Planning A Planted Cory Tank

[Inkling]

I'm looking to develop a planted tank for a group of cories and I wanted to get some feedback from the community on the best setup for this.

I'm wanting to use flourite as part of the substrate, but very concerned about the effects it could have on their barbs. To mitigate the chance for a problem here I'm thinking adding sand on top will be best. Has anyone done this with success? If so, can you help with how much of each to use. Also, I've read that normal playsand can lead to anaerobic pockets in the substrate and would like a recommendation on the best kind of sand.

In terms of size and dimensions I'm thinking a 40 gallon breeder setup would work nicely (36" long x 18" wide x 16" tall). I'm wanting to maximize floorspace for both cories and plants. I also don't want to spend a ton on getting the right watts/gallon so that's why I'm keeping it relatively small. Has anyone tried this kind of setup?

Any other suggestions would be most appreciated.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I have done pure laterite with sand, plain sand with plant tabs, eco complete with laterite and sand mixed, plain gravel, gravel with play sand...
I have not used flourite.
I might still be able to help. What would you like to know?

 

[Inkling]

Thanks Iceegirl. I'm sure you can help since you've got 2 planted cory tanks.

Maybe I should be considering laterite and sand instead then. What sort of substrate layering did you use? Is there a special type of sand that is best?

What do you think about the tank dimensions I mentioned? Is that a good setup for a planted cory tank? Is this a good size to go with for a first planted tank or maybe too ambitious? I just don't want to get into it and then wish I had something larger, although I'm sure that'll always be my reaction to some extent

Also of help would be some recommendations on good plants for cories. I think I can probably get to >2 wpg and a fermentation CO2 system with little trouble.

 

[ICEEGRL]

The first question I have is... how much time do you want to spend on maintenance?

I would go around 1 1/2wpg lighting. You can grow most plants with that and you won't have to have co2. (unless you want it) You can still use it if you want to speed up the growth or skip it and not have to trim so much. Your choice...

I wish I had never put the laterite in any of mine... It don't stay layered. It ends up mixed, and it is not pretty.
Plant tabs work well, but you have to keep adding them.
I personally love the eco-complete mixed with tahitian moon sand. They are both black and plants grow like crazy. The eco-complete feeds the plants, and the sand softens it a little for the corys. It looks good mixed too. Corys dig... layers don't stand a chance...

That is a great size. I wanted one, but couldn't find one that size. If you are anything like me... you will always want another tank or a bigger tank for one reason or another. I have way more than 2... I have 4 running with right now, and I am working on 5 more. lol (I don't update much. Things change too much...) I am always adding or changing something. That is what I love about lots of tanks... I always have something to tinker with for something new or different.

Corys like most all plants. I think that part is more about which ones you like. The corys will be happy to hide and play in most any of them.

Lets start with... What look do you like and how much time do you want to spend working on it? Once I know that I will make some suggestions for plants.

I will say... drift wood and coconut caves are great for corys... You can grow plants on them and the corys can hide inside them... The tannis is good too.

Do you know which corys you want yet. Some like warmer water than others. Plants are the same way. That is something to think about too. Not a big deal though. Most plants will adapt unless it is really drastic.

Look at some planted tanks and see what you like and let me know.

 

[Polardbear]

I have almost the identical setup that you're thinking about. It's a 40 breeder with about 2 - 2 1/2 inches of fluorite which I then put a 1 inch layer of super fine gravel (or coarse sand) on top of. The layers do mix some over time, more from me rearranging the plants though than from the Corys disturbing it. The fluorite hasn't caused any problems for the Corys. I use a Coralife 96 watt power compact light (mounted on legs a couple inches above the glass canopy) so I'm just under 2.5 watts per gallon. The light generates a lot of heat so using the mounting legs is a good idea. I also just set up a planted 30 gallon and I'm using a Coralife T5 dual bulb light on it and liking it a lot better, the T5 lights generate a lot less heat and cost a lot less than the power compacts. I do not use any c02 but I do add Flourish Excel weekly.

