Putting plants in today - questions

[jimangie1973]

Later today, I'll be putting the plants in my new 55 gallon. Per the recommendations here, I added sand to my fine gravel substrate. Here's the list of what I'm planting:

3 Java Fern - Bare Root
5 Micro Sword- Potted
2 Water Sprite - Potted
2 Wisteria - Potted
2 Anacharis - Bunch Plant
3 Anubias barteri - Potted
2 Anubias nana - Potted

I have 108 Watts of T5 HO lighting (6700 & 10000K bulbs), no CO2, HOB filter. I'm in the middle of a fishless cycle.

I have a few questions:

1) Is there a procedure to follow when adding plants? bleach dip, trim roots, leave in pots, etc.

2) How long to leave lights on to start out?

3) Any recommendations on when to start the fertilization? I ordered PMDD (1 part each of Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, and trace nutrients) and root tabs from aquariafertilizer.com.

4) Is there any benifit to using a canister filter which minimizes surface agitation when I'm not injecting CO2?

Thanks for the help,
Jim

[coach_z]

HI! read below in red:

Later today, I'll be putting the plants in my new 55 gallon. Per the recommendations here, I added sand to my fine gravel substrate. Here's the list of what I'm planting:

3 Java Fern - Bare Root dont bury the rhizome
5 Micro Sword- Potted
2 Water Sprite - Potted
2 Wisteria - Potted
2 Anacharis - Bunch Plant
3 Anubias barteri - dont bury the rhizome
2 Anubias nana - dont bury the rhizome

I have 108 Watts of T5 HO lighting (6700 & 10000K bulbs), no CO2, HOB filter. I'm in the middle of a fishless cycle.

I have a few questions:

1) Is there a procedure to follow when adding plants? bleach dip, trim roots, leave in pots, etc. bleach dip could very well kill your plants before you even get started. rinse rinse rinse and then inspect for any snails. rinse rinse rinse. remove plants from pot and remove all wool etc. i always trim the bottom of stem plants if they do not have roots on them....if they have roots leave them be and simply plant

2) How long to leave lights on to start out?
7-10 hours/day. i would recommend 8 as a good starting point

3) Any recommendations on when to start the fertilization? might as well start right before you plant.I ordered PMDD (1 part each of Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, and trace nutrients) and root tabs from aquariafertilizer.com.

4) Is there any benifit to using a canister filter which minimizes surface agitation when I'm not injecting CO2? not really. canister filters are better and more efficient and have better flow and you can direct the flow etc etc. surface agitation with a HOB with injected CO2 will gass off co2...which stinks. i would not run out and get a canister until you need a new filter

Thanks for the help,
Jim
enjoy!

[bradlgt21]

Yeah what coach said. Nothing really to add as he covered everything. Good luck let us know if you have any other questions or concerns.

[jimangie1973]

Thanks a lot for the replies. :)

The fertilizer I ordered will not arrive for a few more days, would it be helpful to get some liquid fertilizer like flourish in the meantime?

Also, I forgot to ask, is it best to plant with most of the water out of the tank, then refill?

Thanks again,
Jim

[coach_z]

no, you will be fine without ferts for a while, i said to start it right away because i thought you had it....remember the following when you plan on upgrades/changes/ferts/lighting/co2/plants/substrate/etc.

CO2 is the limiting factor for plant growth...if you want better growth and you are dosing ferts and running good lights etc the first thing you want to do is upgrade your co2 injection to promote growth, then nutrients, then lights dead last.....lots of people do this the other way around and it screws them up big time.

[jimangie1973]

Well I got everything planted. I probably bought a few more than I actually needed but it turned out ok. The plants from liveaquaria arrived in very nice condition. I've attached a jpg of the tank.

I'll start with 8hrs a day lighting and fairly conservative with the fertilizer and see how it goes.

The great advice here has helped greatly. :clap:

[jbradt]

Looks like a great start. The best advice I ever got (and took) was to go slowly when making changes. If you change 1 thing at a time, it's easier to pinpoint the cause when (if) something goes wrong.

Congrats on the progress!

[Rbishop]

Looks good for starters!

