Need help selecting a tank

[bumpypillow]

So I'm wanting to set up a large tropical tank thats planted with a betta as the showcase fish (wife loves them). Id like to have fish occupying all levels of the tank and would like a cube. So far I'm thinking 10 Cory's, 10 cardinal tetras, 6 black Mollies (2 males 4 famales), 6 celestial pearl danios, and one betta. I've never really done a planted tank, but would like this one to be planted. Not sure on tank size, types of plants. Edits and suggestions for stocking would be great. Also would a substrate filter (have never used one ?‍) and a couple sponge filters be enough to circulate the water without causing to much movement for the betta?thanks in advance

 

[Rocksor]

I would prefer way more cardinals and pearl danios, which would replace the mollies

What foot print size are you looking at?

 

[bumpypillow]

I would prefer way more cardinals and pearl danios, which would replace the mollies

What foot print size are you looking at?

I was thinking about a 60 gallon cube or so but I'm completely up in the air on the tank. So maybe 20 of the cardinals and danios and no mollies

 

[bumpypillow]

I dont want to be over 3 feet wide, I know a long tank would be the best. Just really like the way cubes look.

 

[fishhead0103666]

I would not do the celestial pearl danios. In my experience they are shy and stay in one place hiding if other fish are with them. Also the mollies could get big enough to prey on them.

 

[Rocksor]

I dont want to be over 3 feet wide, I know a long tank would be the best. Just really like the way cubes look.

With such a small footprint, stick with smaller fish. The mollies would take up too much space. There are dwarf cories, and you could have a number greater than 10.

 

[duanes]

And because many cardinal are wild caught, to do well they need soft, mineral poor water, as would the Betta, but....the mollies are generally a hard water species, even doing well in slightly brackish water that would be deleterious to the cardinals.
What is your tap water like ? Hard..soft.. neutral?
This may be the determining factor in what species would be best kept, or remain healthy in your tank

 

[bumpypillow]

There are dwarf cories, and you could have a number greater than 10
What about two separate schools 10 panda Cory's and 10 skunk Cory's (those are both dwarfs I think)

celestial pearl danios. In my experience they are shy and stay in one place hiding if other fish are with them. Also the mollies could get big enough to prey on them

What if there were no mollies and a large school of 20 do you think they would still be really shy?
if so what could we swap them for? don't want to do neons and cardinals.

new stocking list
20 cardinals
20 danios
10 skunk Cory's
10 panda Cory's
1 betta

fish load should stay about the same at this point just modifing the species, so what would be the recommended tank size.

 

[bumpypillow]

What is your tap water like ?

hard

 

[Backfromthedead]

36" max? Are you just looking for a standard tank or are you willing to go custom? Cost restrictions?

Youre gonna want to keep one dimension under 30" so you can get the thing through doorways, but my advice is to go as big as you can. Glasscages or customaquariums can make you a 36x36x24 square tank for around 1k. 36x36 is a respectable footprint, over 4 ft from corner to corner so i would have no problems stocking fish up to 10" in it if you wanted to switch it up later on to larger fish.

You could run one or two large sponges with an air pump for a simple and effective filter. I prefer sponges over UGF for ease of maintenance. Also if youre keeping cories youre gonna want a sandy substrate, not gravel, and sand doesn't work best for a UGF.