# Aquarium Equipment Suggestions



## Kaiden32 (Sep 4, 2010)

Hey guys, I am looking at setting up a freshwater planted aquarium and I am trying to figure out what equipment to get. The tank we are looking at getting is a 37 gallon aquarium. The measurements are 30"W x 12"D x 22"H. It is a weird shape but we want to use a stand we already have and that is the tank that fits on it the best that we can find. I'm not looking to put any plants that are really hard to take care of or need a lot of light or whatever, just some easy stuff that will help the tank look more natural. The light fixture I am looking at is a 30 inch Coralife Aqualight 2x18 watt T5 fixture. Would that be a good fixture for this tank? Also I am trying to see what filter we should get. We can only find the tank in a kit that comes with lights and a filter and heater, and I know the lights aren't going to work. The filter it comes with is a Top Fin 40 power filter. I have had fish tanks in the past and I thought that usually you want a filter that is for a larger tank. Is this the case? And if it isn't, would that filter be a good one? If we would need a different filter, what are some suggestions? We want just a regular hang on back filter. 
Thanks in advance!


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

You really should use this site for all your future stocking and If your tank has enough filtration-AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
Just add your tank size and the filter and there you go!


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## Chellebelle007 (Jun 26, 2013)

I have a 36 gallon bowfront and I upgraded my filter to an Aqueon 55/75 which is supposed to support up to a 90 gallon tank..haha. It does a great job and it a HOB..it does create a lot of movement at top of tank so I do turn it off at feeding time or the food goes flying every where. For lights I'm currently using what came with my tank kit, but I want to upgrade to a Current LED set up!


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

20 gallon longs and 29 gallon tanks will also fit the same size stand.The advantage of the lesser gallons is they are the same dimmensions but not as deep so the light will get to plants easier.I would strongly consider the 29 over the 37,as the 37 is the tallest tank made in that dimension.If you thought you were going to go for plants that need anything above low light and didn't want to buy a much stronger light I would go with the 20Long.
If you get a kit it is kind of a waste to not use what they provide?I'll also add I BELIEVE PETCO IS HAVING THEIR $1 PER GALLON SALE NOW AND 20 LONGS AND 29 ARE WHAT THEY USAULLY SELL,SO FOR $20 or$29 you could have either of those tanks and then have money you saved to buy best filter and lights(DON'T BUY THOSE FROM PETCO AS THEY ARE NOT ON SALE AND WILL COST YOU AT LEAST 2X WHAT YOU COULD GET THEM FOR OVER THE NET).kensfish,petmountain and drfosterandsmith are good sites to check out.
Aquaclear rule as far as HOB filters go and lighting really depends on plants,although t5ho are usaully pretty good.


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## Akinaura (Nov 8, 2010)

Since Coral has already tackled the tank issue, I'll tackle the filtration issue and plant issues.

With filtration, more is better, but not to the point the poor fish cannot swim properly inside the tank. So you are right in the way you are thinking. Even with a tank of up to the 37G you are thinking of, a HOB (Hang On Back) filter is completely fine. 

Now, for the plants. The lighting fixture you are looking at it is going to provide you with about 36 watts of light. In comparison with tank size, you looking at less than a watt of light per gallon. Add to what Coral has said about the light actually making it down through the height of the tank to the bottom and you're gonna run into a lot of problems keeping the plants alive. There are some species that are considered 'low light', but there still need to breech the 1W per gallon level at the bottom of the tank.

If you go with a different tank (say the the 20G long or 29G that Coral suggested) and you're have much better results with the light fixture you want. The light from the fixture will definitely be able to reach all the plants within the tank, and would also be strong enough that species like wisteria, water sprite, hornwort, and a few others would be able to grow strong and well to provide the natural look you are going after. All those plants are easy to care for with a slight trimming when it starts to look 'overrun'.


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

I build my own filters so I'll leave that one alone. Mine are bio only and have no "pads" or "screens" to stop fry or daphnia from passing through. They just pass water 
through the bio-media.
Light has a hard time going down that far but/w good bulbs your T5 is certainly capable of supporting "low light" plants. This is especially true if you have a piece
of driftwood which reaches up towards the top that you can tie some Java or Christmas moss to near or sort of near the surface. Either will grow near or on the
bottom. The color it gives is not liked by all but a 460nm actinic bulb would help/w a tall tank along/w a 6500/6700K bulb. 2 6700K would work, possibly better.
For long term you might try a 10.000K bulb (for one of the 6700K)the next time you buy new ones(9 months is best for the spectrum deteriorates/w time) and compare
the plant growth/w it and one 6700K to the 2 6700K set up. BTW plants with any color other than green need high light. There are at least 2 types but the one I'm
talking about is single stemmed and has roots. The floating kind has little if any roots. But Hortworth grows up from the bottom(the kind/w roots) and either can do
low light. E-bay(under live plants in aquariums) has both so e-mail the store to see which they have first. Check here for light requirements of plants but check the
other requirements also.
Tropical freshwater aquarium fish: Homepage
Amazon Frogbit 5 Plants Floating Plants Combats Algae | eBay
This one helps water quality.
Hornwort Large Bunch Live Aquarium or Pond Plant | eBay
I believe this to be the floating type. But this is a good dealer. Plants I bought from off my continent have a 50/50 chance.
Java is much more common but it grows chaotic while Christmas moss "drapes". All mosses grow slowly but other than those 2 are also tempermental.
Don't trust everything they say, check/w someone here for I have had this plant type of info first.
aquarium live plants in Pet Supplies | eBay
Something you will want eventually...in the order of most used to least used.
Angled 15 inch Stainless Steel Aquarium Tweezer Forceps Shipped from USA | eBay
Amazon.com: Fluval Flora Stainless Steel Planting Tongs - 10.63-inches: Pet Supplies
TDA Mature Aquarium Special Stainless Steel Curve Scissor for Live Water Plant | eBay


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