I started with a lot of fast growing stem plants, Rotala and Ludwiga Repens mainly and driftwood with java fern. It's been a very trouble free tank for the most part and reasonably low maintenance. I'd suggest starting with fast growing easy care plants and once it get's established experiment with other plant types to see what you like (and in my case, what you can keep alive). I just rescaped it a few weeks ago and replaced the Ludwiga with some willow leaf hygro, added another type of hygo (can't remember it's name), some Bolbitis heudelotii, some Ambulia and some really neat looking Amazon sword "compacta". Some of the plants I've tried haven't worked out real well, I thought a carpet of 4 leaf clover would look cool but I spent 2 months having to replant it almost daily. As soon as I'd get it stuffed back in the gravel the Corys would dig it up. The super tiny Baby Tears (H.M.) was also a constant battle to keep planted but has finally managed to anchor itself despite the Corys playing in it. (I belong to a local planted tank club so have been able to pick up lots of different plants to play with for very little expense).

The tank has about 16-18 Corys (orange lasers and green lasers), a whole bunch of freshwater shrimp and a small group of Swordtails. Everybody seems quite happy with the setup.

 

[jollysue]

Hi Polardbear! Would you get the orange stripe again? Do the green and orange spawn together? Seems for sure they would. I am trying to decide about the orange now.

My experience with sand and anything is that the sand always goes to the bottom and the heavy stuff always rises to the top. Some sort of law.

I have black sand and eco complete, with a little layerite. The black sand after many years is on the bottom, the layerite rocks are on the top and the eco is under the layerite rocks. I brush the layerite aside occasionally for the pepper Cory tribe and odd runaway friends in the 100 usg community tank where this mix is. It brushes to the side and the Corys have no problem with the eco. I drop the live worms there and anytime I give them tabs. So they have a place to dig for their main meals that des not require moving rough layerite rocks. They do fine.

Once when I fasted them a bit the Big Mama pepper wore her barbells down digging in the layerite, but they grew back fine and I do now as I described above.

I also like T-5's. I have been getting the Nova Extremes most recently for lighting. They are workin out well and are moderatly priced for T-5 fixtures.

I don't think the flourite is needed with the eco complete.

 

[Polardbear]

Hi Jollysue!

Yes, I would most definately get the orange stripe again. On the right color substrate they are almost as flashy as the greens. They look much better on a dark or black substrate than they do on the red colored fluorite. I think you'd probably like them better than the red stripes if you had them side by side to compare.

At this point I'm not real concerned with them spawning with each other, they haven't shown any interest yet and if they were to spawn, between the swordtails and the shrimp I'd doubt any eggs would stand a chance. I'm just letting them grow up for a while and then will probably seperate them again if I want to try spawning them.

Yes, the layers will mix over time and the finer the sand the faster they mix. The top layer I'm using is not a fine grit sand, it's a lot coarser than play sand but not quite a gravel (if that makes any sense).

Eco Complete is a great substrate for a planted tank, neither the Eco or the Fluorite really needs to be supplemented with laterite. I wanted to use Eco when I first set the 40 breeder up but couldn't afford it at the time.

 

[jollysue]

Thanks, good nfo, Polardbear.

I am looking at the red eye blood red super sailfin sword tails. Is that what you got? What do you think of the new Japanese ones? You know I can't ask in the livebearer forum.

Sorry, Inkling. I wil give you back your thread. I am a bad, bad girl.

 

[Polardbear]

Thanks, good nfo, Polardbear.

I am looking at the red eye blood red super sailfin sword tails. Is that what you got? What do you think of the new Japanese ones? You know I can't ask in the livebearer forum.

Sorry, Inkling. I wil give you back your thread. I am a bad, bad girl.

I'll pm you Sue to talk swordies.

 

[jollysue]

Where are you guys getting the breeders tanks? I am thinking of having one built.

 

[OldMan47]

jollysue:
Allglass, or whatever they call themselves these days, make 40 breeders. I would be surprised if you can't find them locally in places like Petco or Petsmart. They are one of my favorite sizes for fish but can be a bit hard to light properly. The problem is that the distance from front to back is so large that getting light intensity over the whole thing can be difficult. A typical light fixture / reflector is really designed for a 12 or 13 inch tank. The larger dimension can mean that either you put all your plants in the back 2/3 of the tank or you need to use lower light plants toward the front. The other option would be to add a light strip to cover the rest of the tank and then you could plant the whole thing.

 

[jollysue]

Thanks, OldMan.

I have seen them online from AllGlass. But I have not seen them locally. Maybe I haven't looked. I do have a source that could have one made for me, which I might do. Then I could get it perfectly square to my dimensions.

I think having 2 strip lights would work. Or I might just do the front with lower light plants like you suggested. I also have to figure out what pump/filter, and I like covers. Again I could have one made.