Bulletproof aquarium set-ups

[Ken Burke]

I’m proposing a “contest.”  No winners or losers, just for fun -

If you were asked to set up a tank for, say a pediatrician’s office, describe what you would set up.  
- what size tank?

- what substrate?

- what filter?

- plants and decorations?

- lights?

- how would you stock it? Pictures encouraged but not required
 

once you have provided your answer you can assess other people’s input using the following criteria

1. Ease of maintenance      30pts  this is for someone else to maintain after all.

2. livestock hardiness.       30pts  dead fish just are not appealing 

3. aesthetics.                      20pts  capture the imagination, captivate the attention, draw people in

4. cost.                                15pts   Let’s keep it real

5 flair!                                    5pts  that little extra

this is just for fun, but try to keep your solutions realistic

 

 

[Ken Burke]

Tank: 55 gal 

substrate: fine gravel

filter: 1 medium ACO sponge filter and a Tidal 75 with a prefilter

amazon sword (large) just off center, narrow leaf Amazon sword in the back front the center to one corner.  A large piece of driftwood in front of the swords with Javamoss  In the other corner, another piece of driftwood with 2 or three clumps of Java fern windelov, dwarf tiger lotus and several crypt wendtii and lutea

Hugger 48” LED light

3 platinum angles

10 julii corydoras 

10 long fin leopard danios

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by Ken Burke
Incomplete. I hit the wrong button

[Maggie]

Aqueon 55 gallon, hinged glass lid, opti-bright LED light, adjustable heater; Marineland biowheel filter, Coop sponge filter & pre-filter sponge; black aquarium gravel, cave, driftwood, rocks, java moss, vals, crypts, water sprite, banana plant, java ferns, cleaning supplies, miscellaneous (food, medications, nets, thermometer, buckets, etc,). Fish: 12 harlequin rasbora, 8 peppered cory cats, pair of marbled blue angelfish. Total cost: approximately $1200-1500.

[Maggie]

3 hours ago, Ken Burke said:

Tank: 55 gal 

substrate: fine gravel

filter: 1 medium ACO sponge filter and a Tidal 75 with a prefilter

amazon sword (large) just off center, narrow leaf Amazon sword in the back front the center to one corner.  A large piece of driftwood in front of the swords with Javamoss  In the other corner, another piece of driftwood with 2 or three clumps of Java fern windelov, dwarf tiger lotus and several crypt wendtii and lutea

Hugger 48” LED light

3 platinum angles

10 julii corydoras 

10 long fin leopard danios

 

Ken, I spent about 2 hours on this project and I see mine is very similar to yours!! I really tried to find peaceful schooling tetras that would work with angels, but the larger ones it seems cam tend to be fin nippers and the smaller ones dinner! 

[Ken Burke]

48 minutes ago, Maggie said:

Ken, I spent about 2 hours on this project and I see mine is very similar to yours!! I really tried to find peaceful schooling tetras that would work with angels, but the larger ones it seems cam tend to be fin nippers and the smaller ones dinner! 

Yeah, I like the harlequin rasboras too.  Also thought about glowlight tetras, but don’t know much about them 

[Mikey Walnuts]

I’m going to base this off of the tank I set up for my nephew. If it can survive in a 9 year old’s bedroom with maintenance done by my non-hobbyist brother it should be bullet proof for anyone else.

-If it’s going to be in a doctor’s/dentist/whatever office I’ll choose a 55 gallon for that full picture view. 

-Gravel would be a sand/gravel mix from the river in front of my house. I’m using this in some of my tanks and it’s the most “natural” looking and plants grow well in it.

-Hardscape would be few “wild caught” rocks while I’m down at the river. I like driftwood in my tanks but this would prevent any questions about tannins

-Plants would simply be Val in the back, crypt wendetti up front, and Amazon frogbit for floaters. No stem plants so they don’t need to keep up with trimming. If the plants go wild they can just pull a few out.

-Light would be a BeamsWork since I’ve been running a couple for 4 years now and they’re just as good as new. We’ll make sure to add a mechanical timer here so we know the light turns on and off on its own. Mechanical because I feel it’s easier for someone who doesn’t want to fiddle with apps.

-Filtration would come in the way of two sponge filters. No need to remind them to replace cartridges and I’ll admit I have some sponge filters I haven’t squeezed in 6+ months.

-Finally fish would be variatus platys. Super hardy. I’ve kept them in summer tubs the last couple years (Rhode Island) and they’ve done well from May to October which means they’ve experienced the mid 50’s to the high 80’s. I even left a few fry out this year to see how they would fare over winter. I went outside today and they’re still kicking. This would also mean that they wouldn’t need to run a heater which is one less thing they would have to pay attention to and we all know it’s hard to find a reliable heater. The variatus platys will pack a ton of color and people get excited about seeing baby fish.

 

Altogether I would be in for $100 for tank and glass lids, $90 for the light (I could’ve sworn the 48” DA used to be $60ish dollars. Must be tarrifs and the Covid tax), I’ll say $20 for plants, $20 for a Whisper 60 air pump, $15 for the sponge filters and hose, $5 for a timer, and finally $20 for 6 variatus platys to get it started.

 

Final tally is $270

[Streetwise]

I setup a tank for my folks, where all they have to do is feed, top-off water, and optionally remove Salvinia and throw it in the basement tubs.

Setup: 20H, organic soil, Mopani wood, tons of plants, a pair of Nano Sponge Filters, Fluval Plant 3.0 24", White Clouds, Neocaridina Shrimp, bladder snails.

 

[Ken Burke]

@Mikey Walnuts  NICE.  Love the use of river rock, gravel sand, from your stream.  Plattys are a nice choice for livestock too.  Almost wish I could see it.