29 gallon planted (newbie)

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Curtis301

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Jul 23, 2013
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Maryland
anything u guys see i could do to make it better ? first shot at planted tank..i welcome all advice/help ? 29 gallons black and white sand substrate, not 100% sure of the plants except one is money wort. 1 male betta a few guppies and their fry 3 ottos and 1 ghost shrimp. would love to add some sort of dwarf shrimp and also maybe 1-2 CPOs? any suggestions or advice ?
 

Curtis301

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Jul 23, 2013
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Maryland
im not sure exactly how to fix the pic i tried to embed it but not sure ifi have to do something special to get it fixed.
 

Hr0th9ar

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Sep 8, 2012
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Winton, CA
You could use some taller hardscape. More pant varieties, looks kinda sparse. Is that just regular sand? What filtration are you using? Planned tanks tend to do better with more circulation.

Sent from my SGS4 Active
 

ROYWS3

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Aug 29, 2000
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I'll jump in with a few things; Have you ever looked at pics of planted tanks.? Most look better when plants are planted in groups. I don't want you to take offense, but yours is not the most attractive tank I've ever seen. Take a look at photos of planted tanks, examine the layouts, see how the same stems are grouped, how shorter plants should be in the front, medium plants in the mid-ground and taller ones (like you have) in the background. It conveys a sense of depth. My first attempts at planted tanks looked very similar to yours - you'll have some setbacks, your plants will die, some will survive and even thrive - those are the ones you focus on. When things are growing and you can see the growth, you get a sense of accomplishment that makes you want to continue to do this. you cant expect miraculous growth straight away - plants take time to adapt and adjust to your tank, lighting and water chemistry - it's called "transplant shock". Patience is definitely a virtue when you first set up a planted tank.

What kind of lighting do you have? What's your photo-period? can you get more plants? Starting a tank with as many plants as you can put in is usually a good way to be successful and to combat the inevitable algae outbreak. Did you get any advice from your LFS? if so, what did they tell you? Are you adding any ferts?

I know these are a lot of questions, but the more of them you can answer, the better we can help you
 

Curtis301

AC Members
Jul 23, 2013
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Maryland
here comes the help!! lol thank you! well this is my first crack at a planted tank so i welcome all HELP. The plants i have were actually some clippings from a friends tank so i just took what he gave me. the sand is just plan ole aquarium sand from LFS i do have some root tabs in there also the filter is rated for 40 gallons has a pretty good flow not many dead spots on the tank the lights...are whatever lights came with the hood im not 100% sure. my photo period is about 10 hours of light per day. Basically i dont know what im doing just experimenting with trail and error and hoping to learn along the way and hopefully end up with a beautiful tank. I would prefer a Low Tech tank not really ready for CO2 and rigging lights and all the advance stuff this hobby can bring just yet..i can upgrade my filter if need be and my bulbs if need be, plant selection in my area sucks so i normally obtain my plants from a friends clippings or whatever i can grab from LFS when they have a decent helping. I'm experiencing my first algae bloom now mostly on my plants.
 

ZorroNet

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Sep 21, 2013
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Ask around... There are probably people local to you or within one day's shipping range that can help you beef up your plant volume quickly and cheaply. I have had tanks looking sparse like this, and they took forever to fill in because I tried to do so by propagation. The good news is, that with smart selection, you can easily increase the volume of plants in your tank by adding some fast growers and cutting and re-planting the tops you cut off. Like Roy said, there is a period of time that most plants need to get used to the tank's environment. Once they get acclimated, you should be able to propagate with more success. You need some shorter plants for the foreground and move those tall, lanky stems to the back and sides planted a little closer together. We all need advice here and there... don't get discouraged!
 

Curtis301

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Jul 23, 2013
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Maryland
im not discouraged!! thats why im here to learn and grow (literally). this tank has been up and running a lil while now, the stem plants are money wort i started with just 3 stems the red plant started very small and has grown into that and the sword kinda plant things on the side started as bulbs i just drop down in the sand. def want to beef up things def looking to add some more impressive hardscape want to incorporate some driftwood and maybe some larger rocks but most definately more plants! anyone have recommendations of local places (in the DMV) where i could add some diversity to my tank ?
 
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