Hi,
I currently have a 20 gallon tank with 2 gouramis and 1 placostomus. I want to move them into a new 40 gal tank. For the new tank I have a couple of questions.

1. Plants
I plan on going with all real plants. I was wondering what kind of plants do people recommend for a 40 gal tank. I would really love for my tank to look like this:
Aqua Forest Aquarium, ADA USA, Aqua Design Amano
the 90 and 160. What do you recommend. Where can I get drift wood and other plant essentials. What plants do you recommend.

2. Lighting
Depending on what plants I get, I would like to get adequate lighting. Are there lights for night time and for day time. Also what lights are silent. The current light I have on the 20 gallon tank is really loud.

3. Filtration
I would just go with the generic filtration but I am thinking that there could be better ones out there. The problem I foresee is that I normally vacuum the ground every month with a siphon. But with a 40 gal tank I don't think I can reach the bot. Is there a way to have a filtration system that you do not need to do that. 1 filter and it will take care of everything. Or do you need a bottom filter as well. Thanks.

4. Fish
I have two gouramis and 1 placostomus. It was recommended on this forum that I go with Bolivan Rams which are cichlids that are peaceful. I would like to get a school of fish and add a few more gourmaies because i really like how they look. What do you think?

Any more suggestions for my new tank?
I was thinking of going something like this..
SeaClear Rectangular 40 Gallon Junior Executive Kits at PETCO

Petco is having a $1 per gallon sale! Get a 40 gallon for $40! it since you will have to buy specific equipment for ur tank (and because glass just won't scratch as easily) it' ll be cheaper to go with a generic tank. I loved the tanks in your link! I don't know much about plants but there are plenty of people here who do so good luck!

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35 gallon tank
4 ryukin goldfish (4 - 5 inches)

5.5 Gallon Planted tank
1 halfmoon betta
2 ADFs

Thanks a lot so that will be a start for my adventure! Do you guys have any suggestions on what i stated before. I am thinking of going with a mix of plants, something like this..
Aquatic Plants for Freshwater Aquariums: Aquarium Plant Pack - Deluxe

Hm Not getting any help maybe I should simply it.

Hello Gamer,

The plant package you posted looks like a great beginner plant package. For me it seems on the high side. (12 plants for $46 bucks?) While this is testing my limited plant knowledge, I believe all but the Cambodia in that package will grow fine under low light. Which brings us to..

Lights: Most lights are silent. Not sure why yours is noisy. I believe night lights are not necessary, but get them if you want them. I would stay away from the T5HO stuff unless you plan on injecting pressurized co2. (or hang light high above tank.) a t8 fixture the length of your tank may be a good starting point.

Filters: If you plan on putting live plants, while its possible, I’ve generally heard to avoid bottom filtration. (sucks the good stuff away from the roots!) Also if ya get enough plants in the tank, you wouldn’t want to vacuum the bottom much at all.

Fish: Imma defer to someone who has experience with those.

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100 Dirt + Stuff. To be Angel baby tank.
37 Planted. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f45/pla...nal-20774.html
29 Tall community tank. 5+ Years up and running.
15 Soon to be RCS tank.

Welcome to the forum
1. You have a lot of options for plants, depending on how you set your tank up. Aim for high light, CO2, dry chem fertz and excellent substrate if you want to keep an Amano-style tank, as the plants are very demanding. I would suggest as intermediate plants dwarf baby tears, vals, moss like riccia fluitens, and maybe some hygro or crypts
2. In my opinion, the light is the single most important piece of hardware for a tank, aside from the tank itself. I would go with a T5HO, and would recommend this particular model if you want to go all out: Nova Extreme 2xT5HO | Current-USA (model #1128). I've used Nova Extremes for years and I love them. I currently own three. You'll want about 2 Watts per gallon (rough estimate) for medium-high light. Also, look into CO2 if you're going to do advanced lighting. DIY CO2 using yeast fermentation is one way, but a 40 gallon is borderline as far as the ability of the DIY setup to work effectively. Look into pressurized systems if you really want to go pro. The reason your existing light buzzes is because it has a crappy ballast (basically a fancy filter/transformer that cleans up the power for use in a light).
3. The plants are all you need. The more plants, the smaller the filter. The only reason I run filters on my tanks is to grow moss and move water. The plants` root systems actually prefer dirty substrate, so you would not want to vacuum the gravel with plants in there.
4. Gouramis and rams are indeed a pretty set of fish. To complement them you might want to get some top swimmers like glass catfish or hatchetfish (but watch for jumpers), or some bottom feeders like a school of cory catfish or a school of otociclus catfish (otos). Try and avoid middle swimmers as your gouramis and rams will already be crowding that space.

