Building a freshwater vivarium?

Hi I was recently tossing around the idea of building a freshwater viv with live plants and the whole 9 yards. I was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with this. I have a 55 gal aquarium just need to find a nice stand. Any ideas on a good filter or will any filter rated for this sized tank be ok. Also any forums or sites with info on plants and fish would be nice I don't want to buy plants/fish that are incompatible. Thanks. Also how long after planting my setup should I let it cycle before adding fish. I will be eagerly awaiting your replies meanwhile off to research some more. :salute:

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Originally Posted by sg1trogdor

Hi I was recently tossing around the idea of building a freshwater viv with live plants and the whole 9 yards. I was wondering if anyone on here has any experience with this. I have a 55 gal aquarium just need to find a nice stand. Any ideas on a good filter or will any filter rated for this sized tank be ok. Also any forums or sites with info on plants and fish would be nice I don't want to buy plants/fish that are incompatible. Thanks. Also how long after planting my setup should I let it cycle before adding fish. I will be eagerly awaiting your replies meanwhile off to research some more. :salute:

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My 30 gallon cube:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Planted002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Planted001.jpg

A good starting point:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/

Planted tanks are a PITA. They require tons of care, correct lighting, proper fertilization, proper water parameters, etc. They can go south in a hurry.

There is no quick and easy advice that anyone can give you. For a planted tank, I would go with a canister filter with an output well under the surface to minimize agitation. I have a preference for Eheims.

I would get your plants thriving before adding any fish. Fish in planted aquaria can also be tricky as they will need to be compatible with the water parameters that the plants will need to thrive.

Anyway - start with the forums. Proper lighting, filtration and CO2 supplementation costs $$$$.

Thanks. I just decided to go freshwater rather then salt just because most large elaborate tanks I see are all salt. As for the difficulty of it I am up for the challenge. I may start out with something smaller like a 10 gall or 20 and get the hang of it from there and then move on to a larger setup.

Here a water/land viv I did for my mossy frogs a few years ago.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h7...iumpics029.jpg

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h7...iumpics019.jpg

Just to give you some ideas.Let me know if you have any questions.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

and CO2 supplementation costs $$$$.

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A good friend of mine had a nice well planted aquarium.It ended up costing him to much in CO2 tabs to keep the plants thriving so he broke it down.That is something you will want to consider. Not only will you have to put time in to maintain and the cost of setting it up but also what will it cost to keep it running.

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Originally Posted by RhacHead

A good friend of mine had a nice well planted aquarium.It ended up costing him to much in CO2 tabs to keep the plants thriving so he broke it down.That is something you will want to consider. Not only will you have to put time in to maintain and the cost of setting it up but also what will it cost to keep it running.

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It's cheaper to go with CO2 injection - once you get past the cost of the tanks, the regulator, the bubble counter, etc.

Once every two months to the paint gun store for a fill up and you're set. Again - the cost is in the mechanicals.

or you could try the diana walstad method.

http://theaquariumwiki.com/Walstad_method

http://www.aquabotanic.com/diana_walstad_gallery.htm

I purchased this ebook. Its very informative on why her method works. I'm still in the process of learning her method but it seems simple enough.
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/00388.htm

either way, good luck with your tank and I look forward to seeing pics. :D

there is some nice intank filters now. i would seriously consider one of those, but stick with a nicer one with more than one type of filtration