Going For An All Crypt Tank

[kylealastairlove]

thought it would be cool idea to make a cryptocoryne only tank
trying to think of what specific crypts i could use that have contrasting shapes colours, for the background i was thinking of crypt balansae and crypt cilliata, midground pontederiifolia ? 

any ideas on how i would scape and which crypt species i would use ?  

 

[mishmash]

I like the idea of balansae for the background.  I have found it does do better in a CO2 enriched tank with ferts as well though.  You could also consider C. Wendtii brown as a different colour and C. Parva for the foreground.

 

[techen]

I agree if your going crypts only CO2 is what I'd look into growth wise at least.

 

[kylealastairlove]

i like crypt wendtii, i've just never been able to find the brown variation anywhere! usually get my plants online as there's a wider selection but still haven't come across brown wendtii lol i shall have to find some and i use co2 on my tank, i just go for the liquid co2 option as its cheaper

 

[stu40]

CO2 on a crypt only tank? Bit of waste IMO
Nutrious substrate & don't blast it with excessive lighting
My C.Balansae is 50cm+ after a couple of months, in a low tec.
Mid ground C.Tropica & C.Undulata for contasting leaf shapes.
Front C.Parva, or Amoricum, or Willisii
A lot of Crypts seem to do better when planted densely

 

[kylealastairlove]

thanks a lot stu

i've always been a fan of crypts! i've ordered some caribsea eco complete for my substrate, and im gonna be using 2 24w T5's one to enhance plant growth and the other to enhance colours

so hopefully that will be good enough, and i've always got my liquid co2 if its needed

now i have to wait till payday and then i can get myself a tetratec external and i can take that huge ass juwel filter system out of my tank lol!! then i will need some money to buy my plants of course, im undecided on what to finish off the stock with though

 

[liamhuckle]

I have a couple of crypt wendtii mi oya i could possibly let go growing with ferts and no co2

 

[mishmash]

If there is any chance you can alter the Eco Complete order and change to something else I would STRONGLY urge you to do so.  I sent four bags back because it was horrid ..  Some of the particles were 22mm across (the Caribsea website says grain size ranges from 0.7mm to 7mm).  It was scratchy horrid nasty stuff and I am so pleased to have got rid of it.  Each to their own of course. It has a high CEC (cation exchange capacity) so it will absorb nutrients if you are dosing them, and release them back as required, but then a LOT of other, better (IMO) substrates do the same.
 
Personally I think crypts look better with a finer substrate, and this gives you scope for certain fish too... Corydoras for example will not thank you for the harsh and abrasive structure of Eco Complete.   
 
Why not consider Tropica plant growth medium underneath fine gravel ?  (If you want to understand more about that, visit their website or send them an email).  Unipac do a range of aquarium sands that look great and would be suitable for this purpose too.
 
Also, with CO2 added the crypts are less likely to get algae attached to them, so you win all round IMO.  In a low tech tank I had with no CO2 my crypts looked OK.  In the high tech one I have, they look GREAT

 

[kylealastairlove]

hmm i've heard a lot of positive comments about it so i thought i would give it a try, as for the whole bottom dwelling fish i would be going for fish from asia so corydoras wont be an option for me and most loaches if not all i wouldnt feel fair keeping a group of them in a tank with a small footprint like mine especially when all the rocks and wood are in too, so i would probably give them a miss. i have some unipac sand in my tank now i like it but its really light which is the only down side i would say about it, thought eco complete would be great for the plants and would look good too because its dark i had a load of different crypts in my previous tank which was low tech and i dosed with fertilisers too and they looked great, so cant wait to see how they will look this time round with a bigger tank better lighting and a nutritious substrate  

 

[Ps3Steveo]

I'd go with something like Florabase substrate and not bother with CO2 but its up to you, if dosing CO2 I'd plant quite sparse as they'll send runners everywhere.

 

[crago1990]

Love to see some pics when its done. I would also love a crypt only tank. Mine grow pretty well except my balansae, for some reason they have never grown. They are alive but just wont grow. I thought maybe they needed c02 bht by the sounds of what you guys are saying they dont. Sounds strange seeings my other crypts grow fine. Anyway get some pics up when you get some crypts in there

 

[kylealastairlove]

thanks ps3stevo  

crago1990 i will put some pics up when i have managed to do it, probably be early February i had some crypt balansae it was planted in a sand substrate and when i got it the huge leaves melted off completely started growing back but really thin and then just stopped growing then i switched to a dirt substrate and the results where very pleasing it grew a lot more! but i dont think my lighting was quite high enough to support proper growth, but it still grew and i wasnt using co2 then  

 

[Zikofski]

aaw i am looking to see how this turns out i love crypts probably my favourite plant

, beckettii and nevellii i have in my tank stunning plants, and yes, Co2 and fertile soil/substrate is a must, since i have got both of these my crypts, it is like a bomb has gone off, propagating and getting big growing a new leaf to two new leafs a day cant wait to see pictures of your tank and crypts