New member with a TSN...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
So I wanted to update you guys! I am getting a 96x30x30 tank /w coast to coast overflow this Saturday. Very excited! As I've been reading, I see it is recommended to either use zero substrate or sand/fine substrate. Is that black diamond sand any good or is it to course for a RTCxTSN? I like the look, but i want to do whats best for my big guy :) Also, the tank doesnt come with any lighting. What do you guys recommend for lighting? I'm trying to stay on the cheap side and there will not be any live plants in the tank. Preferably I'll have the lights built into the canopy for the tank. (it doesnt have one currently)

Thanks again for your feedback and advice!
 
IDK about the sand - whether it is too coarse or not but black does look awesome.

The lighting: I'd not use any - room and ambient light usually is enough in my tanks... for fishes' comfort. Cats like it dim. If you have to use lighting, $5 workbench spot lights from Home Depot and Lowes with a CFL bulb worked real well for me. They look rugged but that I like. You can have then more and less lighted areas in your tank and cats can choose.
 
the main reason bare bottom or sand is reccomeded is if ingested it passes thew their systems much easier then say rocks do.. personally i'm a fan of either painting the bottom or sand. and i agree with dim lighting... my tsn is out during lights on.. but they are out most during dawn/dusk lighting. personally i run a t8 10k for the floating plants ( i utilize them for nitrate reduction ect) on a timer... so they get a regular day/night cycle. I've found even in nocturnal species they benefit from regular cycles. that being said... i've kept many 'un-lighted" tanks over the years particularly if they are in upper rooms in the house ect so they get indirect lighting still.
 
Yeah theres a bay window where the tank will be placed, so even if i dont have lights on they would get some light during the day. However I like the CFL idea as its cheap and super easy to build into the canopy if i want some light for whatever reason. I'm going to roll with the black diamond sand then as its cheap and goes well with the tanks black backround. I just need to locate some driftwood thats big enough for his big butt to hang out under lol.

@Monsterminis does your catfish mess with the plants? I was thinking about getting some driftwood with plants growing on them to do the same thing and figure out lighting, but it sounded like RTCxTSN would mess with it and/or kill it.
 
Yeah i know that direct sunlight is no bueno. Last thing I want to deal with is mass algae in a big tank like that. The bay window has blinds and covers so any light is indirect. :D
 
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