Jill Wright Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Hi everyone, I'm Jill from McDonough, GA and I haven't even set up my tank yet! I'm trying to learn all I can, take my time, and do it right. Also, I must say, I'm a little nervous, but a whole lot excited to get started! I'm going for a planted community tank. I have a 55 gallon tank, Eco Complete substrate, (with possibly sand on top), and an AquaClear filter. I'm going to order my sponge filter and plants from Aquarium Co-op when I'm ready to set it up. I think I have watched all of the AC videos and learned so much. I would appreciate some suggestions on a heater and a 24/7 aquarium light. I was looking at the Fluval 3.0, but that's a lot of money for something when I'm just starting out. Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations? Would the money be well spent or is there something else that would work as well? So many questions!! 😂 Looking forward to learning from everyone! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickS77 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Welcome! I think the Fluval 3.0 would be money well spent. Its a highly regraded light and should last a long time for you. Heaters I've used are the Eheim Jager, Aqueon Pro, and the Finnex HMA-S. I've good luck with all those ones. Start some threads and ask any questions you have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyndi Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 This is my very first post in this forum, but i had to pop in and say hi to a fellow GA girl! While we wait for the lighting experts to chime in, I will give my experience with those lights. I had a Fluval 3.0 on my 75 g and then I moved it to my 90g. It’s been running about 3 weeks. It’s stuffed full of mature plants, so I am only just now getting a tiny bit of brown algae (diatoms maybe?). I do water changes and judicious application of Easy Carbon (along with Ferts) bottom line- it’s a great light but sometimes it leans toward yellow (could be the diatoms) and I haven’t been able to find a guide that tells me EXACTLY how to set it. It’s customizable which is good - but a newbie will have to do a lot of experimentation. I also have several Finnex stingray lights that Cory also sells. I really like the clean light they give off - I have not been able to replicate this look with the Fluval 3.0. (I’m sure this is user error) and they grow my plants beautifully. The issue is, for your 55 G you may need 2 StingRays which may equal the cost of one Fluval 3.0. IMHO, You can’t go ”wrong” with either set-up and Once you say yes to plants, you’ll never go back to plastic. I say go all in and give your plants the lights they need to thrive! 😊 I hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Wright Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 10 hours ago, MickS77 said: Welcome! I think the Fluval 3.0 would be money well spent. Its a highly regraded light and should last a long time for you. Heaters I've used are the Eheim Jager, Aqueon Pro, and the Finnex HMA-S. I've good luck with all those ones. Start some threads and ask any questions you have! Thank you for the feedback, I will check those heaters out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Wright Posted August 13, 2020 Author Share Posted August 13, 2020 10 hours ago, Syndi said: This is my very first post in this forum, but i had to pop in and say hi to a fellow GA girl! While we wait for the lighting experts to chime in, I will give my experience with those lights. I had a Fluval 3.0 on my 75 g and then I moved it to my 90g. It’s been running about 3 weeks. It’s stuffed full of mature plants, so I am only just now getting a tiny bit of brown algae (diatoms maybe?). I do water changes and judicious application of Easy Carbon (along with Ferts) bottom line- it’s a great light but sometimes it leans toward yellow (could be the diatoms) and I haven’t been able to find a guide that tells me EXACTLY how to set it. It’s customizable which is good - but a newbie will have to do a lot of experimentation. I also have several Finnex stingray lights that Cory also sells. I really like the clean light they give off - I have not been able to replicate this look with the Fluval 3.0. (I’m sure this is user error) and they grow my plants beautifully. The issue is, for your 55 G you may need 2 StingRays which may equal the cost of one Fluval 3.0. IMHO, You can’t go ”wrong” with either set-up and Once you say yes to plants, you’ll never go back to plastic. I say go all in and give your plants the lights they need to thrive! 😊 I hope this helps! Hi Syndi! Thank you so much for the feedback!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Struggle Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 I really like my 3.0 and use Bentley Pascoe’s settings on them, I have not had any algae issues using his settings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 We have a Fluval Lighting thread: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyndi Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 What??? The Holy Grail!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Its Hutch Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Welcome to the community. It is always a good idea to do research before jumping in to a new hobby. If you have any more questions dont hesitate to reach out. There is a lot of knowledge here on this forum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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