Help: not sure what I'm doing! (long)

[purple_drazi]

I've been reading on the topic of planted tanks for awhile so I decided to take the plunge.

I only had my betta, Sparky, in the tank so I moved him into a 1g bowl with some java moss for the duration. I pulled all of the plastic plants out, sponged off the tank sides, siphoned debris off of the tank bottom (it was bare bottom, there was no gravel or sand), removed about 25% of the water, washed the gravel that I had bought, and spread it over the bottom sloping from front to back. It's a 12g tank and I used about 3/4 of a 25lb bag.

I had gone to the lfs with a list of easy care plants that had been suggested on this forum but they didn't have them all and suggested replacements. I ended up with 1 anubius, 1 windelov, 1 tropica crypt and 2 ambolia. The plants were all in little plastic pots, and the roots were embedded in this ugly, fiber stuff. Nobody had ever mentioned there would be pots and fiber stuff! ACK! Initially, I took the plants out of the pots and stuck the whole fiber plug into the gravel - the thought being that disturbing the roots would be bad for them and the roots would eventually grow out of the fiber, but the fiber plugs were huge and stuck up above the level of the gravel. Really ugly. So I peeled most of the fiber away as carefully as I could and embedded the root plug in the gravel.

The lfs guy said something about some of the plants attaching to rocks but I couldn't remember which plant was supposed to grow on a rock and how I was supposed to attach it so I didn't bother; everybody went into the gravel. I need rocks that won't catch & blow Sparky's fins and I had bought a relatively smooth, fake lava rock to get a bit of height in the tank so I stuck that in as well. Can I put any driftwood and rocks I find in the lfs in the tank? If it's at the store can I assume it's safe in any tank? Finally, I replaced the 25% of the water I had removed with new.

Once the water settled down and all of the floating bits got filtered out I realised I have a way to go yet. My plants are all tiny!! According to the aquascape articles I've read all of the tank equipment is supposed to be hidden. With the price of mature plants that I saw at the lfs, how do I do that without taking out a second mortgage? How do people get those beautiful tanks with mature, huge plants that I see in the pictures? The more I read, the more complicated it seems. Do I need plant fertilizer? Because most of the water and the filter is old is there sufficient bacteria there already & can I put Sparky back in or do I need to do a fishless cycle first with ammonia? (Water test results: Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0.)

sorry for the length!

 

[Nisha]

Yes, it was good you took of the fiber that surrounded the plant roots. They will root much easier.
The anubias and windelov java fern can be attached to a rock or log, tied with some dark string so that it is disguised. They will do fine in the gravel too. Generally, anything they sell in a fish store should be fine in the tank though it never hurts to ask and be sure.

There are no rules about how planted a tank should be. It's really upto what you like and what you can afford. You should let the plants grow out and fill in your tank and accent with rocks/stones. The windelov java fern and anubias will grow fairly slowly but the others should grow at a fairly good rate. Patience is required for a planted tank but your plants will surprise you with their growth.

You might want to look into adding a liquid fertilizer such as Seachem's flourish because it will help the plants to thrive. Plus make sure you have the appropriate lighting for your plants.

It sounds like your tank is already established and cycled so it should be alright to put our fish back in. Add a pinch of fishfood into the tank so that the bacteria don't die out before you return your fish to the tank.

You might want to check out this link for Your First Planted Tank.

Hope this helps. Congrats on the planted tank.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> lfs guy said something about some of the plants attaching to rocks

First up, I'd like to say that most LFS don't have a clue about plants, that guy knew what he was talking about. Remember that! Anubias and Java Fern should not have their "rhizome", the stout fleshy root, buried in the gravel, it usually rots, killing the plant. It is best attached by some means or other to a bit of bogwood or rock, to which it will eventually attach itself with roots.

Certainly, you should remove the plants from the pots and wool unless you have some "diggers" which will uproot plants. You will often find when doing so, that your pot contains more plants then you think, and you can spread them out a bit.

Crypts are bottom feeders so you may want to look at root tablets, but in all honesty, they grow so slowly, enough fish waste will probably drop between the gravel stones to suffice.

>>> How do people get those beautiful tanks with mature, huge plants that I see in the pictures?

They apply a magic ingredient - patience! My biggest tank is 600mm deep, a couple of my favourite plants have taken 5+ years to get to a size that is in proportion to the tank. Sure, I could let them bolt, but I trim and keep them tidy and let them express themselves as they and I like.

Keeping plants in an aquarium more then doubles the amount of interest in it. Fish are adaptable within reason, and cover up the aquarists mistakes when they are not too bad. Plants are dumber, they take no prisoners, you get it wrong, they croak! Many plants are far more demanding than fish. Good luck.

 

[clutterydrawer]

Heya

As long as the filter didnt completely dry out, yoru tnak is still cycled, so you can put Sparky back in now.

Have a look at the anubias and windelov. Where the roots emat the upper plant, there's asort of horizontal stem think that everything grow out of. this is called the rhizome, make sure it is above the gravel, or the plant will die.

Now I'm afraid you just have to wait for them to grow. All those lovely planted tank pics you've seen are the product of patience. (annoying, isn't it? )

The cryptocoryne would like fertiliser in the form of root tablets if you can find some.

 

[Cat]

You just told me more than my lfs

I put one in the tank in a pot,I asked him what they were called but he didn't know,one of the plants I'm sure its for a pond seems be growing every were. Fish like it so I left it.

Didn't know the plants lasted so long (yours will not sure about mine)