Upgraded To A River Reef 94L - Plants/decor Advice?

[houseofscouse]

Hello all!

First-time post for me and I'm looking for some thoughts/suggestions about potential decor and suitable plants for a new set-up I'm hoping to try out.

My sister-in-law has given me her River Reef 94l aquarium and I am opting to go tropical. I have all the bits and bobs for marine (skimmer etc.) but I don't have the confidence or the budget to try marine out. The tank is in great nick and will replace my existing 54l tropical tank once it has cycled (going to go fishless with a product I picked up from a well-known chemist - not sure if names can be quoted on this forum).

I intend to rehome the following fish into the River Reef:

5 x Mickey Mouse Platys;
6 x Neon Tetras;
2 x Peppered Corydoras; and
2 x Pygmy Corydoras.

In a few months time once the tank has matured, I would like to add a few extra Corys of each type so as to give them more company (I'm winking at the wife as a suggested Xmas gift).

I'd like a few bits of advice though please...

1) The River Reef has a concealed heater/filter/powerheads etc. My sister-in-law suggested using bio-balls, foam and ceramic filter media - but my LFS recommended just using coarse foam, fine foam and ceramic filter media (and adding carbon/filter wool for polish once I'm up and running). Is the two sets of foam and the ceramics sufficient? I seem to have lots of empty space in the filter chambers and wonder if I should have more in them.

2) I have opted for black sand as a substrate. I have always opted for pea gravel in previous set-ups and wondered if there are any plants you would recommend that thrive in a sand substrate? I don't intend on CO2 (again, due to budget) but I am keen to have a well planted tank to give the Corys plenty to grub around in.

3) I am naff at aquascaping and I am struggling to think what to do with the tank other thank heavily plant it. I have a piece of bogwood in my existing tank but it's quite "short", and I am very aware of how "tall" the River Reef is in comparison with my existing set-up. Any ideas as to what I could do?

All a bit academic at the moment as the tank is yet to be set up, but your thoughts would be most welcome.

Cheers,

Scouse.

 

[wroberson]

The three basic filter media are mechanical, biological and chemical. The coarse and fine foam will removed large and small solids. Placement in the filter depends on how the water enters the filter and then filtered. You want the water to go through the coarse foam first to catch large solid waste. Next you want the water to go through the fine foam media to catch small solid waste. From there you have the option. Chemical filtration through charcoal and then through the ceramic biological media and then into the aquarium. Or you can have it the other way around. Biological filtration first then through the charcoal and into the aquarium. Some people say it doesn't matter which of those two processes comes first. One will swear it one way and another will swear by the other way. Your best bet is to go to the company website and read the manual if it's available. This will give you what the Mfg recommends.

I prefer, chemical filtration through charcoal, then biological filtration and then into my tank.