Need lots of help... newbie plant keeper

N

nekomi

AC Members
Sep 2, 2004
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Hi all,

I'm currently struggling to get my mind wrapped around the whole idea of aquarium plant-keeping. First off, let me explain my proposed setup:

I'm planning on creating a 65 gallon South American dwarf cichlid community. The tank's dimensions are 48" long x 18" deep x 17" high. The fish included will be a trio of A. cacatuoides, a trio of M. ramirezi, and a pair of A. borelli, along with a possible A. nijsseni pair. Along with the cichlids will be 2 corydoras sp., a small school of cardinal tetras, and a dwarf gourami.

I'd like the tank to be well-planted with hardy, low-light plants, but not overgrown; plenty of free swimming space, but also dense areas of growth for hiding and spawning. I'm going to be including a large amount of driftwood in my setup.

desired pH: 6.0-6.5
desired KH: 4-5
desired temp: about 80 degrees Farenheit

So, here's what I'm doing to try and reach the aquarium above:

Substrate: Layer of Seachem flourite on bottom with peat circles (Jiffy Pellets) every few inches, covered with a layer of fine sand for my cories and cichlids. Malaysian trumpet snails would help to keep the sand and flourite well-aerated (they are kept under control by the snail-eating rams).

Lighting: Three 40-watt Duro "Vita-Lite" T12 fluorescent tubes for 10 hours a day, as well as a cold cathode LED moon-light for night viewing.

CO2: DIY CO2 canister.

Water: R/O and tap water mix supplemented with peat in order to reach pH and KH listed above.

Filter: Eheim Pro II 2126 with inline heater.

If anyone notices any problems with the above, please don't hesitate to mention them. I do have a few specific questions:

-Will the use of R/O water damage my plants in any way? Will my water be too soft for keeping plants?

-What percentage water change should I conduct weekly or bi-weekly to be safe to my fish and plants?

-For my fish, I need surface agitation to properly oxygenate the water; for my plants, it's better not to have surface movement because it drives off CO2. What is the proper balance?

-What is the easiest, most complete way to add the proper trace elements to my tank (i.e., fertilizer)?

Thanks so much for any help! I'm a complete newbie, and I definitely appreciate your info!!!
 
nekomi said:
Hi all,
I'm currently struggling to get my mind wrapped around the whole idea of aquarium plant-keeping. First off, let me explain my proposed setup...
Click to expand...

My two cents...

-DIY CO2 is going to be difficult to get exact results for a tank that big. Look around at injection equipment prices, see if you can locate an appropriate price on a regulator (the most expensive part). ::edit:: These folks have pretty good prices on regulators.

-Don't bother with RO unless you are already making it for a saltwater tank. Minute trace chems for your plants come with your water... and unless your tap water is testing out horribly, you should be able to use it with no problems.

-50% water change is the general concensus on this board, at least for those of us who are Friends of Tom Barr (the Estimative Method). Depending on your plants ability to drink down nutrients (which they will dictate to you over the course of time), will determine your frequency of water changes. With a light fish load and low-light plants, you might very well be able to get away with a bi-weekly 50% water change. Maybe. Test often, and observe constantly. Your plants will let you know how they are doing.

-IMHO, PlantexCSM+Boron is the cheapest and easiest way to dose trace elements and iron. At around 50 gallons actual, you can probably use 8mL of Plantex a week and do well by your plants. And maybe about 1/4 tsp Potassium on a weekly basis, along with a couple of drops of Phosphate.

-I hope you don't expect your sand to stay in a nice layer above your Flourite. It doesn't usually work that way, gravity's a b**ch.

-If you're going to have CO2, then surface ripple should be minimized. You'll want to keep a sharp eye out on your fish, because at higher temps, the water will be less able to contain O2.

-Kick your photoperiod up to 12 hours a day.

-Don't worry about MTS overpopulation. There's only as many snails as there is food.

Now, having said all that, there are many opinions and these just happen to be mine. This isn't gospel, just a suggestion.
 
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Timmain covered it all quite well, good job.

If you do want the sand, you can add a divider like a bit of plexiglass siloconed to the tank to keep the sand on one side and the flourite on the other, for the most part anyhow. The cories do love the sand but it will slide below the flourite very fast.
 
anonapersona said:
Timmain covered it all quite well, good job.
Click to expand...

This is what happens when you have an hour for answering emails every morning, and you only have 10 minutes worth of mail. :)
 
Thanks for responding! The suggestions are great and I'll definitely implement them.

Don't bother with RO unless you are already making it for a saltwater tank. Minute trace chems for your plants come with your water... and unless your tap water is testing out horribly, you should be able to use it with no problems.
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If I'm not using R/O, what is another efficient way to keep the pH soft and acidic enough for my dwarf cichlids? The parameters I mentioned are their ideal conditions for breeding, which I'm hoping to attempt. People have mentioned peat before, but do you think that would do the job? I've had trouble with it in the past.

If you do want the sand, you can add a divider like a bit of plexiglass siloconed to the tank to keep the sand on one side and the flourite on the other, for the most part anyhow.
Click to expand...

If I go this route, how do I ensure that the plants' roots reach the flourite below? Do I drill holes in the plexi, or can I use a mesh or something similar instead? I've seen so many planted tanks with just sand as the substrate. Is this even a good idea?

50% water change is the general concensus on this board.
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Coming from a fish-only perspective... doesn't this shock the fish, or cause a wildly-fluctuating pH? Sorry for being so ignorant, but I'm used to small water changes. :)

Anyway, thanks again for all your replies!!
 
Round Two...

pH?
-Peat works, and it's recommended, but only a small couple of handfuls in a 65G (under the Flourite). You'll find that CO2 injection is going to lower your pH anyway. 6.5pH is usually the target measure for planted tanks with CO2 injection. This table will help.

Sand?
-I think Annanona means dividing the tank into front and back sides, not vertical levels. You can use sand, but it's not a "rich" substrate so any plants you have in the 'strate (stem and rosette, like cabomba and swords) are going to struggle a little.

50% water changes?
-As long as your temperature is equalized and you use sufficent decholrinator, they'll be fine. You'll want to adjust your KH using baking soda, which will raise your pH slightly (which in turn will be lowered with the CO2)... sounds weird, doesn't it? I thought the same thing when I started, but I've had little to no fish death or stress since I started 50% water changes. Clean water is a good thing... and your plants will love you for it.
 
Thanks again for replying. This is definitely more complicated than I thought!

Peat works, and it's recommended, but only a small couple of handfuls in a 65G (under the Flourite). You'll find that CO2 injection is going to lower your pH anyway. 6.5pH is usually the target measure for planted tanks with CO2 injection. This table will help.
Click to expand...

I took a look at the table. Tell me if I'm reading it right... so, according to the table, my pH and KH actually determines how much CO2 is being dissolved into the water, correct? With a pH of 6.5, then, it's crucial that my hardness remains steady below 5 or 6, because otherwise there will be too much CO2 for my fish (at least, that's how it seems on the table). Am I reading it correctly?

Thanks again for all your help!! Looks like I'll need to do a lot of hands-on experimenting with my setup before I'll have a specific regimen to follow. Thanks for giving me guidelines so far, however!
 
"Am I reading it correctly?"
Pretty sure you are. It takes time to line all this out for your tank's specific needs, however. Planning is important, but your tank will tell you what it needs in the long run. It won't take long, three months tops, before you have a routine that works reliably.
 
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