So I am planning on starting a 40-gallon freshwater planted tank come next December. I figured I would start researching it now so that I would be able to plan everything out (ie. plants, costs, hardware, substrate, etc.) I was wondering what substrates you guys would recommend or any good beginner plants. I was also wondering if I could put a red tail shark in the 40-gallon, and if so what I could put in it. So this is basically me asking what I should do with the tank and how I should go about doing it. Thanks, any and all help is appreciated.
Planning On Starting A 40Gallon Planted Tank
- Thread starter Typhlodew
- Start date
It would help to know the intended fish before considering substrate, as some fish have specific needs. If for example you intend fish that live on the substrate (corys, loaches), or fish that interact with the substrate (cichlids and other substrate feeders), sand is your best substrate. It will need to be a non-rough or non-sharp sand.
Next thing we need to know are the water parameters of your source water. Most plants are less fussy here than most fish.
Aside from substrate, the intended fish could also determine other hardscape materials, such as wood and/or rock.
Lighting is the single most important aspect of a planted tank. And here again, the fish may have preferences. Also, if you want a low tech or natural planted tank, or a high-tech with diffused CO2, brighter light and more nutrient supplementation. A fish tank that happens to have beautiful plants is a different concept than an aquatic garden with few or no fish.
On the red tailed shark, I would not recommend this for a 40g. I will assume the base dimension is 3 feet in length, and 18 inches width (if a "breeder" 40g). The RTS gets up to six inches, needs space, and on top of this is not usually a very harmonius fish. Other substrate fish will be out of the question, and certain upper fish frequently incur the wrath of this fish.
Byron.
Next thing we need to know are the water parameters of your source water. Most plants are less fussy here than most fish.
Aside from substrate, the intended fish could also determine other hardscape materials, such as wood and/or rock.
Lighting is the single most important aspect of a planted tank. And here again, the fish may have preferences. Also, if you want a low tech or natural planted tank, or a high-tech with diffused CO2, brighter light and more nutrient supplementation. A fish tank that happens to have beautiful plants is a different concept than an aquatic garden with few or no fish.
On the red tailed shark, I would not recommend this for a 40g. I will assume the base dimension is 3 feet in length, and 18 inches width (if a "breeder" 40g). The RTS gets up to six inches, needs space, and on top of this is not usually a very harmonius fish. Other substrate fish will be out of the question, and certain upper fish frequently incur the wrath of this fish.
Byron.
I am so pleased to see threads like this, folks planning well in advance and asking advice.
Byron has already covered a mulitude of things already and I have very little to add at this point. A 40 gallon tank has a lot of options stocking wise, so take your time and consider what you like, you mentioned Red Tailed Shark already, and as youve found out, not particularly suitable for that sized tank unfortunately.
Just one question to ask, do you plan on a community tank set up or a sort of biotope type set up?
The two set ups are intersting in their own rights but a completely diffent approach is needed for either, research is key for both
Just wanted to say good on you for researching first. Good luck and enjoy the research, i know i enjoy planning new tanks, thats half the fun.
Byron has already covered a mulitude of things already and I have very little to add at this point. A 40 gallon tank has a lot of options stocking wise, so take your time and consider what you like, you mentioned Red Tailed Shark already, and as youve found out, not particularly suitable for that sized tank unfortunately.
Just one question to ask, do you plan on a community tank set up or a sort of biotope type set up?
The two set ups are intersting in their own rights but a completely diffent approach is needed for either, research is key for both
Just wanted to say good on you for researching first. Good luck and enjoy the research, i know i enjoy planning new tanks, thats half the fun.
Byron said:
Ch4rlie said:I am so pleased to see threads like this, folks planning well in advance and asking advice.
Byron has already covered a mulitude of things already and I have very little to add at this point. A 40 gallon tank has a lot of options stocking wise, so take your time and consider what you like, you mentioned Red Tailed Shark already, and as youve found out, not particularly suitable for that sized tank unfortunately.