[FISHSHROD]

Nice, and you know what they are going to say now that you posted a pic right ?

[jimangie1973]

Thanks for the kind words.

Oh no, did I curse my tank by posting the picture?

What's the consensus on root tabs? Should I use them right away for my micro swords and anubias? How about the wisteria, sprite, and java fern?

[stussy28]

Just a couple of sugguestions are to get some more driftwood to tie your anubias and java fern to. If you want your microswords to spread quickly, then break apart the clumps into smaller ones. You don't need root tabs for anything except the microswords if you want.

[jimangie1973]

I was supposed to get Wisteria but I don't think I got the right plant. Here's the plants I got. Any ideas?

[mott]

I was supposed to get Wisteria but I don't think I got the right plant. Here's the plants I got. Any ideas?

It is but it looks like Emersed Wisteria.

[jimangie1973]

It is but it looks like Emersed Wisteria.

Ahh, thanks for the help. I hope it handles the transition to being submerged.

Stussy28, thanks for the tips.

Jim

[montanafish gal]

very nice looking tank. Be prepared for once that water sprite gets itself established good, that it will take off and grow like a weed. (no pun intended). I have some and the last several months it grows so fast I have to trim it about every two weeks.

[jimangie1973]

very nice looking tank. Be prepared for once that water sprite gets itself established good, that it will take off and grow like a weed. (no pun intended). I have some and the last several months it grows so fast I have to trim it about every two weeks.

Thanks, right now I'm just hoping they stay alive. ;)

[gagaliya]

a couple points

1) you dont need to fishless cycle with planted tank, once you have added plants, wait for a week or 2 then start dosing, once you see growth (new leaves, new runners), add fish. Becareful not to overdose, since you dont have co2 to balance it out.

2) trim the roots to stimulate growth, for anubias and java fern you really should attach them to driftwoods, but at minimum dont bury it as others have already said.

3) 2 wpg is fine for the plants you have

4) lose the HOB immediately, no planted tank should ever have a HOB. Get a canister filter, point the outflow down, make sure there are no surface movement at all. You need all the co2 you can get since you dont have injection. Not to offend anyone but the person telling you to leave the hob is wrong.

5) my prediction is the Water Sprite will completely take over the tank once established, especially against such slow growers as java fern and anubias. They are weed.


Later today, I'll be putting the plants in my new 55 gallon. Per the recommendations here, I added sand to my fine gravel substrate. Here's the list of what I'm planting:

3 Java Fern - Bare Root
5 Micro Sword- Potted
2 Water Sprite - Potted
2 Wisteria - Potted
2 Anacharis - Bunch Plant
3 Anubias barteri - Potted
2 Anubias nana - Potted

I have 108 Watts of T5 HO lighting (6700 & 10000K bulbs), no CO2, HOB filter. I'm in the middle of a fishless cycle.

I have a few questions:

1) Is there a procedure to follow when adding plants? bleach dip, trim roots, leave in pots, etc.

2) How long to leave lights on to start out?

3) Any recommendations on when to start the fertilization? I ordered PMDD (1 part each of Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, and trace nutrients) and root tabs from aquariafertilizer.com.

4) Is there any benifit to using a canister filter which minimizes surface agitation when I'm not injecting CO2?

Thanks for the help,
Jim

[jimangie1973]

a couple points

1) you dont need to fishless cycle with planted tank, once you have added plants, wait for a week or 2 then start dosing, once you see growth (new leaves, new runners), add fish. Becareful not to overdose, since you dont have co2 to balance it out.

2) trim the roots to stimulate growth, for anubias and java fern you really should attach them to driftwoods, but at minimum dont bury it as others have already said.

3) 2 wpg is fine for the plants you have

4) lose the HOB immediately, no planted tank should ever have a HOB. Get a canister filter, point the outflow down, make sure there are no surface movement at all. You need all the co2 you can get since you dont have injection. Not to offend anyone but the person telling you to leave the hob is wrong.

5) my prediction is the Water Sprite will completely take over the tank once established, especially against such slow growers as java fern and anubias. They are weed.

Thanks for the helpful tips.

I going to be very careful not to overfertilize.

