Fluval Roma 125 With Plants

[PDSimon]

Hello

I am a beginner and I'm currently fishless cycling my fluval 125L tank. I would much appreciate if you could give me a little assistance! I Just want a low tech low light aquarium. I'm not looking for a fully planted tank...

I plan on stocking it with:

Bolivian rams
Tetras
Kuhli loaches
Shrimp, possibly red claw macro or blue pearl shrimp+amano

- I have two T8 20Watt bulbs.
- my substrate is playsand from argos, I don't really want to use proper plant substrate
- I don't want to use co2 unless its cheap (i'm a student..)
- I do plan on using TPN+
- I want to keep bogwood, driftwood and possibly some sort of inert rock like slate...

Heres an awful sketch that won't help at all

Plant list(sorry if some of the names are slightly wrong):

- eleocharis parvula
- anubias bart v nana
- anubia barteria bar. angustfolio (or crypt x willisii?)
- java moss /easy-to-grow-moss
- hemianthus callitrichoides
- cryptocoryne undulata (broad leaf)
- microsorum pteropus/java fern
- Bolbitis heudelotii
- amazon swords/echinodorus bleherae
- bacopa caroliniana
- egeria densa (have I got enough light? would bacopa caroliniana be better instead as already mentioned?)
- vallisneria spiralis

One thing that springs to mind, will this be too many plants for my tank? Especially with it being a sand substrate.
I can easily take some off... the green machine is near me, which I hear is one of the best shops for aquascaping? I don't want to go as far as aquascaping it but I do want it to look natural and pleasing to the eye!

What do you think?

thanks for reading!

 

[RadaR]

You cant have too many plants unless ofcourse you don't provide enough nutrients and CO2 for them. Or if they block out too much light for other plants.
Sand isn't a problem either and plants will quite happily grow in the stuff.
What are your planswith regards to water changes? Also,are you considering Easycarbo?
The Green Machine is fantastic and it would be worth while going in and talking to one of the staff about your ambition.

 

[PDSimon]

You cant have too many plants unless ofcourse you don't provide enough nutrients and CO2 for them. Or if they block out too much light for other plants.
Sand isn't a problem either and plants will quite happily grow in the stuff.
What are your planswith regards to water changes? Also,are you considering Easycarbo?
The Green Machine is fantastic and it would be worth while going in and talking to one of the staff about your ambition.

Hi, thanks for your reply

Water changes will be in the 10-20% per week range I imagine once things settle down.

I did speak to them a bit. They weren't to keen on sand nor a scape without ADA substrate When I go back i'll ask more specific questions.

I saw the easycarbo but wasn't sure of peoples experiences with it?

 

[RadaR]

The ADA soil is fantastic. You'd only need to have it where the majority of the plants were. Then just have the sand everywhere else.
Easycarbo would work really well for your tank. Just a few key things to remember. Don't overdose it, and some plant species like Vallis and some Bladderworts do not like it.

 

[PDSimon]

The ADA soil is fantastic. You'd only need to have it where the majority of the plants were. Then just have the sand everywhere else.
Easycarbo would work really well for your tank. Just a few key things to remember. Don't overdose it, and some plant species like Vallis and some Bladderworts do not like it.

Thanks for the reply.

Are you talking about the soil thats underneath? They were showing me a tank with an ADA substrate that you just put on top, which in this case had been pressed into the corner with rocks leaving plenty of gravel substrate. Looked really good.

I spoke to them today and they said that many plants would be fine

Cheers for the help.

 

[RadaR]

This is what I was suggesting.
Obviously yours wont be the same shape, but the general idea is there.

 

[ian]

I would advocate using Easycarbo, its really made my plants flourish. You can always start at the recommended dose then build it up to what you think your plants need or if you get more densly planted. Its also not that expensive to keep up with, a 250ml bottle should last you about 4 months.

 

[PDSimon]

Thats great, thanks for the info guys

 

[Ryefish]

loving the sketch i did so many sketches when planning my tank, even before it had water in

 

[PDSimon]

loving the sketch i did so many sketches when planning my tank, even before it had water in

haha cheers I had the idea on my head I just wanted to put it down to make sure it made sense

Checked over all the plants and they seem ok, so I can't wait for tank to cycle so I get some plants, hardscape and FISH in!

 

[RadaR]

You don't have to wait for it to cycle.
Check out Silent Cycling

 

[PDSimon]

Does anyone think it would be worth putting 1cm of fertile substrate underneath the sand I already have or are root tabs sufficient? I do have quite a few plants planned, but don't intend on having a fully planted tank nor do I want to use co2 or any 'high tech' stuff

You don't have to wait for it to cycle.
Check out Silent Cycling

Thanks

 

[PDSimon]

Anyone got any input?

"Does anyone think it would be worth putting 1cm of fertile substrate underneath the sand I already have or are root tabs sufficient? I do have quite a few plants planned, but don't intend on having a fully planted tank nor do I want to use co2 or any 'high tech' stuff"