60 gallon Planted tank

**saxenamohitm** · 08-21-2007, 1:09 PM

I've finally norrowed my choices of plants for my newly planted 60 gallon tank to these...

amazon swordvallisneria tortifoliaBacopa CarolinianaCryptocoryne CiliataEchinodorus tennelusEgeria densaBlyxa japonica Dwarf BlyxaHygrophila DifformisRotala RotundfoliaGiant ambuliaSagittaria SubulataMyriophyllum aquaticumCardamine Lyrata
(sorry bout the formatting, copy pasted it from my excel sheet)

Now I have a 60 gallon tank and i know these are way too many plants for the tank...so i've classified these plants according to their placement in aquascaping and will choose 1-3 species for each of the classes.

Now the question i wanted to ask is i wanna go for a DIY CO2 for my planted tank which will pretty much have loads of plants in it...is it practical or wot i'm trying to do in a 60 gallon tank is way out of the league for a DIY system?

Is there a limit for DIY system in terms of size of the tank?

PS: any help with the selection of plants would alsobe deeply appreciated!!

Regards
Mohit

**phanmc** · 08-21-2007, 1:56 PM

DIY CO2 isn't very effective for tanks larger than 40g or light levels above 2wpg. Your plant choices are mostly hardy, easy plants but I'd leave out the blyxas unless you get pressurized CO2 and around 2wpg.

**Mgamer20o0** · 08-21-2007, 4:02 PM

pressurized is the way to go. its going to be a lot cheaper over time. with a 60 gal your going to be having a few bottles of diy co2 going. its not going to be consent and harder to get the higher lvl of co2 in the water.

**plantling** · 08-21-2007, 11:27 PM

What kind of lighting do yo have? I think some of the plants you've listed require medium high light to do well.

**saxenamohitm** · 08-21-2007, 11:32 PM

Hey, Thanx all for the replies...

I've 3*40 watts Osram W fluoro tubes meant for plants with home made reflectors out of aluminium foil.

Are u guys then suggesting that i shudnt even try for a DIY setup?

Also what should be density of the plants ideally?

thnx.

**phanmc** · 08-21-2007, 11:42 PM

Well, any CO2 is better than none and you're not over 2wpg so go ahead and give it a shot, but you may find that the DIY setup just isn't enough and run into algae problems.

Plant mass should always be moderate to high, the more plants the less chance of algae.

**saxenamohitm** · 08-21-2007, 11:50 PM

Well my tank height is 2 ft..n my base is 4*1
I'm going to order the plants today, so just wanted to know how much shud i get in quantities...wanna go for a fully planted tank...so how many plants shud i include in a high denstiy planted tank with an area of 576 sq inch

**red devil** · 08-22-2007, 7:43 AM

You also need to consider how deep your substrate is. If it is too shallow you will have problems very soon when the roots conflict. If it were me I would first order the plants that I wanted to put in the back of the tank then give them a week or two to settle in. That way if something dies or needs special attention it is easier to get to...then order the plants for the middle third of the tank, etc. If you do this you may have to alter the amount of light you have at first to avoid algea.

**saxenamohitm** · 08-22-2007, 9:16 AM

thnx for the reply...
i dont think substrate will be much of a problem for me....i have 2-3 inches of laterite soil n then another 2 inches of top layer substrate laid already...i guess 4-5 inches would be enough

I liked ur suggestion bout how to go about planting...but i have a problem...the guy from whom i'm gonna buy these plants is like 1.5 hrs away from me n i'll have to leave my work aside to go to the other side of the city which isnt possible for me now since i've started working very recently..