Hope this helps!

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Sounds good. What kind of filter do you recommend going, and heater. I currently have a heater in my 20 gallon that seems fine, but I can get a bigger one if possible or better one. Filter and heat are the most important. I like the nova, I just want to make sure it fits on my tank, does it come in customized versions? Thanks!

Do you recommend getting a kit like this, and working from it? I might have to buy two plant combos because I want to make sure there are plants everywhere. Is there anywhere you can buy drift wood?
http://www.petco.com/product/11542/S...e%20Kits-11542

I would first recommend starting small and scoping out your local classifieds. For example, here's a nice ADA tank I've been eyeing on my local ads for the last two days:
Aqua Forest Aquarium (ADA) Cube Garden Mini - Fish - Pets and Livestock - Draper - For Sale - Classifieds | ksl.com
Comes replete with driftwood and everything, for less than half of what you want to pay new. HOWEVER, if you'd like some good driftwood, PM PC1 on this forum - he specializes in selling some really sweet manzanita wood for aquariums. I just bought a piece from him, waiting until it gets here to pass judgement on the quality, however the pics and service are great, and the prices are low.

The Nova Extreme light actually has adjustable/removable legs so it can stand about 1" off the top of the tank. You'll want either a glass top or simply an open top tank.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Cool. That tank looks cool. Can you just buy the tank with everything in it.
Other than that, I will talk to PM PC1 to get some driftwood. What kind of plants do you recommend with drift wood.

So either that, or im thinking of buying a new tank at petco.
Second, going to buy a starter plant that is the one i shown eariler.
Third, going to get my fishes after I ran through the nitrogen cycle on my tank. Does that sound good?

I would think different for the light. A T5HO light is unnecessary and so is a light in the med-high category. The more light you have, the more potentila problems and the more demand for other things that plants will need to keep up with the light. Stick with flourescents and go for about 2WPG. You'll be much happier.

Really I shouldnt go with the light? Isnt the light necessary for plants? Should I just go with the lights that the tank comes with?

SeaClear Rectangular 29 Gallon Show Junior Executive Kits at PETCO

This is the tank I am going to buy. I think I am going with a different heater.
I am thinking one of these heaters:
Aquarium Heater; Submersible Glass, Digital & Titanium Heaters. Also Hydor Undergravel & Mag Clips.

and for plants, I stated before. Hm there interesting about the light. I just want to confirm that the plants will be okay?

Just saying dont go big. Definitely need a light.

What kind of light do you recommend in that case?

For a 29g or a 40g? 40g is an easier rec. 29g just depends on how particular you are in the looks.

I agree T5HO might be a little much without injected CO2, I know lots of members on here have great success with shop lights from home depot with 6700K bulbs in them.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

I say go for CO2, whether you think you're light nearly requires you to do that or not. Most people want higher light to be able to grow higher light requirement plants, but never make the venture to get those plants. Adding CO2 with a good substrate and fertilization plan will allow you to grow many of the traditional "high" light plants and be left with less of a headache that high light can cause. Make the light the "only" limiting factor and you can do wonders with medium lighting. This is the way the newer thinking appears to be leaning toward, from what I have read.