Im a long time lurker but this is my first post in this forum. Ive kept fish for a while but recently wanted to start a planted tank. I know almost nothing so any help would be appreciated. I plan on starting a ten gallon tank with two 15 watt cfl's. Im ok with it being very low tech. I would like to plant dwarf sag, java fern, and anacharis. Do i have enough light for these plants. Also can i just use sand as substrate or will i need something else? Do i need any ferts? Thanks!
Planted tank beginner
- Thread starter packermaniac04
- Start date
You are going to need some kind of fertilizer for sure. With your lighting, you might not need too much, you will just have to go with the recommended doses and watch what your tank does. I used play sand in my tank and did fine. I used seachem's root tabs for fertilizer and ended up having to buy seachem flourish nitrogen to dose because my nitrates went to 0 due to vigorous plant growth. I was using 40 watts cfl lighting not 30......Anyway, you will need ferts, and I would do a 2 liter of diy co2, it will definitely help with growth and keeping some of the algae at bay by keeping your plants healthy and growing. Make sure you keep an eye on your plants, they will let you know when they aren't happy. Then you can look for signs of nutrient deficiency or nutrient excess. Good luck.
Ok thanks. I plan on getting some rcs so i assume none of this will hurt them? Is C02 absolutely necessary in this tank?
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I would say co2 would most likely be necessary..........I needed co2 and I only had 10 watts more light than you did. From what I understand, compact fluorecent bulbs lose their efficiency(intensity) after just a few inches penetration into the water which is why you need more wattage in a planted tank than the respective T5 bulbs......someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I think you will still need co2......
for a beginner, I wouldn't say co2 is absolutely necessary. Not to step on any planted tank expert toes, but I'm pretty much a beginner also and haven't plunged into the co2 arena yet. I have all low tech set ups. I don't have anacharis and dwarf sag, but i do have anubias, crypts, swords, and marimo balls with decent success. To control algae, just use a snail or limit the duration of light. I assume you're still learning about the hobby just as I am, so just stick with low light requirement plants given your situation. Just my opinion.
I have a 10 Gallon using the same lighting with a Mineralized Topsoil Substrate capped with sand, and no CO2. I grow Dwarf Sag, Rotala 'Pearl', Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis Parvula), Echnidorus Vesuvius, Marimo Balls, Hygro 'Tiger, Anubias, Dwarf Water Lettuce and Eriocaulon Parkeri. I dose with Seachem Excel, Flourish, and Iron. Everything grows great without CO2, just much slower (except for the Hygro 'Tiger' which grows like a weed), but the plants are healthy. I would imagine that you could get the same results if you added root tabs to the substrate, and dosed with ferts. My tank has been running for over a year, and I never had an algae problem. The Floating plants help soak up excess nutrients.
the secret is getting lots of plants to suck up nutrients before the algae can get to them......flourish excel is an option for sure, it's a different way to supply them with a carbon source. The plants will grow faster with co2 which will outcompete algae for the nutrients. If you use some quick growing plants, you will be better off. I use Rotala Rotundifolia for my quick growing plant........diffusing the light with a surface plant like Vince said would help too if you think your lighting is too strong.....
Thanks for all your help. I think im gonna put some eco complete down instead of sand. Ill see how the tank does without C02 for a bit and then put some in if needed.
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