Ideas for a New Tank :)

[mareshow]

Alright so i'm going to get a 120 gal tank with the dimensions of
Length: 48"
Width: 24"
Height: 30"(i think thats what it is i dont remember lol)

so i'm going to do planted i think but VERY lightly planted because i would like to get a stingray one of the small ones that only grow to 12", So with that being said i'd like to do an all white sand bottom (i need a good sand, thread already started) with two little rock out croppings where i'm going to attach some driftwood and a couple plants, this is all going to be with a 3D background, so heres the scoop i dont want really wide 3D one 2-4 inches max and i'd like to see some pictures of some similar or very like this one, so if you could if you know of a pic show me? :D

thank you so much :)

Marek

[rickztahone]

sorry, i don't have any pics to contribute to help you out but i just wanted to say that reaching into a 30" T tank seems like a PITA. also, you will need some strong lighting if you plan on doing a planted tank
my 2 cents.

[Sharkbait]

The AquaTerra Slim Line is nice and thin...but it's not much of a 3-D background. Most of the backgrounds I know jut out quite a bit, and your Stingray will want a nice wide footprint. If you're going planted, let your plants be the background.

I agree with Ricardo that your lighting is going to be steep. Choose the plants you want wisely so that you don't overdo your lighting for no reason.

[bs6749]

If you are seriously thinking about a stingray that tank is not going to work for the full life of the ray. It will house the stingray until it is maybe 6" in diameter, and at that point it is most likely outgrown for the tank. The fish may only be 6" wide, but it will have a long tail. Rays need long tanks for swimming room, not something square like a 120. Also, the minimum recommended tank size to permanently house a ray is 135g (standard 6ft long). Long, wide, and shallow tanks are best for rays. Even my 5ft long 100g tank would be better than the 120g.

[mareshow]

yeah i'm planning to upgrade again later, but i was told that it would be absolutely fine by my friend who has rays, and as for the plants i was thinking of simple plants such as Java Fern and amazon swords, more like the fern though so i can mount it up on the wood a little higher up :)

[bs6749]

Avoid swords as those are more demanding in lighting and nutrient requirements. Look into crypts and especially anubias and Java ferns if you want to attach them to driftwood and the like. I like the idea of vals as they take up little space on the floor of the tank and can get very tall and are rather undemanding. Avoid using Flourish Excel with them present in the tank as it will melt away the leaves and destroy the plant, if you didn't already know that. This plant and several others like anacharis are suceptible to the melting effects of Excel.

I've never kept rays so I can't say from experience what they need. I have been told by multiple breeders however that the tank should be relatively free of decorations to allow more swimming room, and if you have a substrate it needs to be non abrasive. They also told me that long, wide, and shallow tanks are best for them. The 120g will work but only up to a certain size.

[rickscics]

Just a note: For that tank to be a 120 gallons the demnsions would have to be 24 x 24 x 48. The tank you describe would be a 150.
Here is the formula for rectangular volume. LxWxH "in inches" divided by 231:)

[mareshow]

ok, sorry i think i have the height wrong, as for plants, i was only thinking swords because i have had success with them in the past, i'll look up more compatible plants, because what you said about rays is true they do need not as much aquadecor so thats why i'm going for a simpler effect such as the one in this link http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=74441&page=2 in post #17 i think it is gorgeous as well as this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgeyCcTI_7o i think i'd like to do something similar to both of those except a little more open. and maybe a 3D background instead of the rocks in the second link

[Jstuver]

I was able to keep crypts in with my rays they worked great.

[mareshow]

were the rays very difficult to keep? i've heard mixed reports lol, and thats good to hear about the crypts, they are easy to grow too so no troubles there