newly planted tank need some pointers

[wigglejaggles]

Hey Now,

I have a 10 gallon which houses one honey gourami all by his lonesome.
I keep the temp at 80F and the PH is 7.8 and KH 107ppm

I have the standard flourescant bulb i believe its about 1.2 watts per gallon of light.

Last week I bought a huge batch of java fern and six bunches of crypts which turned out to be quite a alot stems.

I also have three smaller tropica swords in the foreground.

My substrate is onyx sand. Last week I put flourish root tabs in the substrate.

I am getting alittle bit of green hair algae on some rocks and some algae on the glass, but nothing too horrific.

Today I just put in the Jungle labs co2 fizz factory in the tank.

The question I have is with a high PH 7.8 and KH of 107ppm how much co2 should I be putting in the tank? oh I also have an aquaclear 150 running on its lowest output.

I have no clue what the PH KH co2 charts mean.

If anyone can help and give me some pointers I would greatly appreciate it!

Am I doing things right so far?

thanks!!


take care,
jared

 

[djlen]

How long has the tank been set up?
If you've just set it up, the odds are that you don't need to fertilize your plants yet. The biggest mistake made in new tanks is over fertilization. They are subject to algae issues to begin with and this is exacerbated by too much fertilization. The plants probably don't need it yet, so you're feeding algae.
Sounds like you got 'stems' instead of Crypts. But stems are good in new tanks, for nutrient usage.
Don't know what kind of swords you have there, but they will probably out grow the tank in short order. Most swords get too big for tanks under 30 gals.
You definitely did not need any root tabs, especially at this time, and hopefully you know where you placed them and will be careful not to disturb them as they have the potential to cause major algae blooms if they are allowed to disperse nutrients into the water table.
At 1.5 watts/gal., you probably will not need CO2 at this time.
Below you'll find a link that will give you a lot of information regarding setting up a planted tank and articles on CO2 injection as well as charts/calculators to measure it in your tank. If, after reading it over, you have additional questions we will be happy to help if we can.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm

Len

 

[wigglejaggles]

thanks

thanks alot len!


the tank has been set up for 8 months. Still too new for ferts in substrate?

I think you may be right because after i put the root tabs in i noticed some hair algae growing.

If i boost my lighting up to say 3 watts a gallon would co2 work well?

Man...I thought I was doing everything correctly.

I am sorry...i thought crypts were "stem" plants....they are surely crypts. So i dont think I understand what "stem" plants mean lol

I have been reading up on everything and its just so confusing. A planted tank is a nice challenge...thats for sure

Ok so event hough they are crypts should I still get the root tabs out asap?

I just saw a 20inch coralife compact strip light of 28 watts on big als...this would give me 2.8 watts a gallon...is that still considered low light? Also...do you know if it will fit nicely over my all-glass deluxe hood?

thanks!

take care,
Jared

 

[djlen]

Hope you looked at the site I mentioned. It will be a great source of info. for you.
OK, here's the deal on root tabs. I don't like them or think that they are necessary, especially when you consider the possible consequences if they are disturbed. Others will tell you that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have never used them and have grown Crypts. and Swords beautifully without them.
CO2: Do you feel the need to use it? You don't need it at your present wattage, in a 10 gal. tank, but you can use it at at 1.2watts/gal.
My suggestion is to stay with the 1.2, inject it if you want to, but carefully in a small tank like yours. Learn about planted tank management before increasing wattage. My guess, BTW is that you probably have a 15 watter over the tank, if it all came together. That's a standard wattage in tens, I think. So you probably have 1.5watts/gal., but I could be wrong about that.
Cryptocorynes are 'rosette' type plants where all leaves come out of a single crown. If that is what you have, they will do fine at your present wattage.

Assuming all your plants are new, IMO they will need no fertilization for weeks
and then light dosing at that time. Even at 3 watts/gal. they would need no extra nutrients for a couple of weeks.
If you have your plants where you want them, I would leave them there and leave the root tabs where they are as well. Hopefully they are deep and will spend themselves without causing any problems for you. It takes from 2 - 3 months for most 'tabs' to spend themselves. After that it is relatively safe to move things around if necessary.

Len

 

[wigglejaggles]

thanks

hey now Len,

thanks so muchf or taking the time to help me out! I really appreciate it. as far as the link you provided me with, I read it the other night...its the same link you provide in the sticky I think.

Reading that is what caused me to question myself in regard to putting fert tabs in resulting in over fertilizing. I did this all last week when this forum was shut down so I didn't have the resources here to use.

The good thing is I only put 4 root tabs in the substrate...and inbetween these messages I was able to safely pull three of them out. I knew where they were because the onyx sand turned a orange color in certain spots.

So one is in there that I can't find, but your right...I won't disturb the substrate looking for it. The crypts are doing well now....the first few days were alittle rough...some of the leaves melted back,but now they are doing well.

You are correct in that it is the standard 15 watt bulb. so its breaking down to be 1.5 watts a gallon.

ok thanks again! I'll try to put a picture up soon!

take care,
Jared