View Full Version : Need advice on planting
Jadie.Glitch
10-01-2009, 3:05 PM
I'm starting a 75 gallon. We're tentatively going to have a couple angels, a couple varieties of tetras, some fancy male guppies, along with a few hardy bottom dwellers like pleco.
I'm wanting this to be a planted tank and I want them in there before the fish.
I was planning on getting every setup and flowing, then adding plants and decor, then beginning the fishless cycle. Does this sound like the right timeline of events?
For the bottom I just have plain gravel. Do I need some sort of soil or sand for the plants?
Also, which plants should I get?
I'm thinking something like these:
Java Fern (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+800&pcatid=800)
Anacharis (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+780&pcatid=780)
Dwarf Hairgrass (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+2136&pcatid=2136)
Narrowleaf Temple (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+1619&pcatid=1619)
Four Leaf Clover (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+2591&pcatid=2591)
Any comments, concerns, questions, and/or suggestions would be great! I'm open more ideas of something you think would work well with my size of tank and selection of fish.
Thanks!
montanafish gal
10-01-2009, 3:15 PM
What kind/wattage of lights do you have? I think that hairgrass is a plant that requires higher wpg. I tried it in my 2 wpg planted tank and it looked horrible and died. I'm not familiar with the narrow leaf or 4 leaf clover plants. If you are going for low light plants (2 or less wpg) then java fern, amazon swords, anacharis, hygro, ect are all good choices.
You can use gravel but be sure to know if your plants take in their nutriants thru their roots then you need some sort of fertilizer tabs to push into the gravel. If they take it in thru their leaves you need liquid or dry fertilizers. If you want lots of growth and heavily planted, then look into CO2 systems. you need the light to support it tho. Low light plants do fine with no CO2 or flourish excel.
your timeline sounds good. Adding plants should in fact help speed up the cycling process a bit.
There are ALOT of plant threads here, I'd suggest doing a thread search and you will find all the info you need and more! Good luck!
Jadie.Glitch
10-01-2009, 3:47 PM
WOWZAH, there's a lot to having a planted tank! Would I be a complete failure if I decided to go the plastic route??? Lol
Maybe I should start plastic and move up to real ones slowly as I go?
I was fine with planting, testing water levels, fertilizing, etc... up until I got to the point of having to have a Co2 system. That made me go "Wha-huh?".
I'm going to keep reading, but I'm a little discouraged at this point. It can still be beautiful with plastic, no doubt about that.
montanafish gal
10-01-2009, 4:11 PM
Wait wait don't be discouraged!! You can have a BEAUTIFUL planted tank with little effort and no CO2! I do. Just go with low light plants. Find a light that has 1-2 wpg, at a range of 5600-6700 (I think)Kelvin, daylight. I use eco-complete substrate because it's for planted tanks and contains all sorts of good nutrients and stuff for the plants. Then get your plants. (ask customdrum, another AC member, about his plants, he can give you great advice on low light plants and he sells and ships them too, as do some others here. I just recommend him because I order my plants from him so I know from personal experience his plants are good). Once you have your plants, plant them, get some root tab fertilizer and some liquid (I like Flourish and Flourish Excel, the excel is a form of CO2 for us who don't want to mess with a CO2 system, and dose those according to directions and that's about it!. It's really not hard.
I was confused and disheartened when I first started learning about how to have a planted tank, but it's really not as bad as it sounds and it's SO much prettier than plastic and it's a much healthier enviroment for your fish. I think if you go ahead and do it you'll be really happy you did.
bushwhacker
10-01-2009, 4:36 PM
jadie, this tank runs right at 2 wpg, no co2 or ferts and sand for the bottom
http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n438/bushwhacker_01/09-26-09005.jpg
montanafish gal
10-01-2009, 4:49 PM
bushwacker, how do you get away with no ferts? I thought ferts were a must for plants to stay healthy?
jbradt
10-01-2009, 4:57 PM
My puffer tank is heavily planted and the plants are beautiful and healthy with 1.5 wpg, and random ferts. When I do use ferts, it's only flourish. I stopped using excel because I added vals to my tank. If you keep your lighting low, and pick your plants appropriately, CO2 is not necessary. The fish in the tank produce plant food in the form of waste that gets transferred into nitrates. If your balance is good, ferts are not necessary either.