Just one question to ask, do you plan on a community tank set up or a sort of biotope type set up?
The two set ups are intersting in their own rights but a completely diffent approach is needed for either, research is key for both
Just wanted to say good on you for researching first. Good luck and enjoy the research, i know i enjoy planning new tanks, thats half the fun.
I would like to make a community aquarium. My tap water is 7.6 ph, and usually is a zero for all ammonia and nitrite, and about 5ppm nitrates. I would like some recommendations on the fish, but i was thinking of, if i couldn't get the red tail, moving my current fish, a dwarf gourami, and 5 neon tetras into this tank, I would most likely want to get a few more neons, maybe about 4 more, and I would like some suggestions for the rest of the fish composition. Thanks!
If this can't work, then I would really love something with a blue gourami. I think that the tank might be large enough for both, but I am most likely mistaken.
Before going further, I certainly second Ch4rlie on the research first, this is very good.
To the water parameters. The pH is workable for many fish, so let's pin down the hardness which can affect fish more than pH. The GH (general hardness) is the level of dissolved minerals in the water, and the related KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) is the level of carbonate and bicarbonate ions. The GH and KH generally does not change in the aquarium unless you are specifically targeting them somehow--I won't get into this complexity, other than to say the pH is "buffered" by the KH. Check the website of your municipal water authority, it may have this data.
You could certainly build a community around the dwarf gourami and neon tetras you now have. I'd prefer knowing the GH/KH before we start suggesting other fish. Some species have quite specific needs, others are more adaptable, and it is always safer to select fish suited to your source water.
The blue gourami though is another issue. This is one of the more aggressive gouramis, and sometimes is just plain nasty. The species is Trichopodus trichopterus, which has been selectively bred into several different colour forms such as the blue, gold, cosby, opaline, 3-spot, etc, but all share the same temperament as they are the same species. This fish would severely limit other tankmates. For example, I recall standing in front of a tank in the store containing about five blue gourami, along with neon tetras, and as I stood there two of the gourami circled a neon and it was eaten within seconds.
Byron.
To the water parameters. The pH is workable for many fish, so let's pin down the hardness which can affect fish more than pH. The GH (general hardness) is the level of dissolved minerals in the water, and the related KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) is the level of carbonate and bicarbonate ions. The GH and KH generally does not change in the aquarium unless you are specifically targeting them somehow--I won't get into this complexity, other than to say the pH is "buffered" by the KH. Check the website of your municipal water authority, it may have this data.
You could certainly build a community around the dwarf gourami and neon tetras you now have. I'd prefer knowing the GH/KH before we start suggesting other fish. Some species have quite specific needs, others are more adaptable, and it is always safer to select fish suited to your source water.
The blue gourami though is another issue. This is one of the more aggressive gouramis, and sometimes is just plain nasty. The species is Trichopodus trichopterus, which has been selectively bred into several different colour forms such as the blue, gold, cosby, opaline, 3-spot, etc, but all share the same temperament as they are the same species. This fish would severely limit other tankmates. For example, I recall standing in front of a tank in the store containing about five blue gourami, along with neon tetras, and as I stood there two of the gourami circled a neon and it was eaten within seconds.
Byron.
Have you thought about increasing your neon tetras group size, a big group of neon's always looks good with a planted backdrop. If you went with a sand substrate then corys are a great fish to watch and add interest to the bottom of the tank.
