newbie question: what to do with a pre-drilled 40 breeder?

[RocksteadyGirl]

dear everyone,

i'm somewhat new to the hobby. about seven years ago i had several planted tanks, mostly amazon swords, and was breeding rams and apistos at one point, but i ended up selling all my gear and getting out of the hobby because i had to move. i've missed having a planted tank, and am getting ready to set up my first aquarium since 2003!

here's the deal: someone gave me a 40 gallon breeder, pre-drilled, with a pair of holes at the top of the tank. one hole has a bulkhead. here's a picture: http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a91/ReadyRocksteady/breeder40.jpg. here's another picture: http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a91/ReadyRocksteady/breeder40-a.jpg

the guy at my LFS suggested i get a canister filter and use the holes as input and output. very easy. but i don't like the idea of having such a low, visible water line, and i don't like noise. i want a pretty tank, above all, not a high-tech one. should i go with the canister? or should i try sealing up the holes somehow and using a HOB filter? i've used aquaclears in the past and love them. or should i try to sell this tank and get one without holes? please advise!

my goals for the tank are very modest: i want to grow some easy plants and have some tetras swimming around. low cost, low stress. i might fiddle with diy co2 injection or fertilizing with excel, but i'm not planning on getting fancy. for the substrate i'm thinking of doing a layer of peat underneath a layer of plain sand. and of course i'll need another lightstrip or two.

here are some pictures of my past tanks (with some wildlife photos and cats thrown in): Animals - a set on Flickr

many thanks in advance!!

 

[VaughnH]

I suggest you spend some time reading http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html and following that method with your tank. Above all else, to meet your goal of low cost and little fiddling around, limit the amount of light you use - don't get a T5HO fixture of any wattage. T5NO fixtures are alright, but stay under about 50-60 watts or so.

A canister filter is a lot less bother than HOB filters, primarily because they need less maintenance. So, I would use the two drilled holes for bulkheads, and do as the LFS guy suggested. Canister filters are not very noisy, and probably less irritating than HOB filters are.

 

[RocksteadyGirl]

thank you, VaughnH. i must admit i'm a little scared of canister filters because i've always used HOBs, but maybe now is the time to try new things.

and thanks for the link. very helpful! i was thinking of going with two plain old 36" light strips with standard fluorescent bulbs -- should be about 50-60 watts that way. or maybe just go to the hardware store and get a shop light, if i can find one that isn't too ugly.

i had a nice little soda-bottle co2 system going once upon a time. no idea how much co2 it actually produced, but it made me feel like a mad scientist every time i shook it up!

many thanks again,
rg