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paramedicthad

paramedicthad

Just Another Paramedic
Dec 26, 2006
22
0
0
Branson, MO Area
thadtorix.blogspot.com
Wow.

I had no idea there was this much to having live plants in my aquarium...

So as a total noob, I have stuffed a couple plants into the gravel of my 10 gallon aquarium along with a few too many fish. I'm now learning while at the same time struggling to keep my water in check for the fish.

Then I come along the plants section and now I'm wondering....

Since all I've done is stick a couple or three plants into about an inch of gravel along with 5ml of fertilizer fluid the pet store lady assured me was "all I should need"..... Are my plants doomed??

I'm reading a lot on these pages, and the fact that a good portion of it goes sailing right over my head makes me worry a bit.

I am considering switching to sand in my aquarium...

Primarily what I suppose I need to know is:

Do I need to buy even more test supplies just for my plants???

Talk about jumping in over my head.... but, my two little daughters sure like the tank!
 
as for the tesk kits all you need are the ones you should have for your fish. i use the ap master test kit. i also bought the gh/kh kit from ap also. there is a lot to learn about plants. when i started it was kinda overwhelmingly to me also. lets start out with some info.

what plants do you have?
how big is the tank?
what lighting do you have over it?
how long do you keep it on?
what kind of fertilizer are you using?

in a planted tank most people go with 2-3 inch of gravel or sand. both are a great option. i had sand for years until i switched back to gravel. only reason why i switched was just for a new look.
 
I have 1 Anacharis (I think) and 2 "frills" (most certain that's the wrong name) - see pic link in signature
in a 10 gallon tank
with a terribly weak light originally from a 3 gallon hex tank (I am working on replacing)
the lights on most all day long
the fertilizer I have now is: Plant Gro, Iron Enriched, 0.15-0-0 by Nutrafin
 
my best suggestion is to read. Find out what plants need light, carbon, macronutriuents, micronutrients.... use the search function, read some beginners pages www.rexgrigg.com You will find it is far more interesting than shoving 2 plants in some gravel. Yes your plants are doomed in the present comditions....read :joke:
 
Fair enough! Thanks!!
 
The "frill" plant looks like Myriophyllum. If thats it, than the light you have over the tank isn't going to be enough. It does best in high light, i.e. 40+ watts over a 10g.

plantgeek.net profile
another type of myrio

You'll have to click to make the images larger on those 2 links. :)
 
WeeNe858 said:
try to get laterite or better yet.. seachem flourish...... aquatic plants take pretty much everything throught their roots...and occational dosing with the liquid stuff is ok
Click to expand...

Not true. Most aquatics get most of their nutrients through their leaves. That is partly why they are so much more fragile than terrestrial plants. Their leaves are not as tough, save for some aquatic plants. There are some plants like swords and crypts that are heavy root feeders that definately appreciate a nutrient rich substrate.
 
Thanks again for all the help! I have switched from the colored gravel to sand. It's probably much finer than reccomended, but it was what I had available.

I've read thru the links reccomended here and done some searching. I am trying to decide if I can find whatever fertilizer my sand/water needs without making the hour+ trip to the closest big city.

Planning on building a DIY hood with much more lighting. Will flourescent bulbs suffice or should I be looking for something different?
 
Go to aquaticplantcentral.com. It's a forum much like this with the exception that all those people deal with is plants. They'll be able to answer any questions in more depth then us.
 
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