Are These Any Good?

[orange shark]

Hi All,
 
Firstly, a quick apologies if this has been posted before, the internal search function is slow and i've used google to search the site and couldn't find anything.
 
I'm getting back in to the hobby, and have bought a rio 180 which is currently cycling (100cmx41cmx50cm). I'm wanting some plants in and have found the following bundle from plantsalive.co.uk (http/goo.gl/qlZaN8), will this be enough for the tank without having to add in extras (CO2 etc.) or will i have to add some stuff in to cope with the amount of plants?
 
My previous tanks have never had a heavy amount of plants in, so I am very much a newbie in this area...looking for your opinions and advice!
 
Thanks,
OS

 

[DrRob]

It's an interesting mix. My general experience is that the elodea won't do well unless the tank isn't much more than temperate.
 
You are indeed right though, with the mix and quantity of plants you're likely to want at the very least some simple fertilisers, but possible some CO2 and macro as well.
 
As for quantity of plants, it always depends what you're trying to achieve. If you're patient a single plant will fill a whole tank from cuttings or runners, but this will give you a large selection of plants, although none in great number. It's a good way to get a lot of different plants to see what grows in well under your husbandry.

 

[orange shark]

Hi DrRob,

Thanks for the response, when you refer to fertilisers what form do these come in? Are they liquid drops? 
 
Is there a rule of how many plants you can put in a tank before you need to put extras in?
 
Thanks,
OS

 

[DrRob]

Fertilisers come in most forms, liquids, dry salts, slow release capsules and so on.
 
Most people use liquids. Personally I use salts but only because I don't want to pay shipping on the water that they mix it with and I'm technically minded enough to calculate my doses (not difficult but does require a little mathematics).
 
As for rules, no, not really. Most planted tanks will benefit from some micro fertilisers, regardless of quantity of plants, so it's generally a good starting point. After that the driver becomes light in most of our tanks, the more light you put in the more the plants will demand CO2 and macronutrients beyond what you normally find. Remember that that's in quantity, quality and duration of light.

 

[orange shark]

Thanks for that, I think i'll give the plants in the link a try and see how it goes...can always make my own CO2 thing if necessary.
 
Any recommended fertilisers?
 
Thanks,
OS

 

[coolie]

Just to follow on from what DrRob said. If you have a new setup, there's a lot of fresh water in there which contains some ferts naturally and even CO2 at first.
I bought a selection of plants like  that from eBay, and they grew like mad, and then crashed and burned. The ends go black and then the plant itself starts to shed leaves and rot.
This is the problem. When all the resources are gone, the plants can't keep growing and will starve and suffocate.
 
Thanks to this experience and to the folk on here, I've now gone full CO2 and ferts.

 

[orange shark]

Hi Coolie,
 
Was there enough time for you to recognise the plants starting to die to start putting ferts and CO2 in?
 
Thanks,
OS

 

[levahe]

Thanks for that, I think i'll give the plants in the link a try and see how it goes...can always make my own CO2 thing if necessary.
 
Any recommended fertilisers?
 
Thanks,
OS

For ferts you could get something like tropica plant growth premium or seachem flourish also theres easylife profito.
There's other brands too, they are all pretty much the same thing really

 

[coolie]

Hi Coolie,
 
Was there enough time for you to recognise the plants starting to die to start putting ferts and CO2 in?
 

 
I think that varies from one species to another. I think it varies from one species to another and the over-all "load" you put on the tank.
Of course some plants like Java fern will just go dormant when there aren't enough resources, but it's primarily those stem plants I am talking about.