# New Planted Setup



## desjardo (Aug 30, 2008)

I just purchased a 50 gallon tank. I would like to do this using play sand and nice plants.(planted tank). Is there anything other than light and feeding that I should know about?
I am gonna use this as a community cichlid tank.

Also can I move the filtration from my currently running 50gal to my 30gal and get a pump that will do both 50's?
Thanks guys!


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## Sunstar (Jul 29, 2008)

make sure you give your plants a dip to remove parasites...I got a fancy bunch in my tank I have to get out of it... 

As for filters...Um, someone with better knowledge on those can help.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Likely your plants will be eaten with that setup 

You could try some Anubias, it is a bit hardier and might withstand the cichlids


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

With cichilds, try anubias. I think with cichilds, any soft species will be eaten. Maybe also try Bolbitis heudelotti (African water fern) - although I'm not sure it will work out.

As per filtration, unless you are into major plumbing, just get two filters - it saves a lot of trouble and really overfiltering is better than underfiltering two tanks.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

What are the benefits of having a pleco in a cichlid tank? Also, can any pleco live well in african cichlid tank (high ph)?


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## desjardo (Aug 30, 2008)

No beneift to pleco, I dont think... Just nice to watch and adds character... What type of fish would you reccommend for my planted tank? I would really like to do something with moss.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

The pleco, IMO, and in the opinion of many pleco keepers, has absolutely no business in rift lake cichild tanks. The natural environment of plecos is the amazon, where the water is very soft and acidic, whereas cichild tanks are generally very hard water and alkaline.

Are you going to be keeping the planted tank as a cichild tank or are you going the route of a planted communtiy (non-african) or species (could do dwarf SA cichilds)?
I personally will be setting up a tank as a planted (High tech, pressurized CO2, ferts, etc), with no heater (cool tank temp ~75F) with corydoras (Orange laser corys) and CPDs (celestial pearl danio, aka galaxy rasbora) and maybe a tetra species or something.

Another tank I am doing will probably be an apistogramma (dwarf SA cichild) tank, but we'll see.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> The pleco, IMO, and in the opinion of many pleco keepers, has absolutely no business in rift lake cichild tanks. The natural environment of plecos is the amazon, where the water is very soft and acidic, whereas cichild tanks are generally very hard water and alkaline.
> 
> Are you going to be keeping the planted tank as a cichild tank or are you going the route of a planted communtiy (non-african) or species (could do dwarf SA cichilds)?
> I personally will be setting up a tank as a planted (High tech, pressurized CO2, ferts, etc), with no heater (cool tank temp ~75F) with corydoras (Orange laser corys) and CPDs (celestial pearl danio, aka galaxy rasbora) and maybe a tetra species or something.
> ...


Are you setting up a new FW tank? What size this will be?


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Yes and no. Hopefully I will have space to set up either two 3 foot tanks, or space for just one 20 long. We will have to see.


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## desjardo (Aug 30, 2008)

damn...I just got jacked...Thanks 

As far as plecos natural environment it isnt a fish tank no matter how you look at it. I have had cichlids for prob a total of 7years. I have had all kinds of species people say cant be kept in same tank and they were just fine. They even breed. I think people try to make this sound harder than it is. You can get very technical but why? Unless you have a very sensitive fish or plants. I have seen lots of people throw cichlids straight into tap water and they were still there 5 years later( I dont reccommend it). 

My point is cichlid tanks are in my opinion very easy and great for beginners....

But I just wanted to know about planted tanks as I have never had them.. I dont want high tech( as i stated keep cost down ) and I am open to suggestions about different types of fish..
Thanks...


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

oops! haha, oh well....just serving as a bit of inspiration. 

Are you looking to keep the cichilds or integrate them into the new tank or start fresh? Really, this is the deciding factor, because if you ditch and start fresh (non-african tank) then you have so much more that you can do with out worrying about having your tank destroyed.

Frankly, I am not a fan of the african cichilds because of the fact that you can't keep them in planted environments, and plecos don't belong with them, and they are overly aggressive. Planted tanks are generally very calm little places, so it's nice to have a nice community feel to it


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## desjardo (Aug 30, 2008)

Cool...As i said planted is new to me.. Would I be ok with cichlids and moss?

I really want to put my Yellow labs in the new tank... But I am unsure what i should put with them...My albino labs and risk xbreeding or my kenyi maybe...
It sounds like I should stick with no plants until I get the third tank set up as I already have the fish for my first two tanks..
Cory had some gorgeous red fish that were the brightest I have ever seen in freshwater.. maybe I'll grab some of those for the planted..


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Just because fish survive in certain situations, doesn't mean they are happy or even healthy. People make it technical and "complicated" for the sake of happy, stress free fish not to bother you or drive beginners away. The way things are now, fish are really just another disposable commodity for the general population. That comes from assuming certain fish can live with others, or other stupid things like, as you mentioned, throwing fish into untreated, chlorinated water.

As for moss, most types of "cichlid" will eat it. In general, african cichlids will eat your plants. If you want a planted tank with cichlids, try SA dwarfs like rams or apisto's.


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