I cut my driftwood into three pieces and attached the anubias and java fern. I've attached a jpg of it. It looks much nicer.

If I have no surface agitation, will there be enough oxygen in the water for more than a few fish? In minimizing surface agitation even with no injected CO2, is the thought that you preserve the CO2 that the plants release at nighttime?

I can always trim back the water sprite if it grows like mad. I'll just be happy something grew. :)

[gagaliya]

If I have no surface agitation, will there be enough oxygen in the water for more than a few fish? In minimizing surface agitation even with no injected CO2, is the thought that you preserve the CO2 that the plants release at nighttime?


plants release oxygen, absorbs co2, fish releases co2, and absorbs oxygen. So in a balanced aquarium they balance out. To answer your question yes there will be plenty of oxygen for the fish.

Only if you have a pressurized co2, and overstocked fish population, then there might be a problem with oxygen in the tank at night when the lights are off (plants no longer producing oxygen). You will see this as all the fish will be on the surface gasping for air, it can be easily fixed by adding a powerhead to create some surface movement at night. But again you dont need to worry about any of that now.



I can always trim back the water sprite if it grows like mad. I'll just be happy something grew.


Heh you say that now, once it takes off we will see.

The tank looks good so far, give it a few months and the plants should fill in nicely, then you will have a natural chaotic jungle look.

Again lose the hob :swear:

[mott]

You need some hardscape! Driftwood, rocks and the like. That micro sword should be spread out much more, try and separate and plant much as possible. IMO Co2 is a must if you want a nice lush carpet but that's up to you, good luck!

[jimangie1973]

It's been 9 days since I put the plants in and they are doing really well. I replaced the HOB with an old Fluval 404 I have. I'm also going to start pressurized CO2 next week. I put in a couple root tabs for the micro sword but I haven't used any of the PMDD dry fert that I bought.

I put in 8 black skirt tetras, 4 clown loaches, and 2 Rio Negro plecos that I had in my other tank. They seem to really like all the plants.

Here's a pic. You can see the water sprite is growing really fast. It may take over the tank once I start the CO2. :22_yikes:

[Stohz]

You suck.. haha jk. That's awesome progress in your plants with only being in there for 9 days. I'm very surprised about your water sprite how well its doing. Mine isn't doing so well in fact it's the worst plant in my tank.

[VictorSmalls]

That really looks amazing for only 9 days. Great work

[FISHSHROD]

Coming along rather nicely , supprised that no one has suggested a background this far into the thread :)

[jimangie1973]

Thanks for the kind words.


Coming along rather nicely , supprised that no one has suggested a background this far into the thread :)

I'm kind of strange in that I like the look of seeing through the tank. I don't know why but I do.

I ordered some KH2PO4 for phosphate to use with my PMDD once I start the CO2 injection.

[gagaliya]

You can see the water sprite is growing really fast. It may take over the tank once I start the CO2. :22_yikes:
So it begins...i remember giving up trimming my water sprite, it got to a point that was just impossible..and it was taking over all the spaces and killing my other plants by blocking off their photosynthesis. Ended up spent a whole day and pulled all of it out, it filled literally 1 large garbage bag. After that, i stayed far away from water spirit.

Yeah painting the tank with a black background would make it look a lot nice, and gives the plant (under lighting) much more contrast not to mention hiding all that wires. But that's pure look n feel...

[jimangie1973]

So it begins...i remember giving up trimming my water sprite, it got to a point that was just impossible..and it was taking over all the spaces and killing my other plants by blocking off their photosynthesis. Ended up spent a whole day and pulled all of it out, it filled literally 1 large garbage bag. After that, i stayed far away from water spirit.

Yeah painting the tank with a black background would make it look a lot nice, and gives the plant (under lighting) much more contrast not to mention hiding all that wires. But that's pure look n feel...

Yea, a black painted background would look nice. I'm never happy with the look of the store bought backgrounds.

Well, if the water sprite starts to get out of hand, I'll transplant it to my tank with the silver dollars. It surely will be kept in check there. :grinyes:

My LFS had some perfect specimens of Cabomba and Rotala wallichii (I think). Hmmm.

[jbradt]

Tank looks great. Awesome progress!!!