My 2 foot amazon setup

Hey guys

Since i'm moving into my own place in january, I've decided to set up a 2 ft amazon tank for myself.

It's a standard 2ft tank, haven't taken measurements, about 60 litres.

Equipment:

1 x 60 litre tank
1 x 15w aquaglo light with ballast
1 x 50watt heater with thermostat
1 x boyu canister filter (210 litres per hour), will try spread the flow.

Decor:
Pool filter sand as substrate
Gonna get a nice piece of drift wood
Plants (amazon swords, not sure what else yet)

Fish:
2 x Ram Cichlids (want to try get a pair)
5 x neon tetras or cardinals
2 x ottocinclids
3 x panda corycats

Let me know what you guys think. I'm trying to decide whether I must go with 1 or 2 light tubes, an aquaglo and a sunglo for different light spectrums for the plants etc, or if the aquaglo will suffice. And what should I put in the canister? I was thinking a sponge, some carbon and some peat.:bigsmile:

Oh, by the way, I have everything except for the fish, plants and drift wood. Not jumping the gun with this one, want to do it properly, I want to have a well established and well maintained amazon tank

 

25 views and no comments?

 

hey lowflyer. i will comment . for the swords you might want a bit more light. i'm not an expert on that, but i think it should be stronger. also, as far as i know they need nutrition from the substrate, so maybe setting up some kind of nutritious base under the same might be a good idea. for tips on how to do that search for my recent thread called nutritious substrate (i think thats what its called) dolphin gave some really useful links that i'm going to try. Nice fish selection, really try and make sure you get a pair of rams, two males will make life difficult for each other. will write more tomorrow.

 

Ok cool, thanks Gaawie, will try find the thread, thanks so much for the input, really appreciate it

 

Ottos can also be quite finnicky and apparently die quite easily. Have a look at this http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=2204

The filter media is a good combination, the peat and bogwood will assist in creating the soft, acidic water that the fish you've chosen enjoy. I assume you know it will turn your water brown with the leached tannins? That is a good thing though...

You should leave space for a terracotta pot for your rams if they look to spawn (I think that is what they need, never bred them myself before). You could probably get another school of something small in there, maybe 5 rummynoses (my personal preferance). They have the advantage of indicating water quality by the hugh of their noses. Maybe add some plattys or something in first after your cycling, just to make sure everything is working well, as all the fish that you've chosen are quite fragile.

Cheers, hope it goes well.

 

Rams tend to prefer a piece of slate or a flat rock they can clean and lay eggs on rather than a cave. Mine layed a number of times, but sadly, nothing ever hatched! I no longer have the rams as they both died later on! Oto's are pretty finicky about introduction, and they account for most of my cost in terms of dead fish second only to neons, but they are worth persisting with, as once they acclimatise, they are wonderful creatures! Cheers! Big G!

Oh, and otocinclus prefer to be in a group! I have 7 in my tank at the moment, and often see them in a little school of 4 or 5 at a time! They are cool to see when they swim freely in pairs as well! Such great little characters! Oh, and if tank bred oto's are available rather than wild caught, then they will acclimatise better/easier! Cheers! Big G!

Oh, and otocinclus prefer to be in a group! I have 7 in my tank at the moment, and often see them in a little school of 4 or 5 at a time! They are cool to see when they swim freely in pairs as well! Such great little characters! Oh, and if tank bred oto's are available rather than wild caught, then they will acclimatise better/easier! Cheers! Big G!