Completely new to the hobby and have a few questions.

So I have made up my mind on one thing and thats my tank. Below I will list what I think I need to buy and the questions I have. Thanks for all advice in advance. I forgot to mention that I am doing fresh water as it is easier.

Tank- 46 gallon Bow Front with a cobalt colored back (I want to keep a blue water look, but not too dark with the lights).

Gravel- Just a blue and green mix

Filter- Now I am not sure what filter I need but I know a want to have about 3 areas where bubbles are coming out of the gravel. I have heard the Marineland Magnum 350 Pro System work well.

Heater- I am not sure if I need one or not. It tends to stay around 70 degrees in my house so I think I would need one to keep it in the lower 80s.

Lights- I'm thinking florescent but what are your opinions? Remember that I want to keep it blue not white and want to keep it lit up not dark.

I have learned how to cycle a tank so I should be able to do that easily.

I haven't decided about fish but I want to get rocks and make a mountain like structure that has gaps for the fish to swim through and show a little light.

Then I will add some sort of plants but I'll decide that at the store.

Basically I want to know about the filter, heater and lights and if this will be a good setup. Thanks.

Oh and also when filling this do I just use tap water or should I put in filtered water?

 

As far as lights go to fishneedit.com and buy a 2 bulb t5ho fixture!! And fresh water from what i know(could be wrong) but doesnt need to be in the low 80s id aim more for 76 degrees

 

+1 on Oceanparadise 1 for me

unless you want to keep species like Discus which prefer higher water temp
74 - 78 is ideal for most community fishes IME

lights T5s - 2 of them would be OK and be bright enough for viewing fish even T8s would be OK IMO - if you want to seriously grow plants you might want to look at a bank of 4 T5s or T8s but you would also then need to look at substrate and fertilisers and maybe even C02 ETC
Some plants - Amazon swords, Valisneria, Elodea, and others I cant recall, ( Google freshwater plants easy species) grew OK for me with 4 x 40 watt T8 tubes and simple pea gravel substrate
potted plants if available are also a good idea, as the pots do contain fertiliser/ iron etc to help grow.

Water - depends where you are, I suppose, but generally for freshwater set ups I used tap water plus conditioner (aquasafe type products on most of my freshwater set ups)

Filter , not used the magnum myself, but I have seen good reviews on them
Steve

 

Everyone pretty much hit it on the head.
Water wise, conditioned tap will be fine.
Light wise, go with T5's. They cost a little more initially, but the bulbs are cheaper, and they are more energy efficient, so they will save you in the long run.
Now, the only other thing concerning lights is that you mentioned plants. Are you doing live plants or fake plastic plants? If you are planning live plants, the bluer look you desire may not work out well for you. Generally speaking, plants do well under a more yellow spectrum of lighting.
Filter wise, a simple AquaClear 70 would serve you well on that size tank.
Heaters, there are many out there, but I recommend going with a full plastic or metal bodied heater. Avoid the glass ones. There is nothing worse than a glass heater breaking and frying your entire tank in the blink of an eye.

 

Thanks a ton for the quick responses. I will definitely go with the t5s and if I have an extra $20 Ill buy some blue too to try them out. I haven't determined if I want real or artificial plants because I haven't had an aquarium before so I just want to get used to cleaning and care for the tank. The Aquaclear seems like a very likely idea for my setup. The only thing is will this heater work (What Wattage also) and what will add the bubble effect to the tanks

PETCO Submersible Aquarium Heaters at PETCO

 

for a 46 gallon tank - a 200 watt heater should be adequate IMO 3-5 watts per gallon is average

not used that exact model myself so cant offer any comments - looks OK though.

bubble effect - if you mean bubble wall
you need an air pump, air line and a bubble curtain - which is either a long pipe with holes in or a long block of some man made porous material (which I dont know the name for)
but its basically a long air stone.

Steve

 

Everyone else seems to have answered your questions but I was going to add a good fish to get. I would not have a fw tank without a pleco.These guys keep the tank spotless and are easy to care for. I would also add a piece of driftwood for looks but mainly for the pleco,they like to chew on driftwood and keeps them happy. I had a large centerpiece driftwood in my fw tank with plants mounted around it,really made it look more natural.JMO.