New Challenging Project

[sianuk]

Hi guys,
After many weeks of researching in this and other forums i am almost ready for planting my first tank and i so so want to try and get it right. Plant selection is the final piece to the puzzle all others hopefully taken care of, i hope. I was looking to buy from Greenline and baring in mind this is a completely new set up i didn,t know wether to buy plants singlary or to buy one of there set selections. Have any of you bought one of these collections if so your feed back would be appreciated. I see that they actually do a fast growing collection a must, so i read to try and combat the dreaded algae. I realize that once things are established i can then replace plants with ones of my own choice but i am really stuck with which way to go from the start. Your advice would be most welcomed.

Tank 36 x 18 x 15 39 us gals fishless and not cycled
Substrate sand with tetra complete
Lighting 2 x arcadia tropical, 2 x arcadia freshwater 100w total = 2.4 wpg
Co2 pressurized injection with drop checker,kdh solution etc
Ferts going to dose EI
Fluval 305
UV sterilizer


thanking you in advance

Ian

 

[BHornsey]

Hi Ian,

Welcome to the wonderful world of plants

I've never used Greenline personally but I hear good about them.
If you're filling it with fast growers until the tank settles, don't bother planting them.
Mine are either in clay pots or foam & plant weights. Just drop them in like that. Saves disturbing the substrate when you change to the plants you want.
I also put in some floaters, Hydrocotyle Leucocephala and Pistia Stratiotes.

I dunno if you've set up a planted tank before but it isn't necessary to 'cycle' it the way you would a fish only tank.
Get everything set up and do a test run making sure everything works, then drain it down by half.
Plant up (you need to cover about 2/3 to 3/4 of the substrate), refill and dose your nutrients.
Get CO2 back up, THEN turn on the lights.
Run it plants only for a few days, then put in a few fish every week.
Also, do frequent water changes for the first month or so, every two or three days.