As with all things, start slowly. Good luck with it!
bushwhacker
10-01-2009, 5:00 PM
it all depends on lighting, too much light requires ferts and co2. i could probably use some ferts in my tanks, but i'm not into growing a jungle. dont have the time to be constantly trimming.. so i keep it simple low light plants and let the fish fertilize em lol..... the last pic was my 75 gallon. this is my 55 with 1.5 wpg no ferts no co2.... gotta pic jbradt? i love seeing others planted tanks
http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n438/bushwhacker_01/09-18-09006.jpg
montanafish gal
10-01-2009, 5:13 PM
ok, thanks! I knew that fish poop did some to fertilize but I wasn't aware that it was enough for low light plants. Good to know. Now I won't panic if I run out of flourish! lol
coach_z
10-01-2009, 5:18 PM
low light plants are slow growers and they require less nutrients and less co2...think of it like this: how much food do you need to eat if you were not able to leave your bed for 3 weeks (not a lot at all)...and then how much food you would need to eat if you were training for a marathon for 3 weeks (a LOT).
select low light plants and you dont need to worry about co2, ferts, etc....although they will help growth they are not necessary.
Jadie.Glitch
10-01-2009, 7:47 PM
Oh wow, that sheds an entirely new light on things! I appreciate the encouragement. I'll continue trucking along then and keep strictly to the low light plants ^_^.
jbradt
10-01-2009, 7:50 PM
it all depends on lighting, too much light requires ferts and co2. i could probably use some ferts in my tanks, but i'm not into growing a jungle. dont have the time to be constantly trimming.. so i keep it simple low light plants and let the fish fertilize em lol..... the last pic was my 75 gallon. this is my 55 with 1.5 wpg no ferts no co2.... gotta pic jbradt? i love seeing others planted tanks
http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n438/bushwhacker_01/09-18-09006.jpg
Here's a link to the last pic thread I posted...
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206606
WOWZAH, there's a lot to having a planted tank! Would I be a complete failure if I decided to go the plastic route??? Lol
Maybe I should start plastic and move up to real ones slowly as I go?
I was fine with planting, testing water levels, fertilizing, etc... up until I got to the point of having to have a Co2 system. That made me go "Wha-huh?".
I'm going to keep reading, but I'm a little discouraged at this point. It can still be beautiful with plastic, no doubt about that.
Just go for it. Approach it like you would a flower garden. Either a plant likes the conditions in your tank or it doesn't. If it doesn't try another plant. And don't yank a plant just because it seems to be dying. It's common for plants on the land or in the water to "wilt" after they're transplanted.
Also, a little research before buying plants goes a long way. Good luck!
KarlTh
10-02-2009, 4:55 AM
The red temple is a no-no for low light, if you're thinking of Alternanthera. It's a lovely plant, (when not covered in algae) but readily sheds leaves in low light.
stephcps
10-03-2009, 1:10 PM
I agree with the above and especially Pearl. Many of the plants I started with are not the same I still have. I have 2wpg or less light, rarely use ferts. It's a little trial and error. Try some crypts, I have found them to be very easy to grow. Anubias and java ferns are good choices as well.
I bought plants from members here customdrum has lots of really nice low light plants. They were less expensive than LFS and let me try different things to see if it worked for me.
Have fun with it!! You will love it!! Looks so much nicer than the fake plants!
Steph
Jadie.Glitch
10-07-2009, 2:23 PM
Okay, working on getting the appropriate lighting now.
So florescent will work, or do I need special bulbs?
2wpg (watts per gallon?). So if I have a 75 gallon tank, I need a 150 watt florescent bulb, or two 75 watt bulbs? Am I understanding this correctly?
I think two bulbs fit in the hood that I have.
Okay, working on getting the appropriate lighting now.
So florescent will work, or do I need special bulbs?
2wpg (watts per gallon?). So if I have a 75 gallon tank, I need a 150 watt florescent bulb, or two 75 watt bulbs? Am I understanding this correctly?
I think two bulbs fit in the hood that I have.
How much natural light comes into the room? Or put another way, if there's enough light in the room for houseplants, there's probably enough light for most aquarium plants.
poscar55
10-08-2009, 12:17 AM
Can you have a planted tank (110 gal.) using an under gravel filter?
Jadie.Glitch
10-08-2009, 1:20 PM
How much natural light comes into the room? Or put another way, if there's enough light in the room for houseplants, there's probably enough light for most aquarium plants.
Umm, well it's a daylight basement room that faces the west and we don't have any houseplants in there so I couldn't tell you if it were enough light for them or not.
It's generally pretty dark in there, and in the corner where the tank is it's darn near impossible to see into the water so I'm hoping some sort of light source will work or I won't be able to see what's going on in there at all, lol.
Are there lights that don't affect plants? I thought they had to be a specific type of bulb or something that would nourish the plants. I'd love it to be super bright, but I don't want an algae 'splosion.
On a side note, I have a timer to use for the lighting already so it turns on and off with whatever times I set.
Jadie.Glitch
09-14-2010, 12:07 PM
I'm going to be setting up a 150 gallon now instead, after a bit of a hiatus, so I was checking up on my old threads to refresh my memory of the advice I was given. I need to bump this one up so someone can answer my above question.
Thanks! :)