My First Planted Tank Help!

[youngfisher]

Ok, I went in a LFS and saw a 40l planted tank.. it looked awsome!

So I bought some things that I was told was "all" i needed for the planted tank.

They are:

Flora-Grow co2 set

Flora-grow combi park: Liquid, Nutri-caps, Fe-Tabs

big box of Flora-Grow Nutri Plus Substrate

So im guessing this is true and this is all I need? I have an 11w bulb, but got told it should be ok. Im after around 4-5 different kind of plants. One bushy one at the back, a kind of grass floor at the front etc.

So if you could tell me how and a selection of nice plants that would work in a 35l Arcadia Arc tank.

Thanks

 

[bagu]

hey

seems you have everything! if the CO2 isn't to your liking go for easycarbo, its Co2 in liquid form, and Tropica Nutrition + is meant to be very good for the ferts; but yours seems all good

for a grassy floor, its up to you; but if you want a low maintenance tank, then HC should be good, it spreads itself and its attractive, you sould try riccia but it is a pain! it doesnt spread, but looks very very nice when it grows and pearls, you could also try java moss, but it can trap alot of rubbish; in a way HC grows and breaks down the poop in its roots

for bushy nice plants, you could go for camboba, water wisteria, some vallis and Hygrophilia.

like it was siad in an earlier topic, the wpg rule doesn't count on small tanks

hope i helped somewhat, and if you need to ask some more qu's ill gladly chat on msn with ya

Bagu

 

[youngfisher]

Is anwsered some. You should get me some pictures though for examples, im to lazy to look lol

- I will be on msn about 10 so make sure your on mate.

Also - How muh of this HC Cuba would I need for the floor? I wouldnt mind the full tank surface overed in it. Although is it still able to put other plants inbetween the HC Cuba?

 

[bagu]

i dont see why you cant put any other plants inbetween in; i haven't actually thought of that

i think a nice large portion will spread quickly

ill try and get on, if im not revising lol; infact i best revise some more

 

[youngfisher]

Ok, I have to try and work out how to use this stuff.

How do I use the co2 injector?

 

[lljdma06]

Ok, I went in a LFS and saw a 40l planted tank.. it looked awsome!

I have an 11w bulb, but got told it should be ok. Im after around 4-5 different kind of plants. One bushy one at the back, a kind of grass floor at the front etc.

11watts is too little light for all but the lowest light plants in a 35l tank. If you keep the bulb, you won't need any of the other stuff you just purchased. They simply will not grow fast enough to justify their use. It's about 10g, right? I've got 28W of good T5s with reflectors over my 10g and I consider my tank a low to low/moderate lit tank. I don't use any extra product other than some old laterite in the substrate, good filtration, and water changes.

I would consider getting more light. What type of lighting do you have in your tank?

llj

 

[JenCliBee]

Ok, I went in a LFS and saw a 40l planted tank.. it looked awsome!

I have an 11w bulb, but got told it should be ok. Im after around 4-5 different kind of plants. One bushy one at the back, a kind of grass floor at the front etc.

11watts is too little light for all but the lowest light plants in a 35l tank. If you keep the bulb, you won't need any of the other stuff you just purchased. They simply will not grow fast enough to justify their use. It's about 10g, right? I've got 28W of good T5s with reflectors over my 10g and I consider my tank a low to low/moderate lit tank. I don't use any extra product other than some old laterite in the substrate, good filtration, and water changes.

I would consider getting more light. What type of lighting do you have in your tank?

llj

I have 11w bulb in my 35 litre planted and with ethe CO2 (nutrafin one) and dosing TPN and occasionally TPN+ my plants grow really weel even the mosses albiet abit slow but thats just mosses for you, without the introduction of the CO2( you could use easy carbo instead) and the ferts my plants would just wither away.

HC also grows quite well gets a bit leggy becasue of the low light but is now starting to pickup and spread.

So basically it can be done and to maximise growth of course the extra stuff helps, i personally would stick to the light you have... anythink higher and you would have to dose with more ferts and try and combat a posible algae outbreak.

jen

 

[lljdma06]

Ok, I went in a LFS and saw a 40l planted tank.. it looked awsome!

I have an 11w bulb, but got told it should be ok. Im after around 4-5 different kind of plants. One bushy one at the back, a kind of grass floor at the front etc.

11watts is too little light for all but the lowest light plants in a 35l tank. If you keep the bulb, you won't need any of the other stuff you just purchased. They simply will not grow fast enough to justify their use. It's about 10g, right? I've got 28W of good T5s with reflectors over my 10g and I consider my tank a low to low/moderate lit tank. I don't use any extra product other than some old laterite in the substrate, good filtration, and water changes.

I would consider getting more light. What type of lighting do you have in your tank?

llj

I have 11w bulb in my 35 litre planted and with ethe CO2 (nutrafin one) and dosing TPN and occasionally TPN+ my plants grow really weel even the mosses albiet abit slow but thats just mosses for you, without the introduction of the CO2( you could use easy carbo instead) and the ferts my plants would just wither away.

