Need Help Changing The Tank To An All-out Plant Tank

[Phillip.M]

Hey. I have a 20g tank and i'm wondering if you all can help me change it too a all-plant tank. Here's what the tank looks now.

I have an c02 injector; 3 different brand of fert's (seachem; plant gro; leaf zone); 25 watt lighting. The plants that i have so far are ~2 dwarf sagittarias; and 1 Frill plant. Any ideas would be accepted. Thanks.

 

[love_fish]

First, i would upgrade your lighting. Then, just pick out whatever plants you like best.

 

[Phillip.M]

The bamboo plant was in the tank before christmas and doing fine. I would be willing to take it out when i get my order for plants. That's why i'm asking you guys for ideas of what i can do for my tank.

 

[BubblPopElectrc]

What type of rasboras are those?

 

[Jen]

What are your plans? Are you going to strip every thing and start over, or just add to what you have? You sould probably get some nutrient rich substrate... laterite, or flourite or eco-complete. Something along those lines.

Deffinately up your lights. You will most likely need 1 more tube... maybe 2 if you want to keep the dificult/high light plants.

Are you planning for go the EI route of dosing ferts? Useing the liquid stuff gets quite expensive. You might want to look into mixing up your own. I know I have saved a ton of money that way.

what kind of plants to you hope to have in there? Do you have any in mind? If you do, then you can plan the rest of your plants and equipement around that.

 

[George Farmer]

How far involved do you wish to become in the planted tank hobby?

Figure this out and then take the appropiate path.

If you wish to have a heavily planted, lush look with plenty of growth then be prepared to spend a bit of cash and spare time.

If you want a simple, lower-tech tank with limited plant choice then you could probably get away with the equipment you currently have.

Read the pinned articles (light, CO2, EI, algae) to gain a basic underpinning knowledge of the science behind the subject.

For aquascaping tips then the internet has plenty to offer, as well as this forum.

Initial practical advice from me would be to lose the fake ornaments and semi-aquatic plants, fit a background and plant with lots of easy stem plants with a view to hiding some of the equipment - these simple steps will improve the look 100% IMO.

Stick with one brand of fert at a time, you'll only need to dose any at all if you're experiencing fairly good growth.

 

[Shuggie]

How about this:
1. Take a hold of the shipwrecks and other lame ornaments in the tank.
2. Put them all in a large bag.
3. Launch the bag off the highest cliff around, casting those inexcusable plastic distractions into oblivion for all eternity.

You can then begin to rebuild your tank into a more natural looking setup.
I believe if you added an additional light it would be sufficient to allow specific types of plants to grow and if these were positioned correctly and complimented with some mopani or bogwood you could acheive a great little setup

Shuggie.

 

[jimbooo]

as gf225 said how far do you want to go with it?

what number of hours a week you are willing to spend maintaining it?

what is your budget for the change over?

you may want to take a look at the tank journals in my sig. the 50G cube is a low light (1.3 WPG) tank requiring very little maintenance, the other 2 are a full time job!! 30 mins every night and 3/4 hours on the weekend to keep them looking their best.

 

[Phillip.M]

B)-->QUOTE(Kyle B @ Feb 13 2006, 10:33 PM) [snapback]1074749[/snapback]

What type of rasboras are those?
[/quote]

Those are Harlequin Rasboras. (I know mine are big, lol)

@ jenI would strip out everything but not the sand/gravel. I could get flourish gravel tabs if needed. Also How do i assemble 2 tubes?
@ gf225, I'm willing to take it far. I would like to have high lighting. My petstores here doesn't have any tubes that has over 25 watts.. Could you link me for good deals for high watts?
@ jimboo, i have a lot of spare time. i think i could spend over 10 hours a week maintain the tank if i have too. n' my budget, eh i don't work. But i think my parents could be able to pay for everything.

 

[Jen]

If you want to have high lights,and cost isnt an issue, look into power compact fixtures and metal halide lights. You can get tons of light, but they are very pricy. my 4 bulb/250watt pc fixture was 450 canadian. Expensive but worth it for me.

Depending on what your hood is like, you can sometimes squeeze another fixture in there. I couldn't tell you how to do this as I have always built a new wooden hood for my tanks in order to up the lights.

 

[Phillip.M]

Can you please link me where i can get cheap prices on one light tube? most preferable 50 watts? Thanks

 

[Phillip.M]

heh i found one. Here's the link.

http/www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power...ight_fresh.html

Which one is for the 20g tank? Is it a good deal? Thanks for the help. =)

 

[WendyinWichita]

Phillip, you are in Chicago and I found a shop that I thought had great plants! It is Scotts- scottspetshop.com for their address and hours. I live in Kansas but travel full time. Since I have nothing to do but work in the evenings, I usually map out where the pet shops are and go shopping. I was very impressed with Scotts.

To improve your lighting you may want to go with compact fluorescent. You may be able to add tubes and fixtures, but I think it is a hassle to have so many strip lights on top of the tank. I am usually in my tanks daily when I am home and it was to much work to get into the tanks.

Good luck with your rebuild. The first thing I would do is get a black background and hide all of the equipment hanging on the back, that will make everything show up much better.

heh i found one. Here's the link.

http/www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power...ight_fresh.html

Which one is for the 20g tank? Is it a good deal? Thanks for the help. =)

The 24 inch one would work on your 20 gallon I think. Measure the top of your tank and then you will know. My daughter has a 29 gal and the 30 inch is what fits hers.

 

[Phillip.M]

umm shyt... it's 18' not 24. And the website doesnt have any smaller ones. Is there another website for cheap lighting?

 

[George Farmer]

umm shyt... it's 18' not 24. And the website doesnt have any smaller ones. Is there another website for cheap lighting?

http/ahsupply.com/mcart/index.cgi