

[Karen]

Wow, looking good!

[Freedom]

That is a gorgeous piece!

And, I think you have led lights on there?

I suggest now is the time to move to live plants. Get easy low tech stuff. That's what I have and it makes the maintenance much easier.

Here is what you need for ferts: all liquid stuff, you add it once a week:
Seachem Flourish
Seachem Flourish Excel
Seachem Trace

One capful of each, once a week.

The plants:
water wisteria (fast growing, you pinch off the top, stick that in the gravel and it reroots so now you have 2! Just keep multiplying it!)
water sprite (similar to wisteria, but it floats)
bacopa caroliniana - tall, good background plant
cryptocoryne wendtti - comes in green and bronze, starts small so a foreground plant, as it grows move it to mid-tank. Will produce 'babies,' like a spider plant, just pinch and replant.
And if you have the opportunity get a banana plant or 2 for the foreground.

You may be able to pick these up from hobbyists in your area, at a low price. Check on craigslist, attend a fish society meeting in your area.

The plants thrive on the stuff you normally have to remove by water changes, so you do less water changing over time.

Just some info to think on!

[Sowa]

Yup I'm definitely adding more live plants. I have about 3-4 right now (most of them died or fell apart when I transferred to new tank) I have a couple fake ones for color. I also just found out about keeping plants alive, apparently the ones I had were more advanced plants and needed more care. We're getting a shipment of plants in at my work tomorrow so I'll have more to pick from. Though I only have the latin? name so I'm not sure what they are yet...

[Freedom]

That is exciting! You will have to let me know what they are.

[snakemama]

Wow, neat!! I'm always envious of people who can maintain lovely tanks...mine never flourished. Your fish look like they have a nice roomy home now!

[Karen]

I suggest now is the time to move to live plants. Get easy low tech stuff. That's what I have and it makes the maintenance much easier.

Here is what you need for ferts: all liquid stuff, you add it once a week:

That's a really useful post! No place for a fish tank where we are now, but this will be good for future reference!

[Freedom]

Thanks, Karen!

A few other easy plants:
java moss
java fern
anubias

The intermediate and expert plants generally require that you use CO2 to dose them. That is too complicated for me!

[Sowa]

Got some new plants! I'm trying the java fern and water wisteria. I have something else not sure what it's called. I think it's dying though....I put the flurish tabs and the liquid stuff in the tank to see if that helps any. Wish me luck.

[Freedom]

I've no idea how the tabs work, how often you need to use them, etc. Good luck with the plants!

Photos are of my banana plants, they are all in my 37 gallon. First pic is the day I got them Aug 1. Second pic is yesterday, Aug 29.

[Sowa]

That looks great! I hope my plants do well...I found out the plant you can see in my pictures in the front is an amazon sword I think? It's not doing well lol. I think I need more gravel too...

[Freedom]

I found out the plant you can see in my pictures in the front is an amazon sword I think? It's not doing well lol. I think I need more gravel too...

How long are your lights on? Most plants need about 6 hours per day. More and they melt. Less and they wilt.

[Sowa]

Probably around 10 hours a day. I'm thinking of switching my lights to something like this http://usa.hagen.com/Aquatic/Lightin...Lighting/A3983 My current lighting is just one small strip of LED lighting. I might even switch to fluorescent lights...I was told the marine lights would look great as well as help my plants grow.

[Freedom]

Lighting gets pretty technical, FAST.

If you do not have a salt water tank, there is no point in spending the extra $$$ on a marine / reef tank. It won't work well for freshwater, fish or plants.

LED lights are difficult to compare to flourescents, you have to know PAR value. You can't compare watts. One strip is never going to be enough for a 40 gallon bow front and it may not be strong enough to reach down that deep, so you do need to read up.

I am in LOVE with the Aquatic Life EDGE LED lights, it comes with a built in timer. So the lights don't come on full and shock the fish, but rather they simulate dawn. And dusk. Best pricing is typically at kensfish.com I did get a good deal last week on the 24 inch at Petco, they had a sale going on, PLUS a deal for $5 off and free shipping over $49 (the light was much more than that) PLUS I had $5 off in rewards. But that is a rare thing. Do sign up for the 5% off when you order via Kens, every bit helps! I love this light, I set the sun rise for 10 minutes, then full daylight for 4 hours. At the 2 hour point, I have the colors come on as well. All goes off over a 10 minutes sunset at the 4 hour mark, then the moonlight comes on for 1 hour in the evening.

Finnex is coming out with a new 24/7 led with a ramp timer, but they have not announced the release date yet. It is also going to be more $ than the Edge.

On my 37 gallon, I have the Aqueon Modular LED, and that is plugged in to a ramp timer. Edge does not come in a 30 inch, which is what I need on that tank. So I had to make do. It is doing well for me!

10 hours is TOO MUCH light for fish; but one LED strip is NOT ENOUGH LIGHT for plants, and may not be able to reach the depth you have. I really have no clue if what you have is good or not! LOL Like I said, it gets technical quickly, you need to spend some time reading. Finding PAR ratings for LEDs is difficult, so it is easiest to go to a forum and see what the really technical people have found. Cuts WAY down on research time.

[Sowa]

Not sure what I should do. My boss at my work suggested the reef lights. He used them for his tank and said it's fine for fresh water plants/fish.

I'm not sure if I can add another panel of lights on my tank?? I really want the blue light for night though...Hmm...

(also I work at a pet store so it's easier and cheaper for me to buy through the store. Our brands we mostly carry are marina and fluval)