starting a planted tank, does this sound good?

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Easydoesit

Easydoesit

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Mar 17, 2008
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hi, im looking for advice on my plant stock. i have some plants that i like, and an idea of where to put them. i was wondering if these were good choices and if my tank setup sounds like it would be alright for plant growth.
i have some questions and any answers or suggestions would be great.
sorry this post is going to be long, just dont wanna start this out all wrong(ahhh that rhymed)

okay, the tank that i have right now is a 10 gallon, but i am upgrading it to a 20 gallon. i have some (what i believe to be, LFS ddnt name) java moss. it is currently being weighted down by some small pebbles. the tank has a sand substrate with a little bit of gravel, some large-ish rocks, and fake plants that i dont think look to bad for fake plants lol. standard lighting for a 10.. i forget how many watts the bulbs have.
tank occupants:6 harlequin rasboras, 1 male betta, 3 small mystery snails.


the 20 gallon isnt long, its the regular 20 i think. maybe 21 or 22" long, 12"ish wide, and 18" deep? i will move the fish from the 10 to the 20 and add a couple/few more Harlequin Rasboras
-sand substrate
-some gravel to make the higher area of the tank, which will be the corner so i dont have a huge anaerobic pocket.
-no hood yet, but i have a piece of glass im going to cut that will lay across the top that leaves room for the filter
-penguin 200 HOB biowheel filter(up to 50 gallons).. either that or ill use my topfin 20HOB and my crappy filter that came with the 10
-100 watt "theo hydor" heater(14-26 gallons)
-DIY co2(the 20 oz bottle concoction type thing)

plants that im thinking about using:

-Riccia Fluitans(either going to use as a floater or attach to rocks on the ground for a carpet. ive heard that maintenance is a B, but ill manage)

-Dwarf Sagittaria(sagittaria subulata)(this is a grass plant, but ive heard that it grows really quickly so im going to use it as a tall shelterish plant for my betta. it will be on the mound of gravel in the right back corner of the tank. will cover a decent amount of ground, so ill prob have to get more than 1 plant. i plan on having it grow to the top of the water)

-Water Hyssop Bacopa(bacopa monnieri)(id like to mix this in with the dwarf sag on the higher ground in the corner of my tank.)

im also thinking about using Ceylon Hygrophyla in place of either the dwarf sag or the bacopa. not sure if i want to stick with all greens in my tank yet or not though.

also wondering if brazilian pennywort is a floater? how does it look as a floater?


basically, i want a grassy carpet plant to cover most of the ground, tall plants to make a kind of forest for my betta, some floating plants, and a couple of small plants for here and there in the tank.

i know youre probably wondering when im going to start with the lighting... here i go. i dont have the lighting yet, so i guess this just means i have a lot of options. im thinking about going with a fluorescent fixture.. the kind @ home depot. i know that they have a lot of okay compact/reg fluoro bulbs for the fixtures there too. does lumens count when you grow plants in water, or is it just watts? i havnt really heard anything about lumens here, but when i grew some non-water plants it was lumens galore.
i want atleast 3 WPG, even though most of these plants seem decently easy to grow.


QUESTIONS:
-is sand okay for growing plants?
-is just gravel okay for growing plants?
-floaters- will they take away a lot of light from my grounded plants?
-DIY co2- any good mix ratio recipes that have worked best for you? how much will co2 take away oxygen from the tank at night?
-lighting- looking for brand and type suggestions and prices maybe?
-does my plants list seem okay?
-ferts- necessary with these plants? i know nothing about ferts
-will the glass top block out any important lumens, rays, or watts from reaching my tank? it is not tempered.

if you read all this, thanks. and thanks for anything in advance.
 
Easydoesit

Easydoesit

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lol, is my thread too long? darn.
thought id put it all in here instead of making a bunch of different threads.
any suggestions or advice is great, even if you skimmed through this or read only the first quarter..
 
John N.

John N.

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Feb 1, 2006
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You're plant selection sounds good, and I think since you're starting out it will be good to find which plants you like, see how they grow, and aquascape as you go. Pennywort (Hydrocotyle leucocephala) is a stem plant, and not a floating plant.

Sand is okay for plants, not the best substrate of choice, but can grow plants fine. Some issues to keep in mind are compaction, and the need to add regular fertilizers to the water column. Gravel of small 2mm-3mm grains is also fine, and again you'll need to supplement the water column with ferts. For a 10 or 20 gallon tank, I would recommend looking for a bag of Eco Complete.

Lighting options: Coralife 65 watt fixture or 1x55 watt ahsupply.com kit. The second one is the better one, and is easy to setup. Glass will block out some of the light, especially when there are water spots. If you have a filter that doesn't splash much, I would just go without a glass top.

Fertilizers: There are many fertilizing options to go with. For simplicity sake, you may want to try out pfertz.com or Seachem fertilizer lines. You'll need all the basics, nitrogen, potassium, phosphates and traces.

Good luck, and have fun with it.

-John N.
 
