New tank, what next?

M

mrChimps

AC Members
Jan 17, 2003
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www.cube77.co.uk
Hello,

I have just set up a 20g tank, i added 2cm of fertilizer to the bottom of the tank, than 3cm of pea gravel. then i added 50% tap treated water, 20% distilled water & 30% water from another setup. I have 2 20w Gro Lux tubes with reflectors & a hagen c02 unit. The tank is filtered by a fluval 203 external.

I added a lot of plants yesterday, inc Hygrophilapolysperma.

A few questions:

1) How do i keep algae at bay?
2) would a shoal of about 20-25 neons be ok?
3) what addatives does the tank need to keep it healthy (im in the uk btw, so if you cant name a product what type of elements in what quantity shouldi be adding?)

Many thanks in advance
mrChimps
 
...one other question, well 2 actually..

1) how do you grow plants like hairgrass so they cover the entire floor of the aquarium?
2) what do shimps do for planted tanks?

ta
 
What do you mean by, " I added 2 cm of fertilizer to the bottom of the tank"? What did you add? Why did you go through all the changes of adding different types of water? I know that the water in the UK is bad in certain areas. Is that the reason?
You keep the algae at bay by growing the plants well and they in turn take care of the nutrients and starve the algae or at least most of it. No tank will be entirely algae free.
Start with a clean up squad........Otos, catfish etc. Let the tank season up a bit before adding neons. IMO, they are a more delicate fish and I would wait a bit.
Plants need N,P,K and Trace elements to flourish. You have lighting at a rate of 2 watts/gal. which will do a nice job on most plants, especially with the added CO2. In that environment you won't have to go nuts with the fertilization.
I would urge you to check out our 'Sticky' at the top of the plants page for info on ferts.
Shrimp are excellent algae eaters. I don't use them as they are too delicate and difficult to keep.
Here is a good forum for you:
http://www.tropicalfish.site5.com/tfc/forumdisplay.php?forumid=11
I refer you to this site since it will probably help with your search for nutrients locally. They are all available over there, but probably under different names.
Hope this has helped. Welcome to our forum.

Len
 
It varies, but the general consensus is usually in the 9 - 12 hr. range.
BTW, you might want to study up on ground covers before spending a bunch of money on them. You have 2 watts/gal. which will grow many plants, but there are ground covers that don't do well at that wattage.

Len
 
If you can grow a ground cover, it will eventually send runners along the bottom and generate new plants, creating a carpet effect. I'm still waiting for my chain swords to do that for me :p.

Graeme
 
I think sagittaria subulata (dwarf sag) would work but I'm not sure if it will give you the carpet look you want. It is a nice foreground plant and can be grouped together to give a nice cover look so you may want to look into it.

You may also be able to get a nice carpet to grow using riccia. I know someone who is doing this right now and it is coming along beautifully. Nice bright green and stays low to the ground, a real carpet.
 
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