Plants too much of a bioload?

[PinkPlaty]

Hey guys
I started up a ten gallon last friday. There are about 15 small bunches of plants. Right now the pH is about 7.4 and there is 1ppm of ammonia. I'm trying to cycle the tank, or is this too many plants?

[Danyal]

live healthy plants don't have a bioload, however decaying matter on the plants and dead plants will produce ammonia. don't worry about too many plants.

[PinkPlaty]

Have no idea what kind of plants, had them for months though

http://aycu22.webshots.com/image/47381/2005804156286542026_rs.jpg

[nickmcmechan]

the ones with white on the eaves look like dracaena to me, a non-aquatic plants - will die off in a month or so

[PinkPlaty]

I have had them since fall still kickin

[ZSandmann]

I had some of those when I first started, they looked really nice till one day they suddenly turned brown on the sides and in a week they were mush. Semi-aquatic or bog plant it seems. Just beware they will live for a while in a well oxygenated aquarium and turn turn suddenly.

[rosita]

Hate to say it, but the two smaller ones in front look like mondo grass--can stay alive for a while, like the dracaena, but will die eventually. Maybe you'll have better luck than I!!

[krytan]

A lot of plant's sold by lfs's are not suitable for fully submerged conditions

[Bobnova]

Really cool looking plants, but almost all of the ones that look like that will eventually die if kept fully submerged.

[oscaremmy]

live healthy plants don't have a bioload, however decaying matter on the plants and dead plants will produce ammonia. don't worry about too many plants.

Totally agree. MORE PLANTS! I have just started up my second 10g and used flourite substrate this time, with HOB TopFin 10 filter only. I have planted bulbs of waterlilly, onion and aponogeton, plus some 'ready growing' plants to establish while I wait for the bulbs to develop. My aim is to have a very heavily planted tank but still with space for fish, experimenting with a variety of plants until I get the look I want. I have too much light right now - 2 x 15w incandescent. Aim is to manage bioload of fish almost entirely with plants and two-weekly 25% percentage water changes. No props in this tank. Wanted to maximize water volume and plant life. Only set it up last night. Found a great site also: http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

Your plants look very healthy. Never be afraid to add living plants! Just keep an eye on them maintenance wise...trim, remove if too big/ugly, try something else. It can take a long time to get a beautifully aquascaped tank to a state of bio-balance.

[oscaremmy]

Hate to say it, but the two smaller ones in front look like mondo grass--can stay alive for a while, like the dracaena, but will die eventually. Maybe you'll have better luck than I!!

Yeah, Mondo grass - they will sell it to you without telling you it is not a true aquatic grass. It will die, almost certainly, even if slowly. Can provide fish cover while something else gets established, though.

[Danyal]

I have too much light right now - 2 x 15w incandescent.

actually you've got very poor light, something like 85% of the electricity used by incandesents is put out as heat(i think it's actually higher) and the rest is usually off spectrum for plants. i once did an experiement and had trouble growing algae under a 15w incan. upgrade to 2x10w or 2x13w CF daylights(availible in 5k, 55k, 65k and i believe 67k, i prefer the higher k bulbs) for about 6bucks and then you'd have decent lighting.
pinkplaty, i don't think a single plant in that tank is a true aquatic plant, that could easily be why you've got ammonia. there are dying plants and they aren't consuming any nitrogen compounds from the water. if you light the way the plants look then consider getting swords or java ferns to replace the tall ones, crypts to replace the midground plants and pygmy chain swords to replace the mondo grass in the from.

[PinkPlaty]

I did some googling on these

Dracaena sanderiana and related species are popular houseplants (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houseplant), with numerous cultivars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar) sold. It can survive in many indoor conditions, but indirect lighting is best as direct sunlight can cause the leaves to turn yellow and burn.
Although it grows better in soil, it often is sold with the roots in water. The water should be completely changed every two weeks. The water should be bottled water, or soft tap water with very little fluoride. It does best in bright, indirect lighting and temperatures above 15 °C up to 25 °C.
Yellow or brown leaf edges may be caused by too much direct light or fluoridated or chlorinated water, the latter of which can be prevented by leaving tap water exposed to the air for a day before plant use. Salty or softened water can also cause this.
Twisted shapes can be produced by rotating the plant with respect to gravity and directed light sources. This is difficult to achieve for most home users, but not impossible with a little time and patience.

[Danyal]

yea, unfortunately the dracaena is the most popular "aquatic" plant we sell at deathco, sounds like it could be a good candidate for a FW fuge though, i've used pothos before and loved it until it mysteriously died. i like the betta in your pic.

[oscaremmy]

actually you've got very poor light, something like 85% of the electricity used by incandesents is put out as heat(i think it's actually higher) and the rest is usually off spectrum for plants. i once did an experiement and had trouble growing algae under a 15w incan. upgrade to 2x10w or 2x13w CF daylights(availible in 5k, 55k, 65k and i believe 67k, i prefer the higher k bulbs) for about 6bucks and then you'd have decent lighting.
pinkplaty, i don't think a single plant in that tank is a true aquatic plant, that could easily be why you've got ammonia. there are dying plants and they aren't consuming any nitrogen compounds from the water. if you light the way the plants look then consider getting swords or java ferns to replace the tall ones, crypts to replace the midground plants and pygmy chain swords to replace the mondo grass in the from.
Thanks...will do as you suggest, changing incandescents for compact fluorescents!

[Danyal]

trust me, you'll be amazed at the difference. if possibe get some 65k, home depot has 14w 4 packs for 9bucks and 2 packs for $5 but their 55k and wallyworld had 13w 65k bulbs for about $6 that i like a lot better but are about 3/16" wider.

[mphunk]

Submerged roots and submerged leaves are 2 different things.

[jmhart]

Change out your bulbs. Wal-Mart has a 2 pack of GE 6500k "Daylight" CFL's for around $7 in all different wattages from 10 watts up to 26 watts.

[PinkPlaty]

i like the betta in your pic.

That's Duchess. :D She jumps now to get food and sometimes my finger

[mphunk]

Change out your bulbs. Wal-Mart has a 2 pack of GE 6500k "Daylight" CFL's for around $7 in all different wattages from 10 watts up to 26 watts.

Walmart should kick you some residuals!

[jmhart]

Walmart should kick you some residuals!


I was about to say some stuff about my love of Wal-Mart, but decided it was too off-topic for this thread. See below for my thoughts:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1330909#post1330909