Advice on my new 110g set up

[mmarino]

Hi Everyone,

I'm finally ready to re-start my tank after a thorough tear down and cleaning, and I'd appreciate some feedback on the planned set up to help avoid as many newbie mistakes as possible! This is my first planted tank, and I'm taking a 'hybrid' approach I'm calling 'mid-tech':

Tank is 72"x18"x18"
2 Magnum 350 canisters using blue filter sleeves and 'CellPore' bio media
Sustrate is 240 lbs of EcoComplete
Lights 240 watts DIY 6500k CF (12x20 watt bulbs @ 1350 lumens)
2x200 watt Visitherm heaters, no undergravel
No CO2 injection (plan to use Flourish Excel)
Assortment of liquid and dry ferts at the ready

For the scape, I'm going for a 'natural' look mostly based on an Amazon biotope. Two tanks I liked are Mellonman's and Norbert Sabat's tanks in this thread. I'm planning a free form gravel area in the foreground, with a large piece of Mopani DW on one side and some large granite pieces on the opposite side.

My plant list / count is:

Mayaca fluviatilis 5
Brazillian Pennywort 6
Myrio, Red 3
Myrio, Green 3
Echinodoru Tennelus 30
Lilaeopsis Novaezelandiae 1 sq ft
Telanthera Rosefolia 10
Heteranthera Stargrass 3
Green Melon Sword 3
Red Melon Sword 3

For fauna, I plan to keep about 60 assorted tetras, some corys, a few plecos and some gouramis. I'm also planning to add some snails and shrimp, but haven't settled on those yet (advice on type and quantity?).

Does anyone see any glaring problems with this set up? Do I have enough plants to fill the space? Too many? Should I be considering a different mix of plants? Am I asking for trouble with the combination of light and no CO2 I'm planning? Any advice for a nervous first timer is appreciated!

Thanks, Mike

[John N.]

Mike you've done your research, and it looks like you're on track. I personally don't like snails so I would go without them. For shrimp I don't know if any South American varieties are readily available, but you can't go wrong with a colony of cherry shrimp (population grows/declines on its own) or about 20 or so Amano shrimp.

Also, biotope aquariums seem to have a different requirement for the number of plants needed to fill up space. It seems like it's based on tastes. So in the end it all depends on what pleases you. To me it looks to be the bare minumum, but most of the plants you listed are stems and can easily be proprogated. I don't know to much about biotopes so maybe others will comment on your plant selection.

I'm excited to see where this is headed. Don't forget to start a journal so we can follow its development. Good luck!

-John N.

[mmarino]

Thanks for the feedback John. I've got some travel coming up that will delay my actual start up until the weekend of May 10, but will start a journal then.