Looking For Advice- First Planted Tank (32gallon)

[brett174]

Hi everyone,

Here's my first attempt at a planted aquarium. I've only been into this hobby for about 3 months, so I still have a lot to learn. I'd also like to hear from you guys as to what you think looks good and what doesn't.

The aquarium is a Juwel Rio 125 (measuring 81cm x 36cm x 50cm). It's been setup for just under 2 months now. I'm using eco-complete as a substrate and have the standard internal Juwel filter. I do 30% water changes about every 5-6 days (I'm finding the tannin is making the water rather yellow, but I actually like the look of it)

pH is a constant 7.6 and my readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are 0,0,10ppm. I am finding the temperature fluctuates within the tank quite a bit. It's summer here in Australia, and on a really hot day the temperature inside the tank can get up to 30C, most of the time though, its around the 26-28C mark.

Onto the plants. There's a lot of plants I don't know the names of! I do know I have some java moss, crypts and swords in there. They haven't been doing as well as I would like though. Some of the plants have grown a bit in the last 2 months, while others dont seem to have grown at all. The plant on the back wall, left of the tall grass, is starting to look like its dying. I'm using the standard 2x 28watt lights for about 12-14 hours a day. I've also ordered some Juwel reflectors but I'm still waiting on these (4+ weeks now, they are damn near impossible to get here for some reason!)

I have the following list of fish, who are all doing well
2x Tiger Barbs (Puntius tetrazona) ~4cm each
2x Green Moss Barbs ~4cm each
2x Gold Barb (Puntius sachsii) ~3cm, 2cm
1x Albino Tiger Barb ~3cm
1x Black Ruby Barb (Puntius nigrofasciatus) ~3cm
7x Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia praecox) ~3cm each
1x Bolivian Ram (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus) ~ 5cm
1x Bristlenose Plec (Ancistrus spp) ~ 6cm

I did initially lose 4 of the neon rainbows, I think i made the classic mistake of introducing too many fish too quickly, but since then I havent had any more deaths. They all get along great, I was worried the tiger barbs might harass my neons or bolivian ram, but they havent been any trouble at all.

So yeah, sorry for such a long post, I just wanted to give as much information as possible. I'm sure you'll see me asking more questions in the future. I'd love to hear anything that I could do better or any tips on how to improve my aquascaping.

 

[bigdave2009]

im new with the planted tanks as well, but a few key things i have picked up so far:

1) always remove decaying, brown, yellowing, dieing plants immediately. It spreads like a disease if not taken care of. (trim/prune)
2) Remove plants with high algae build up (trim or what not).
3) more water changes with planted aquariums
4) Co2 will make your plants blossom like you wouldnt believe (just do the cheap natural kit, or make one)
5) make sure to give plants nutrients, i bought like the iron, carbon, excel and stuff.

this is a good site to buy items from

drfostersmith.com



p.s.

I almost forgot one of the key things i have learned that is much worse than any ones i listed above, that is patience. It takes time for the plants to grow.

p.s. 10-12 hours is plenty of lighting, 14 is pushing it in my book. oh and one more thing, another key item is getting a power head, a really small one, that can disburse the nutrients to the plants through out the tank.

 

[Colin_T]

Hey another Perthy

Turn your heater off in summer or turn it down to 22C. The only way to stop the tank temp going up in summer is to keep the house cool. Not always an easy thing to do. As long as there is plenty of surface turbulence to keep the oxygen levels high, most fish should be able to tolerate 30C.

Try adding some liquid iron plant fertiliser to the tank. I use Sera Florena. It makes a difference to the plants.

Some plants will grow slower than others, and some plants won't grow in every tank. I have had Vallis grow in one tank but not another that is located next to it.
It also depends on the plants. Many plants sold in shops are not true aquatic plants and will eventually fail under water. A simple way to tell the difference between a true aquatic and a marsh plant is to lift the plant out of water. If the plant is unable to support its own weight and droops or falls over when taken out of water, then it is probably a true aquatic. If the plant can support its own weight when removed from water then it is likely to be a marsh plant. Swordplants and Hygrophillas are two exceptions. They are marsh plants but will live and grow well under water.

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For bigdave

you don't need to use liquid carbon additives if you are using CO2. The plants get the carbon they need from the CO2.

 

[Luketendo]

1. Prune, get rid of all the dead or damaged plants.
2. Turn your lights down to say 10 hours a day.
3. As stated below... water changes, but you've got that figured imo.
4. Consider CO2, or at least Liquid Carbon.
5. Get some dry ferts or Tropica Plant Nutrition+. TPN+ will be more expensive long term but much easier. I'm not sure where you get the dry ferts in the USA.

 

[brett174]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I do have a Red Sea CO2 Bio System that I havent setup yet. I've been waiting to get the reflectors first, but they are still on order from my LFS. Do you think I should setup the CO2 system now? The reason I havent was because I thought CO2 wouldnt benefit the plants without the reflectors doubling the amount of light in the tank

 

[Colin_T]

wait until you get the lights before adding the CO2.

 

[paul_219]

Very nie tank.