View Full Version : Adding live plants
I've been looking at getting more plant life for my 29g tank as I only have:
1 Juncus Repens
2 Corkscrew Vals.
The question I have is, is it alright to continually add plants while the fish are in the tank, or will this stress them with me disturbing them too much when adding them?
Thanks in advance :)
Adding plants will not stress out the fish Just remember to research the light requirements of the species and fertilize them. The more plants that are in the tank the more nutrients they need.
Are there any specific ferts I should look into for increasing my number of plants?
It depends on how much lighting you have. If it's a low light tank, ( say under 2 watts per gallon in your case) you may get by with no ferts at all. You want to keep low light, hardy plants in that case.
It does help to add a liquid fert such as Flourish or Kent Freshwater. I also sometimes add root tabs for my crypts and and other heavy root feeding plants.
I have a 30in compact fluorescent 2-65watt light, currently only using one bulb though.. and I also have Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium, and Flourish excel Organic Carbon for the Planted Aquarium.. are these good enough?
bluekrissyspike
02-22-2009, 3:28 PM
should be, you may want to look into diy co2 and root tabs for root feeders. if you used both bulbs you could do just about ant plant you want but *i think* that would mean having to add c02. you may get more replies in the planted tank section
Yeah, so far that is also what I have heard, that I should add or use ferts and add CO2, I actually have a DIY one here, just not sure what ingredients I need to put in and what amounts, I do not have the instructions for it.
colinsk
02-22-2009, 5:54 PM
Sugar, water and yeast will create CO2. Use 10% sugar to water. So if you have a pint of water then you want 1.6 oz of sugar. (A pint is a pound the world around.) The rule of thumb I use is a teaspoon of dried yeast to 5 gallons. So I would call that a pinch in a pint. You can use bakers yeast for making bread. The exact measurements are not important at all.
Remember you want to keep this fermentation from entering the tank. All of the solids should stay in your container. It will not cause any harm but it will make it easier to clean your aquarium.
When you go to recharge, make sure to pour out all of the liquid and start with fresh water.
PS if you pour off the liquid and leave the solids on the botton you don't have to add any more yeast. About every tenth time you should clean everything and get fresh yeast.
shawnhu
02-23-2009, 1:02 AM
colinsk, never heard of the saving yeast approach before, I'll have to try that.
The Flourish Comprehensive and Flourish Excel are great to start with. Once yougo higher in lighting and CO2, you'll most likely need the rest of the line. You want to be careful with the Excel though, it's known to melt some plants.
Sugar, water and yeast will create CO2. Use 10% sugar to water. So if you have a pint of water then you want 1.6 oz of sugar. (A pint is a pound the world around.) The rule of thumb I use is a teaspoon of dried yeast to 5 gallons. So I would call that a pinch in a pint. You can use bakers yeast for making bread. The exact measurements are not important at all.
Remember you want to keep this fermentation from entering the tank. All of the solids should stay in your container. It will not cause any harm but it will make it easier to clean your aquarium.
When you go to recharge, make sure to pour out all of the liquid and start with fresh water.
PS if you pour off the liquid and leave the solids on the botton you don't have to add any more yeast. About every tenth time you should clean everything and get fresh yeast.
Excellent, I hope I can get this up and running ASAP :), will make for much healthier plants!
steveywinet
03-02-2009, 7:49 AM
Do some research in the Planted Tanks forum... Lots of good stuff there on lighting, ferts and CO2. Adding plants shouldn't be a big deal. I usually have to thin mine out every month.
frogdog
03-02-2009, 8:11 PM
Hi there: I'd like to add something else here. When you add plants, make sure you take off and discard any metal clips or anything holding the plant or roots together. Sometimes metal clips can have some bad stuff in them. Also, some people quarantine or disinfect plants before adding them to a healthy aquarium. Not sure how others feel about this, but I did it for years, just like quarantining fish. I used to bath any new plants in a weak potassium permanganate solution, rinse well, then plant. I hope this helps,
frogdog
colinsk
03-02-2009, 8:28 PM
I used to bath any new plants in a weak potassium permanganate solution, rinse well, then plant.
I did not do this and I am fighting snails. From now on...
frogdog
03-02-2009, 8:40 PM
Yeah, that's one reason why I always did it. If anyone is interested you can buy potassium permanganate from the pharmacy here in Canada. (My pharmacist is used to me ordering all kinds of odd things). Fill a bucket with lukewarm water, add enough KMnO4 just to color the water lightly purple, dunk new plants for 5 minutes, rinse well, plant. Bye bye snail hitchhikers and any other nasty microscopic critters. ;o)
colinsk
03-02-2009, 10:26 PM
In the US it is easier to get it from the local pool supply store. I planned to get some but I did not get it in time and my plants were here.