Changing To Live Plants

[lisajane1969]

hiya, just looking for a little advice, i have a Rena Aqualife 200 tropical tank, with a sand bottom, thinking of changing to live plants, is there any kind of fertilizer i can add to the water to help the plants grow?, size of tank is 120 X 40 X 55 & it holds 248 litres of water, it is a community set up, thanks, lisa

 

[Harry1996]

hiya, just looking for a little advice, i have a Rena Aqualife 200 tropical tank, with a sand bottom, thinking of changing to live plants, is there any kind of fertilizer i can add to the water to help the plants grow?, size of tank is 120 X 40 X 55 & it holds 248 litres of water, it is a community set up, thanks, lisa

do you have a co2 system? if not you need to buy one also i would add some gravel and some laterite. you can buy these things on www.aquaticsonline.co.uk

 

[lisajane1969]

hiya, just looking for a little advice, i have a Rena Aqualife 200 tropical tank, with a sand bottom, thinking of changing to live plants, is there any kind of fertilizer i can add to the water to help the plants grow?, size of tank is 120 X 40 X 55 & it holds 248 litres of water, it is a community set up, thanks, lisa

do you have a co2 system? if not you need to buy one also i would add some gravel and some laterite. you can buy these things on www.aquaticsonline.co.uk

hiya, no co2 system in the tank, lisa

 

[Mr Bliss]

You don't need a CO2 system, unless you have very bright lights. What kind of lighting do you have on the tank (watts)?

CO2 is usually the factor that limits plant growth in aquariums, though, so it's a great thing to add. There are many ways to add CO2, from so-called liquid carbon (such as Seachem Flourish Excel) to yeast-based DIY systems and pressurized CO2 supply. Liquid carbon would be a good way to start. Plants will also benefit from added macronutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) and micronutrients (trace elements); you can find these from several manufacturers, and some products like Tropica's TPN+ contain everything you need.

With that out of the way, I'll point out that there are many plants that'll do just fine in a low-light community tank with a sand substrate, without adding any form of CO2 or ferts. They'll just grow more slowly. Depending on your tap water, some plants may experience micronutrient deficiencies though. One succesful way of low-tech planted tank keeping is to dose micronutrients only (Tropica's TPN without the plus sign, for example).

 

[lisajane1969]

You don't need a CO2 system, unless you have very bright lights. What kind of lighting do you have on the tank (watts)?

CO2 is usually the factor that limits plant growth in aquariums, though, so it's a great thing to add. There are many ways to add CO2, from so-called liquid carbon (such as Seachem Flourish Excel) to yeast-based DIY systems and pressurized CO2 supply. Liquid carbon would be a good way to start. Plants will also benefit from added macronutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) and micronutrients (trace elements); you can find these from several manufacturers, and some products like Tropica's TPN+ contain everything you need.

With that out of the way, I'll point out that there are many plants that'll do just fine in a low-light community tank with a sand substrate, without adding any form of CO2 or ferts. They'll just grow more slowly. Depending on your tap water, some plants may experience micronutrient deficiencies though. One succesful way of low-tech planted tank keeping is to dose micronutrients only (Tropica's TPN without the plus sign, for example).

hiya, they are 2 x 25 watt daylight bulbs, just looking for something i can literally put in the water, lisa

 

[onebto]

hiya, just looking for a little advice, i have a Rena Aqualife 200 tropical tank, with a sand bottom, thinking of changing to live plants, is there any kind of fertilizer i can add to the water to help the plants grow?, size of tank is 120 X 40 X 55 & it holds 248 litres of water, it is a community set up, thanks, lisa

do you have a co2 system? if not you need to buy one also i would add some gravel and some laterite. you can buy these things on www.aquaticsonline.co.uk

Okay I am going to get into trouble for this one

I do not completely agree with Harry13's statement

Planted tanks is a subject I have very little knowledge of

But to say "do you have a co2 system? if not you need to buy one"

could be deemed as slightly misleading in MY humble opinion

We have no idea how many plants and what sort lisajane1969 wants

I have live plants in my tank, granted not tones and they are chosen specificly

I have no Co2 system and they are growing "to dam Quickly at times "

Hopefully some of the Plant Guru's will post in this thread and help you on your Question Lisa

Regards onebto

Anticipating backlash for comments

 

[Mr Bliss]

I don't think you need to anticipate a backlash, onebto. The general consensus in the planted tank community seems to be that all you really need to provide is some light. Everything else just gives you faster growth and more options in aquascaping and plant selection.

 

[onebto]

Thanks Mr Bliss