Pic of new tank

[JJays]

As I posted before, I'm new to all this. My 29 gal tank is only a month & a half old, and I have only a few smaller fish. I am now adding plants, and most of them are stem plants with no roots. I did choose to do a dirt and sand substrate. I realize also that light intensity can play a roll in it. My question is, how long do stem plants generally take before they grow roots so I can cut them back shorter without killing the plant? I am already trimming the tops of fast growing plants, and poking them back into the substrate. My temp I keep at 80 degrees which seems to work. Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[Pinkey]

Ah! I see. I requested this photo in a different reply before I came across this. Thanks for posting. It looks beautiful. My advice stays the same from the other reply. Give it time. I know you have another order of plants about to arrive. Once those are planted, ride it out for a while. Oh, also, some of the best advice I ever got was to keep a journal so you can look back on how long you've been doing a particular thing. Log your tank changes, water changes, and any water tests you do. You can learn a lot from that. I know people have different results with natural light, my super happy tank is right in front of west-facing windows without anything to block the light. I give away, trade, and sell ad much val as I possibly can throughout the year. I still can't get rid of it fast enough. I use only play sand, I think it's the same stuff you have. This tank is about 5 years old.

 

[fishorama]

I like your tank start!

Yeah, Pinkey has it right, wait & see what works.

Thanks for a pic, it helps us help you. That far left plant looks like java fern but it's hard to tell. It looks like its "rhizome" planted in substrate (the sideways stem that leaves & roots grow from). It happiest when tied or gel super glued to rocks or wood. But the rhizome should not be planted; you can pull it up a bit so the rhizome is just above the substrate surface. I may be wrong, it's hard to tell from small pics.

Are you using fertilizers? What kind? Soil is not really a fert but it can help a bit (ok, again, I'm not a soil user).

That left stem plant looks too pale. I'm not sure what it is, some kind of stem plant I've killed?

The dead center front plant looks like a cryptocoryne (my fav genus!). It & the sword? back halfway between the filter intake & airstone would both like a root tab near their roots. Stems are better off with either some water column ferts or enough fish poo. I can't see any fish but you said you have a few. The rest are stem plants & a couple floaters from what I can see.

Be careful not to get carried away with ferts. Go slow or it can turn into an algae mess. We'd like to see your new plants too when you get them.

 

[JJays]

Most of the plants in my original post are my new stem plants. I need to keep telling myself to keep my hands out of the aquarium, and let the plants do what they like instead if continually trying to change things around. In regards to an earlier post, I don't add fertilizer, (maybe I should) But since my earth substrate is made up of washed organic potting mix, and some peat moss, I figured that would add the necessary nutrients the plants would need. I still have so much to learn. I'm trying to build a circle of life tank where one thing benefits another, (if that makes sense). I do have a question though. Do stem plants develop a root structure over time or do they remain as only a stem?

 

[fishorama]

Oh, I'm not a big stem plant fan. They usually need more work than I want to give. Some grow a few roots in the substrate, some more. I hate the types that grow lots roots along the stems. I know they're looking for ferts but I don't like the way they look. That's just me; I've told you I'm low maintenance, low effort. With most stems you'll need at least weekly trimming. But trim & replant doesn't work forever. After a while you'll need to go to trim & keep the pretty top growth & compost the stalky bottoms parts.

In a casual way, where do you live? State? Near a big city? You might be able to trade or sell your extras. I prefer to just give them away anymore. I don't ship & if I don't have plant meet soon, they maybe compost. Just be safe about meeting strangers in a parking lot!

 

[JJays]

Oh, I'm not a big stem plant fan. They usually need more work than I want to give. Some grow a few roots in the substrate, some more. I hate the types that grow lots roots along the stems. I know they're looking for ferts but I don't like the way they look. That's just me; I've told you I'm low maintenance, low effort. With most stems you'll need at least weekly trimming. But trim & replant doesn't work forever. After a while you'll need to go to trim & keep the pretty top growth & compost the stalky bottoms parts.

In a casual way, where do you live? State? Near a big city? You might be able to trade or sell your extras. I prefer to just give them away anymore. I don't ship & if I don't have plant meet soon, they maybe compost. Just be safe about meeting strangers in a parking lot!

I have so much to learn about plants. For example, don't plant java ferns in the substrate. I seem to learn a lot from my mistakes. Some of my plants are doing well, and some not so good. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NE Tennessee, and the closest city, if you could call it that, is an hour drive away. Most towns around me are so small that if you blink, you will miss them. Most of my cuttings or leaves I float in my second tank, and see what happens. The rest goes into compost as I don't know of anyone around here that is into this hobby. I do think that from now on I will probably only buy rooted plants though. The most interesting thing that happened recently is I used a piece of drift wood I found in a local stream, and decided to take it out a week or so later because it was growing hair. Plant identification is my biggest challenge at this time.

 

[Pinkey]

. . .I'm trying to build a circle of life tank where one thing benefits another, (if that makes sense). . .

Yes! It makes perfect sense. That's been my goal for the last 15 years. It's really a very simple concept that has so many variables its comedic. The bottom line is we're trying to balance animal biomass with plant's ability to turn waste (which is fertilizer) into plant matter. More plants = more ability to digest fish waste. Too many fish and it won't work. Too many plants and there is not enough nutrition to go around. Just a little too much nutrition turns into algae. After this, it's all just variations on a theme. I make it a point not to clean my sand because it gets full of nutrients (fish poo). More poo = better plants. Too much poo and the plants can't keep up and your fish get sick. It's all about finding balance. You'll get there. It's possible. It just takes forever. I currently have 2 tanks with a common sump. The system is about 350 gallons. My water is filtered through a series of PVC pipes with plants growing out of them. I add about 4 gallons per day to compensate for evaporation and plant consumption. I do about 2 water changes a year just because the water starts to get a little greenish. My water has been pristine for a very long time.

 

[fishorama]

Learning from mistakes is how most of us do it . Like I've said, there is no 1 right way for plants or fish. There are a ton of variables that can change things. You need to learn & test to see what's going on in YOUR tank, tap water, plants & fish. I have pretty soft low KF & GH tap, so I need to add crushed coral to keep things fairly stable. I keep my lights on a timer so that's less of an issue. But I have high windows that can change things seasonally. It's always something!

We all have different tanks & issues but we'll try to help you with yours. I've lived in a few places with different conditions. I'm always learning after 40 years! That's part of the fun of our hobby No big changes, go slow & don't panic! There are very few Defcon1 tank issues...But don't goof around before you ask us. Doing nothing can be devastating...or no big deal...

My best advice in general is to do fairly large weekly water changes. If something is wrong, water change! Not a wimpy amount, at least 30% or more. If you go on vacation, before & after water changes. Clean water can help with many problems. If you do it often you have some "slack" time when life gets in the way & you can't do them on schedule. Our fish & plants are pretty sturdy. They can adapt to slightly "lesser" care for a time.

Please post pics of your new plants, we may have advice, yeah likely we will.

 

[FishAddict74]

As I posted before, I'm new to all this. My 29 gal tank is only a month & a half old, and I have only a few smaller fish. I am now adding plants, and most of them are stem plants with no roots. I did choose to do a dirt and sand substrate. I realize also that light intensity can play a roll in it. My question is, how long do stem plants generally take before they grow roots so I can cut them back shorter without killing the plant? I am already trimming the tops of fast growing plants, and poking them back into the substrate. My temp I keep at 80 degrees which seems to work. Any advise would be appreciated.View attachment 233330

Looks great!