Living Aquarium

Hi,

Im setting up an aquarium and I want some easy to keep plants in it.

My aquarium is 40gallons (4ft x 2ft) and currently I have 2 arcadia 42″ ‘original tropical’ lamps which are 38w each. These lamps are apparently good for growing plants but I dont know if I need more powerful bulbs? I just plan on growing some low light plants that dont need a lot of maintanence..

Also how does the light cycle work in a fish tank? How many hours should the tank light be on/off?

Many thanks

I can’t figure out how you have come up with the 40gallon figure. Even though you have only given 2 figures for you tanks dimensions instead of 3 even if the third dimension was 1foot that gives a capacity of 50 gallons.

To work out your lighting requirements depth of water is the most important factor so I can’t say if your lighting is adequate or not

As far as light cycle goes I have lights on 5hours off 2hours on 5hours. The 2 hour ‘rest’ period doesn’t harm my plants but it keeps algae under control

I had intended it to be a planted/driftwood scape for Disus but I have a pair of blue eyed drawf ciclids that are very prolific, I also have several other varities and thought about a comunittie tank. My question is about changing to a rock,cave, sort of tiered. I'd like to find artifical rocks cause they are lighter but can I still use the same substrate/heater set up, and where can I find the rocks? I've looked online under aquirum acesssories but no luck so far.

Thanks in advance for any help you can be.
I'm not doing the discus with the drawf chiclids but was wondering if I can leave the undergravel heater with out it being dug up.

Are you planning on having Discus than you will not be able to have the Dwarf Cichilds.

Discus need a very calm environment to survive properly.

As for rocks, and decoration look at your local landscape suppliers that sell stone and rock. That will be your cheapest and best way to location what you need.

I have two powder blue dwarf gourami's in my 25g aquarium at the moment and was wondering what type of live plant is best for them to feed off of.

Thanks in advance!
Just some nibbles.. incase one of them doesn't get feed or they would like a snack. Not a full course meal.
Could I put a thin slice of cucumber in their tank? Will they eat it for nutrients..?

something like cabomba or egeria densa would be good for them to nibble on. i've found that most fish eat cucumberif you put a slice in the tank but i've never tried it with gouramis so i can't be sure.

hope that helps

Shots taken from my 14 aquariums. Put Volume on, and enjoy. If you like it you can also see part 2.

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My tropical fish-tank!

Current fish:
2 sword-tails
6 neon tetras
4 guppies
3 corydoras catfish
3 varigated mollies

Also my fish fry tank
Current fsh:
10 sword-tail fry
20 guppy fry

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Class Actinopterygii [=Osteichthyes] (ray-finned fishes)\Order Characiformes\Family Characidae\Subfamily Serrasalminae\Serrasalmus neveriensis

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see title. please comment

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My 2 month old red eared sliders and their living aquarium

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I am new to live plants and have a 5 gal aquarium. I would like to know any recommendations for some cool looking, easy growing live plants to add to my tank. Currently I have a couple of dwarf frogs, a dwarf gourami and tetras. I have added a banana plant which looks really cool but I would like to add more to make my tank look more natural and give my animals some hiding spots. Are there any plants that have a bit of red in them? And does anyone have any experience with dwarf grass and how to properly vacuum the gravel around it?

Lets hear your recommendations people!
For red, you absolutely can't beat Cryptocoryne wendtii. It comes in many different color varieties from green, to bronze, to red, and it makes a nice foreground when kept under stronger lighting. I wouldn't recommend Hairgrass. Because it forms such a tight lawn, it restrics water flow, which often causes massive algae breakouts. For a better ground cover, consider Chain Sword (Echinodorus tenellus), Dwarf Sag (Saggitaria subulata), or Marsilea species. For some more interest, consider Hygrophila difformis, Water Sprite, Hornwort, Java Moss, Java Fern or really and species of Sword, Crypt, or Aponogeton.

To vacuum a planted tank, simply go around the plants and gently stir the gravel to pull out any detritus.

EDIT: NO Anubias species are red, and only a few species of Crypts will exhibit red coloration.

EDIT 2: I did not manage to find a single pic of a

I've done basically everything. But I can't figure out how to set up the filter and the thermometer without it being open and uneven. I've been trying to figure it out for a while and the instructions aren't much help. Its driving me insane. It says to put in the filter and the heater and then the hood…but then the hood doesn't fit…help…i want to put my betta in her tank…and its gonna take a while to stabilize…so i need to figure it out…i bought this tank about 2 and its already 7 so please help me…how do i set this up?

The hood has a perforated plastic piece that needs to be removed to install your filter. After you punch out this pre-cut space your filter will fit fine.