My First Planted Tank

[plantropimunity]

I have a thirty gallon(us) tank that i have begun to set up with the intention of making it a planted tank.
I started with ten pounds of sera floredepot long term gravel substrate spread in a single layer over the bottom of the tank. Next i added 25 pounds of natural gravel and made this another even layer. after carefully filling with dechlorinated water, i turned on the heater and filter (acura 100, and whisper 2).
i began with a few flakes of food to get an ammonia spike, but then i found a 10% solution at Ace Hardware, so i used that to get the cycle going. initially, i spiked the ammonia way off the chart by adding too much ammonia , but after a series of waterchanges i was able to get a reading of 4ppm. when i achieved this reading, i added a bacterial additive (cycle). yesterday i tested and got an ammonia reading of 4ppm, so nothing has happened yet, but it has only been three days since i got the ammonia to 4 and added cycle, so i am not worried yet.
my lighting system is currently underpowered. i am probably getting about 1 watt per gallon using the single strip i got with the tank and another smaller single strip that i had available. i do plan on upgrading the lighting to either a dual strip flourescent fixture or a compact flourescent fixture, depending on my budget and necessity.
I do not have any co2 system in place, and dont know if i really need one, since i plan on keeping it a relatively low wattage system, and have read that if that is the case, it may not be needed.
okay, on to the living elements.
Fish: i currently have a ten gallon tank that i have had for almost a year that is home to a trio of zebra danios and a pair of black neon tetras. these groups will be augmented with another two danios and three tetras, to make a school of 5 of each. I have been offered a group of 5 german blue rams for free, and i will be adding those to the tank as well. i would also like to add a pair of lyretail killifish, and if it wouldnt be too many fish, a group of five harlequin rasboras. i plan on picking out a pair from the 5 rams i get and then finding a home for the other three, or setting up a ram tank, so they wont all be in there for too long.
Inverts: i plan on some amano shrimp for scavenging/algae control.
Plants: this is where i need the most help.(see topic title) I have seen a lot of pictures of planted tanks, and the one thing that really draws my eye is the "carpeted" tanks. i really like the way that those look. can anyone recommend one or more plants that could fill this role? for a taller plant i am thinking about java fern, that being a plant with lower lighting requirements. i also have a couple of pieces of artificial driftwood , and a bunch of rocks. also, i read a setup guide that seemed to say that you could add plants to an uncycled tank. would this be okay when you are doing a fishless cycle like i am?
thanks for reading all this, and if you have any comments/answers/questions, please feel free. i encourage any responses. thanks.

 

[plantropimunity]

Joanna69 started a thread about the time to plant your tank and in it i read many responses that say that you should indeed plant the tank from the start. this answered one question for me, so thanks go to Joanna69, and all her answerers.

 

[plantropimunity]

so i figure that 3wpg is a decent number to aim for. if i went with the 36'' coralife compact fluorescent fixture, i would have 96 watts total, or 3.2 watts per gallon. i figure that this is the way to go. i will be looking to order this light in the next week or so.

 

[plantropimunity]

thursday. ammonia=4ppm
nothing new

 

[plantropimunity]

testing ammonia on saturday morning resulted in the same reading.
based on the instructions on the bottle of cycle that i bought, i am adding 30ml. this is one week from the first addition of cycle. i am adding 20 ml to the tank water, and 10 ml directly into the filter. i dont know if this is gonna make a difference or not, but i figure that since the filter is where i want the bacteria to colonize, it couldnt hurt.
temperature is 82 degrees F.

i am really hoping to get some feedback on this process, so please, if you read this, leave a thought. thanks.

 

[Themuleous]

Hi there

Sorry no one has replied to this. The only question that I can find is to do with the plants. Firstly yes you can add them to an uncycled tank, it also gives them a chance to settle in before the fish get added.

As to the lights etc, if you want a carpet (normally glosso or HC is used) you'll need over 2WGP and if you have over 2WPG CO2 is a must to help prevent algae. You'll also probably need to add a decent trace fert mix as the plants will use it up quickly and potentially also an NO3 and PO4 source, but worry about those later. Lastly, if you have oer 2WPG you'll probably be able to grow most things so whilst java fern can look great if you do upgrade you're lighting considered other things too

That said if you stick with 1WPG java ferm would do fine, as would java moss and anubias species.

Hope this helps a little

Sam

 

[plantropimunity]

thanks, themuleos! i have decided that i am going to save for the coralife cf fixture to get the indicated 3.2 wpg. i think it makes sense to give as much light as possible, rather than just trying to get by. i really do like the look of the glosso carpet in the tanks i have seen. co2 systems are still coded in some foreign dialect that i dont have a translator for yet, but i am sure that i will be able to decipher it with help from this great resource. maybe i can even find a decent secondhand system, or diy. will look. thanks.

