I was actually looking at a Eheim Pro 3 2073 rated for a 95 gallon tank. Would a canister filter rated for almost double my tank size be good? What kind of substrate should I use if I were to go with a planted tank? What kind of fish could I stock with a planted tank?
Thanks
Ray
On filter sizes, lets just say the all manufacturers tend to be "very optimistic" when it comes to ratting the size tank the filter can handle. Having one larger will not hut anything.
You are going to see several methods of doing the substrata in a planted tank.
Lowest cost is plain old aquarium gravel to about 3 inches, and optionally lace the bottom half with laterite, with is a tropical dirt.
Next most expensive is Caribsea Eco Complete - See this link (offsite) -
CaribSea Planted Aquarium | Eco-Complete Planted | Eco-Complete Red | Floramax
-or-
SeaChem Flourite - See this link (offsite) -
Seachem. Flourite
At the extreme high end there is the substrata system of Aquasoil and Power Sand sold by ADA (Aqua Design Amano) This stuff is out of sight expensive, but among the planted aquarium people that use it, it has become THE substrata system, assuming almost mythical attributes of goodness. See this link (offsite) for the company -
Aqua Design Amano Co., Ltd (ADA)¡Ý Nature Aquarium See this link (offsite) for the USA distributor -
ADA Substrate System
On additional substrata system is used. This is sort of a DIY process where you take garden soil and convert it to "mineralized mud" and use it with aquarium gravel. This is a rather complex process, and I wouldn't recommend it for a first attempt at a planted tank.
Planted tanks put the emphasis on the plants, rather then the fish, so the fish kept are usualy ones that do not eat plants, such as silver dollars, or plecos, and they don't use fish that will dig such as large cichlids.
Fish like tetras, rainbows, cory cats and so on are typical.