Notophthalmus

Notophthalmus

I put the 'snork' in 'snorkeling'!
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I suggest finding or modifying a reflector to take screw-in bulbs so you can use compact flourescents; you have a lot more lighting options that way, since the same reflector can take bulbs from 14 watts to 100 watts. If you don't mind the look, you can just use one of those inexpensive metal dome reflectors from Home Depot.

If you want a round-leaved floater, try frogbit (Limnobium) or water fern (Salvinia).
 
Easydoesit

Easydoesit

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modifying a reflector to take screw in bulbs so i can use compact fluorescents..
a reflector? do you mean like Mylar or are you talking about changing the whole fixture to have 4-5 screw in places so i can have 4 or 5 mini compact fluoro bulbs?
if soo then.. no can do lol. im not good with that stuff.

the light fixtures that i have are the 48" shoplight kind of things that you stick the pokey parts at the end of the bulb into the little holes in the end of the fixtures. obviously 48" is too big for a 20 gallon tank, so i was thinking of getting kind of a mini version of that from home depot and i could use some mylar that i have and stick it on the underside of the fixture, above the light so that the light isnt escaping out of the top, but reflecting back into the tank... even though the underneath of the fixtture would be white anyway.
is this what you meant?
thanks for the plant suggestions.. ive read about frogbit but forgot all about it
 
Easydoesit

Easydoesit

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and thank you too john n for the suggestions. i like the look of eco complete, but i also like the look of sand. idk if id wanna just cover up the eco complete. the compaction with the sand- what do you have to do? i have pretty fine sand that compacts pretty easily. maybe i should just go with the eco complete.
ugh that stuff expensive.. ohwell.
 
IceH2O

IceH2O

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Nov 26, 2005
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Brazillian Pennywort is not a stem plant.

It doesn't root to the substrate. Its best as a floater or you could use it as a vine. At one time I would wrap it around my driftwood and let it grow to the top of the tank and then float, now I just let it float as I don't really have room for the vertical to horizontal exchange.

The better the light and the closer to the light the bigger the leaves.

Lumens are a better indicator of light amounts but 3 wpg will do you fine. You should be able to grow most plants with it and definitely the ones you are talking about.

For a grassy carpet look I'd use either flame moss attached to a mat or e.tellenus.

For tall plants I'd probably want to use Vals, Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae, or some Bocapa Carolina or possibly some MYRIOPHYLLUM MATTOGROSSENSE

I'd stay away from any Hygrophilias unless you like to trim.

If you want some red in the tank try some Alternanthera reineckii or Bronze crypts.

For some small tree like plants you can't beat Lobelia cardinalis, they also have a dwarf size.

For ferts you'll make out better buying dry ferts from Rex Grigg http://www.bestaquariumregulator.com/ferts.html
 
Notophthalmus

Notophthalmus

I put the 'snork' in 'snorkeling'!
Mar 4, 2008
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Easydoesit said:
modifying a reflector to take screw in bulbs so i can use compact fluorescents..
a reflector? do you mean like Mylar or are you talking about changing the whole fixture to have 4-5 screw in places so i can have 4 or 5 mini compact fluoro bulbs?
if soo then.. no can do lol. im not good with that stuff.

the light fixtures that i have are the 48" shoplight kind of things that you stick the pokey parts at the end of the bulb into the little holes in the end of the fixtures. obviously 48" is too big for a 20 gallon tank, so i was thinking of getting kind of a mini version of that from home depot and i could use some mylar that i have and stick it on the underside of the fixture, above the light so that the light isnt escaping out of the top, but reflecting back into the tank... even though the underneath of the fixtture would be white anyway.
is this what you meant?
thanks for the plant suggestions.. ive read about frogbit but forgot all about it
Click to expand...

If the fixture already has a white reflector, adding mylar won't make much difference. If you're buying a new fixture anyways, consider getting one for CFLs (not mini, just the ordinary household ones). At least at my Home Depot and Lowes the selection of short traditional flourescent fixtures is very limited, and I've yet to find one I would want to use on a 10 or 20 gal. I hope you have better luck, but don't hold your breath.
 
Easydoesit

Easydoesit

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okay.
ice- that capitalized plant is a cool plant.

im ordering some guppy grass and some dwarf sag, should be coming some time next week.

about the substrate...
i really want to keep the sand. i have THE PERFECT piece of driftwood for the 20 gallon, and want the light sand for contrast. im thinking im going to stick with all green plants.
i would put some gravel under the sand, but wont the sand just sink into it? should i mix some gravel with sand for the bottom layers or would this not help with compaction at all?(doesnt seem like it would)
im gonna have to get a pic to you guys one way or another of this tank and the perfect piece of wood when it's set up
 
Notophthalmus

Notophthalmus

I put the 'snork' in 'snorkeling'!
Mar 4, 2008
1,977
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0
Tennessee
I'm not sure what you're worried about with the sand. Just use straight sand; it will end up mixing with any gravel or soil you try to layer under or over it.
 
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