My purchase list, do I need anything else?

[Maxim5]

Hi There,

I'm a total beginner to this new hobby and I'm very excited to getting started. I bought the following items after reading some stuff on the forums: (Have I already made a mistake? )

1 x FnM Cubic 60cm x 30cm x 40cm 6mm Crystal Glass
1 x Hagen Fluval G3 Advanced Filtration System
1 x Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Plus 24"-36"
1 x TWINSTAR Mini
1 x ADA Aqua Soil - Amazonia New 3L (Powder Type)
1 x ADA Aqua Soil - Amazonia New 9L (Normal Type)
1 x ANS Opti Glass I-Flo (13mm)
1 x ADA Clear Hose 13mm (3m)
1 x ADA Garden Mat (60x30cm)
1 x BORNEOWILD EBI MINERARU 1 - MINERAX 100g
1 x BORNEOWILD SHRIMP SUPPLEMENT - VIGOR 30g
1 x BORNEOWILD BACTER CRYSTAL 80g
1 x BORNEOWILD SHRIMP CONDITIONER - HUMIC 60g
1 x Kent Marine Pro-Scraper With Stainless Steel Blade - 24"
1 x API GH & KH Test Kit
1 x API Freshwater Master Test Kit
2 x Eheim Reducer 12/16 - 16/22

I want a generally low maintenance low tech tank. Is there something else I need to buy or does this list cover it. I'm assuming I can just use pure Aquasoil without needing gravel etc..

I plan to grow low light plants and add some Crystal red shrimp later on.

Any advise would be most welcome!

[hann]

What is your room temperature? If you intend to keep CRS, you might need a chiller if your temperature is high.

[Maxim5]

I have the air-con on 24/7 in the room I plan to add the tank in. I assume the water is usually a few degrees lower than room temperature. So it should be 25 maybe.

[Urban Aquaria]

Just a suggestion, from your list it looks like you are doing up a shrimp tank, so it might be a better idea to just use dedicated shrimp soil, instead of ADA aquasoil.

ADA aquasoil is more suitable for planted tanks with higher plant density and growth, so if you are planning on a tank with low demand plants (and most likely not much plants so that you can observe the shrimps too), you'll most likely end up constantly doing lots of water changes trying to flush away all the ammonia and nutrients from the ADA soil (which is supposed to be for growing plants fast in the first place) just to keep the low maintenance tank in balance and avoid algae/parameter issues... hence in your setup, it'll be more suitable to use shrimp soil instead (less nutrients for plants, but easier to keep the balance and more benefits for shrimps), since the shrimps will be the main focus, rather than plants.

[thebaldingaquarist]

My additional list to you
1. Moss.. lots of it
2. wiremesh
3. fishing line to tie moss
4. change ada soil to borneo soil for shrimps (as mentioned by UA)
5. digital thermometer
6. the twinstar... i will reconsider if i were you. I will spend the money on more moss and
7. feed dish and tubes
8. tweezers and scissors.

[Maxim5]

Just a suggestion, from your list it looks like you are doing up a shrimp tank, so it might be a better idea to just use dedicated shrimp soil, instead of ADA aquasoil.

ADA aquasoil is more suitable for planted tanks with higher plant density and growth, so if you are planning on a tank with low demand plants (and most likely not much plants so that you can observe the shrimps too), you'll most likely end up constantly doing lots of water changes trying to flush away all the ammonia and nutrients from the ADA soil (which is supposed to be for growing plants fast in the first place) just to keep the low maintenance tank in balance and avoid algae/parameter issues... hence in your setup, it'll be more suitable to use shrimp soil instead (less nutrients for plants, but easier to keep the balance and more benefits for shrimps), since the shrimps will be the main focus, rather than plants.

I plan to add a lot of plants to my tank so I don't think it should be a problem if I cycle the ammonia out. I've seen quite a few people use aquasoil without any issues with CRS.

[Maxim5]

My additional list to you
1. Moss.. lots of it
2. wiremesh
3. fishing line to tie moss
4. change ada soil to borneo soil for shrimps (as mentioned by UA)
5. digital thermometer
6. the twinstar... i will reconsider if i were you. I will spend the money on more moss and
7. feed dish and tubes
8. tweezers and scissors.

Nice list, what type of moss do you recommend? What is a feed dish and wiremesh for?

[thebaldingaquarist]

Nice list, what type of moss do you recommend? What is a feed dish and wiremesh for?

For low tech, maybe java and Singapore moss. If you ask me, I will stick to one kind.
Wire mesh is for the moss to be tied to.

Wongce has a blog which has some pictures for tying of moss, you can have a look.

Feed dish is a very nice looking transparent glass fish for you to place feed in. And the tube is a glass tube that directs the food to the dish.