 

[plantropimunity]

sunday. ammonia holding @ 4ppm

 

[Themuleous]

Yeh a secondhand CO2 system will be around 50quid or so, I would recommend pressurised but for 30g tank you could probably get away with 2 DIY yeast setups, depends how lazy you are! I'm very lasy so always have pressurised!

I've just been helping Ginge sort out a pressured kit would be worth a read and all the bits you need for a basic system are on ebay at this very moment. So worth a look.

Sam

 

[plantropimunity]

sounds like you are giving good advice. i am in the u.s., and it's been a while since i have seen the conversion rate, so i dont know how much 50 quid would be in dollars, but it sounds like i should be able to get a secondhand system for relatively cheap. i am pretty lazy myself, so a pressurized system with controller sounds good to me. now, like i said, this is a new world to me, so bear with me here. what equipment do i need for a fully automated system? looking at the drs foster and smith catalog it seems like the requirements are as follows:
1. co2 canister
2. co2 regulator w/ solenoid (whats a solenoid?)
3. silicone tubing
4. bubble counter (but why?)
5. silicone tubing
6. reactor (are those bio balls in there?)
7. small powerhead w/ tubing and ball valve. (flow rate?)
8. ph controller w/ probe
9. return system
this is definitely going to be cheaper to buy as a kit. the one i am looking at is 379.99 plus s&h US.

 

[plantropimunity]

IT'S STARRTINNG!!!!!
I tested ammonia earlier today and i still got a reading of 4ppm, so i was kinda depressed that nothing has been happening in the tank, despite a week going by. well i decided to test everything i have a test for (almost) just for fun, and i was pleased with the results. here they are:
1. nitrite: less than .25, BUT, more than zero
2. nitrate: 5ppm
3. ph: 6 or less. i think this is normal?
4. phosphate: .5 i added flake food in the very beginning, and i may not have gotten it all out, so i think this is okay
i am very glad i did this, as it shows that there is some activity beginning

 

[Themuleous]

First off, Im certain you should be able to get a decent second hand kit, but hopefully someone in the US will be able to advise better, I dont want to give you bad advice and you end up with the wrong thing

As to the system you need, it depends how 'fully' you mean. The most basic system includes a CO2 cylinder, a section of CO2 proof hosing and a diffuser (or as you call it a reactor, they are the same thing, they mix the CO2 with the water so the Co2 dissolves into the water ready for the plants to absorb it into their leaves).

I have my system running 24/7 with no apparent ill effects on the fish. However if you want to set it up to shut the CO2 off at night you add a solenoid. This you put on a timer like you have on your lights and control it that way.

The final step is to have a pH probe. This controls the solenoid and basically you set it to the desired pH and it regulates the CO2 input accordingly. Very useful but have heard differing stories about how reliable they are.

So thats about it really, as to the other things on your list,

4 - When you add CO2 to a tank, you normally measure the amount added in bubbles per second. I have my tank set at 1 bubble every 3 seconds, for your tank you'll probably need it more like 1 or 2 bubbles every second, in order to get the desired CO2 level. A bubble counter lets you count the bubbles you add. It is only really necessary if you're using a ceramic diffuser/reactor, as this produces a very fine mist of bubbles so you would add a bubble counter to enable you to count the input rate. They are not necessary if you're using the ladder diffuser as the bubbles can be counted entering these so a separate bubble counter isn't necessary.

5 - tubing - when using CO2 you have to use CO2 proof hosing as it will degrade normal air hosing.

7 - Power head - I think this is for use with the reactor but really shouldn't be necessary and is just an added expense!

9 - return system - I haven't a clue what this is but I dont think there is anything else you need so reckon this isn't necessary.

And yes a kit is often cheaper

Oh and great news on the cycling! As to the pH what KH value do you have? pH 6 is very low and is not common in aquariums without added help so I reckon you've got a low KH as this buffers the pH.

Sam

 

[plantropimunity]

the return "system" is just an output tube from the reactor or diffuser connected to a u tube or similar device to return the water to the aquarium.
i retested ph and tested kh and got the following: ph 7.2 and kh 2.
i'm a little embarrassed to say it but i think i added drops from the wrong bottle during my previous test anyway, my ph is higher than i think i want it and my kh is lower than i think i want it, so what can i do about that? wont anything that boosts kh bump the ph too?

 

[phlawed]

the return "system" is just an output tube from the reactor or diffuser connected to a u tube or similar device to return the water to the aquarium.
i retested ph and tested kh and got the following: ph 7.2 and kh 2.
i'm a little embarrassed to say it but i think i added drops from the wrong bottle during my previous test anyway, my ph is higher than i think i want it and my kh is lower than i think i want it, so what can i do about that? wont anything that boosts kh bump the ph too?

ph is fine, thats a neutral Ph, KH should be 120-180ppm

 

[plantropimunity]

Hi, and welcome to the thread, phlawed. what would 120-180ppm be in terms of dkh? i lost my sheet with the conversion.