Yeah, I was definitely going to increase the tetras to about 10 or so, and maybe have 6 or 7 smaller cory cats. The only real problem I have with cories, is that I need sand or really fine gravel, and I don't know how to use sand. I was also considering long fin zebra Danios, however I don't know. I may even scrap this entire idea and just go with a whole new set of fish as well. I would like to try kribensis cichlids, but I don't know them very well yet and would have to do some research. In the end, I'm just a naive slightly amateur fish hobbyist who needs to do a lot more research.Robbo85 said:
Hi, kribs would work and are a good starter cichlid as not v. aggressive and a community cichlid but again sand is preferable as some of their eating is done by sifting sand through their gills, they also sometimes dig in the sand to make places to rest and for breeding. the most important thing would be checking your water parameters meet their needs .Typhlodew said:
changing substrate can be a bit daunting but it will give you more options . Most of the fish you have mentioned are South American bar the Danios. I am currently setting up a SA tank and I have a thread in the planted tank journal. keeping to one biotype will help you with getting the right water parameters for all your fish so is something you might want to consider.
Hi, kribs would work and are a good starter cichlid as not v. aggressive and a community cichlid but again sand is preferable as some of their eating is done by sifting sand through their gills, they also sometimes dig in the sand to make places to rest and for breeding. the most important thing would be checking your water parameters meet their needs .Robbo85 said:
changing substrate can be a bit daunting but it will give you more options . Most of the fish you have mentioned are South American bar the Danios. I am currently setting up a SA tank and I have a thread in the planted tank journal. keeping to one biotype will help you with getting the right water parameters for all your fish so is something you might want to consider.
Okay, I am willing to move to sand, but i would need a few pointers on how to do that with plants. Is that even possible, or should I stick with rockwork? And if you could give me the proper numbers so i could iron out costs, that would be great.
I have used play sand in my tanks, and all have plants, for several years now with no plant issues.
There are various types of sand. In general, you want to avoid white, period. You also want to avoid sharp grain sand, like "paver" or industrial sands. You can buy aquarium sands but they will be much more expensive. Play Sand is ideal in all these aspects; it is refined more than any other sand. A 25kg (roughly 55 pounds) bag will be sufficient for a 40g, and at places like Home Depot this will cost you around $5. They have a good brand, Quikrete Play Sand, that I use in my 8 tanks.
Byron.
There are various types of sand. In general, you want to avoid white, period. You also want to avoid sharp grain sand, like "paver" or industrial sands. You can buy aquarium sands but they will be much more expensive. Play Sand is ideal in all these aspects; it is refined more than any other sand. A 25kg (roughly 55 pounds) bag will be sufficient for a 40g, and at places like Home Depot this will cost you around $5. They have a good brand, Quikrete Play Sand, that I use in my 8 tanks.
Byron.
Hi, kribs would work and are a good starter cichlid as not v. aggressive and a community cichlid but again sand is preferable as some of their eating is done by sifting sand through their gills, they also sometimes dig in the sand to make places to rest and for breeding. the most important thing would be checking your water parameters meet their needs .Robbo85 said:
changing substrate can be a bit daunting but it will give you more options . Most of the fish you have mentioned are South American bar the Danios. I am currently setting up a SA tank and I have a thread in the planted tank journal. keeping to one biotype will help you with getting the right water parameters for all your fish so is something you might want to consider.
Thanks, I'll look into it.Byron said:
Anyone have any thoughts on tissue culture plants? Are they a good idea. I would really like to avoid having a lo of snails in my tank, so I thought that these would be a good idea, but I wanted to get some input first. Thanks.
Tissue culture plants are fine, I have previously had Riccia fluitans bought online as tissue culture, real clean and defintely was free of snails. Comes in a small plastic tub in a thin layer of gel which i presumed to be nutrients for the plant, but not a problem at all.
Grew pretty good in my tank on some wood, kept floating off the wood and eventually had enough of repeatedly tying it back on and chucked it!
Grew pretty good in my tank on some wood, kept floating off the wood and eventually had enough of repeatedly tying it back on and chucked it!
Thanks, nice to know that people have had success with them. I just wanted to double check. Any suggestions on what I should put with 10 neons and a dwarf gourami? I 've gotten a lot of suggestions for cories but would like to know the exact amount I should put in with them. Also I was thinking of one more species. Any suggestions. I think I will wait on the Irish for a while, maybe get some in a 20gal latter on. Thanks!
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