HC also grows quite well gets a bit leggy becasue of the low light but is now starting to pickup and spread.

So basically it can be done and to maximise growth of course the extra stuff helps, i personally would stick to the light you have... anythink higher and you would have to dose with more ferts and try and combat a posible algae outbreak.

jen

I never said it couldn't be done, with low-light plants, it can be and probably even without all the extra equipment. How long has your tank been setup with it's current setup, Jen?

 

[JenCliBee]

Ok, I went in a LFS and saw a 40l planted tank.. it looked awsome!

I have an 11w bulb, but got told it should be ok. Im after around 4-5 different kind of plants. One bushy one at the back, a kind of grass floor at the front etc.

11watts is too little light for all but the lowest light plants in a 35l tank. If you keep the bulb, you won't need any of the other stuff you just purchased. They simply will not grow fast enough to justify their use. It's about 10g, right? I've got 28W of good T5s with reflectors over my 10g and I consider my tank a low to low/moderate lit tank. I don't use any extra product other than some old laterite in the substrate, good filtration, and water changes.

I would consider getting more light. What type of lighting do you have in your tank?

llj

I have 11w bulb in my 35 litre planted and with ethe CO2 (nutrafin one) and dosing TPN and occasionally TPN+ my plants grow really weel even the mosses albiet abit slow but thats just mosses for you, without the introduction of the CO2( you could use easy carbo instead) and the ferts my plants would just wither away.

HC also grows quite well gets a bit leggy becasue of the low light but is now starting to pickup and spread.

So basically it can be done and to maximise growth of course the extra stuff helps, i personally would stick to the light you have... anythink higher and you would have to dose with more ferts and try and combat a posible algae outbreak.

jen

I never said it couldn't be done, with low-light plants, it can be and probably even without all the extra equipment. How long has your tank been setup with it's current setup, Jen?

No sorry m8 wasnt trying to dismis what you were saying, it was just basically from my experience tbh... tanks been setup around 3-4 mnths now, cabomba(sp) was removed becasue it was growing to wild and then when prunned it decided to be very leggy (loads of bushyness at the top but vary sparce down below ) and i tend to stick to stem plants for obvious reasons due to low light... the HC was added becasue i wanted to see if it could grow and grow well under low light, it does but only while dosing and having the CO2.

The riccia i had grew like wildfire again due to the dosing, removed becasue it kept detaching and basically peeing me off lol.


All just down to a noob's experience but found that low light, the dosing became really important even for the low level light plants.

Link HERE to my diary m8, nothink spectacular but gives a rough guide to how they grew... few things have been changed since it was last updated but you get the idea lol.

jen

 

[lljdma06]

No, absolutely no offense taken, it's just that my experience has been the exact opposite. With low-light tanks, I've never needed to dose, and I've been into planted tanks for about 5 years now. Been a hobbiest for about 20. My eldest current tank is a low-light that is about 3 years old now. I have grown HC without ferts in low-light. I have a few tanks in the member's section. One of them features HM. I've kept high-light, but with my schedule, I find the low-light eaiser to maintain.

Usually, for better, faster growth, the people with 35l will opt for 2, 11W bulbs, sometimes even higher, inject CO2 and add ferts. Just depends on what wants to be achieved in the setup.

I had 13w over a 2.5g with good success and I called that tank low-light as well.

llj

 

[youngfisher]

Ok, so again..how does that co2 injector work ?

I've got a bit of bogwood, I want javamoss to grow on that ermm, a kind of grass foor at the front, a few tall bushy plants on either side (left and right) and then a kind of big wall plant at the back.

I think i will just get like 6-7 different plants, see which ones go the best and which dont. remove the ones that dont look so good and keep the ones that do.

Guess planting is all about trial and error?

 

[Dave Spencer]

For a grassy foreground in a tank this size, I would recommend Eleocharis parvaula, as E. acicularis will get too tall.

Considering this is a small tank, try some of the more delicate stems for a bushy effect. Hemeianthus micranthemoides and Micranthemum umbrusom should look good.

The background could be something grassy like Cyperus helferi to compliment the foreground grass.

Have a look on the Tropica website to see what you like.

HC is one of those temparamental plants that grows like a weed for some people, and just dies off for others.

Dave.

 

[bagu]

is there a tube with the Co2 injector? if so...

plug canister into the platic tube thing they give you, put it into the aquarium at an angle, and press the cylinder to release the Co2, you will soo it in the tube, you just leave it like that

also, for a moss mall, how about xmas moss tied to the back?

 

[youngfisher]

Ok, im going to put the bottom substraite in, fill it up with like half water..add the plants etc. put some fine fine gravel down.

How much of the liquid stuff do i put it, and the tablets etc?

Help me bagu

 

[youngfisher]

Would the substraite be ok in water with no plants yet?

Just the tank all set up with the substaite, water and bogwood etc. then get the plants on friday.

My dad said the substraite if I put it in the tank with no plants etc. it will loose all the nutrients or somthing?