Newbie Needing Advice

[benthyer]

Hi Guys,
 
I have decided to have a planted tank now for a number of reasons one of the main ones being that my tap water has a high nitrate level so I'm hoping that by planting I may be able to bring this down slightly. What I need to know is what plants should I be looking at? Will I need any more equipment or nutrients? Will my gravel substrate be fine or will I have to change this or add something?
 
My tank is 115L with a pH of about 8 and Nitrates somewhere between 20-40ppm, it is still cycling with fish at the moment but I am hoping to get some mature filter media from someone to help boost the process and protect the fish I have.
 
I am still very light on decor but want to get some rocks and some bogwood as hopefully it will help lower the pH slightly?
 
 

 

[HHH]

For plants your gravel should on be fine. For equipment you will need the proper lighting and ferts. I belive there is a article about lightingon this forum. You really don't need CO2 unless you want your plants to get stronger growth and to help with the algae. As for fertilizers i really dont habe anything to recomend or say for this as i don't use any in my tank excluding iron and magnesium. As for plants i would recomend
Anubias
Java fern
Java moss
Most Sword plants
And Vals (they will not grow for about a month)
These are mostly low light to medium light plants. As for drift wood it will lower the Ph if all the tannis havent been leeched out (it will give the water a slightly yello brown color). Im not sure about rocks though. There is also peat moss and almond leaves but keep in mind all of these will yellow your water (it looks like tea)

 

[phishyphil]

Hi there
 
See you are completing a Fish-in-cycle, these are not very popular with today's fishkeeping hobbyists, but I am not here to criticise.
 
Firstly, it will be hard to tell wether your high nitrate levels will be so when the tank is fully cycled, as your media may well help to bring this right down to zero, however you will need to watch your stocking levels as well as your maintenance and feeding routines so as not to push this nitrate level any further.!
 
Plants can do well in the very basic of set ups, and you have a variety of plants available to you. If you are intending to run low tech (lower maintenance and hassle) then the plants you want to look at are :
 
Swords (Amazon swords are the usual "go-to" plant here)
Cabomba's (Cabomba caroliana)
Crypts (Wendtii-Greens, Browns)
Vallis (Vallisinaria Gigantica is a popular choice)
Dwarf grasses (Hairgrass or dwarf sag.)
Anubias (Anubias Barteri )
Various Mosses (Java moss, Xmas Moss, weeping moss, flame moss etc)
Jave Fern's (or indian fern is another nice touch)
 
All this will give you a decent planted tank, for anything more adventurous you will need to go towards the high tec side of tthe Planted Aquarium. Higher lighting (3-5 wpg), Co2 supplementation, daily ferts dosing, increased water movement.
 
My advice is : 
1)  Have a flow of around 15xTank turnover
2)  Low lighting levels (1-2 wpg as a general rule of thumb)
3)  Hardy plant species (the ones listed above)
4)  Have fun learning the ways of the planted side 

 

 

[aaronc]

Hey bogwood will lower PH.  It can lower it a lot if not pre-soaked.

 

[phishyphil]

Hey bogwood will lower PH.  It can lower it a lot if not pre-soaked.

This is right, bogwood can lower the pH but this is not a dead certain, you your water hardness will infulence this pH buffering effect in the water column.
 
pH is not always the problem, A Steady (slightly higher) pH reading is better than a fluctuating pH range.
 
So, if it was a decision between remaining at the 8 mark, as opposed to the changing water parameters, Id choose the 8 every time, fish do not do so well with pH swings
 
PC

 

[benthyer]

See you are completing a Fish-in-cycle, these are not very popular with today's fishkeeping hobbyists, but I am not here to criticise.

It wasn't my plan to do a fish-in-cycle but I had them bought for me so couldn't really say no. I only have 4 Zebra Danios in the tank and won't be adding anymore until i know it is safe to do so.
 
 

 
My advice is : 
1)  Have a flow of around 15xTank turnover
2)  Low lighting levels (1-2 wpg as a general rule of thumb)
3)  Hardy plant species (the ones listed above)
4)  Have fun learning the ways of the planted side 

 

 
I definitely want to keep it simple, at least for now whilst I am learning. I know my filter can turn over 1000Lp/h but only have it set at about half the full power - should I set it higher?
 
Thanks for the advice on what plants to get, means I can now go to my LFS and actually know what I am looking for
 
Should I just not bother with the bogwood then if my pH is ok? I don't know what the hardness of my water is as I don't have the test for it but know that I am in hard water area.
 
I'm also looking into investing in something to lower the nitrates straight from the tap but shall I wait and see what the levels are like after the tank has cycled and been planted? 

 

[phishyphil]

 

See you are completing a Fish-in-cycle, these are not very popular with today's fishkeeping hobbyists, but I am not here to criticise.

It wasn't my plan to do a fish-in-cycle but I had them bought for me so couldn't really say no. I only have 4 Zebra Danios in the tank and won't be adding anymore until i know it is safe to do so.
 
 

 
My advice is : 
1)  Have a flow of around 15xTank turnover
2)  Low lighting levels (1-2 wpg as a general rule of thumb)
3)  Hardy plant species (the ones listed above)
4)  Have fun learning the ways of the planted side 

 

 
I definitely want to keep it simple, at least for now whilst I am learning. I know my filter can turn over 1000Lp/h but only have it set at about half the full power - should I set it higher?
 
Thanks for the advice on what plants to get, means I can now go to my LFS and actually know what I am looking for

 
Should I just not bother with the bogwood then if my pH is ok? I don't know what the hardness of my water is as I don't have the test for it but know that I am in hard water area.
 
I'm also looking into investing in something to lower the nitrates straight from the tap but shall I wait and see what the levels are like after the tank has cycled and been planted? 
 

 
What filter are you running that is a 1000lph, when they advertise the lph, that tends to be with an empty filter, once you add in media you have a dramatic reduction in actual LPH. With this in mind, in the future, maybe a powerhead around the 600lph mark would suffice.
 
In terms of the bogwood, its entire;y upto you, if you are choosing bogwood purely for ph purposes then i wouldnt bother, if you want it in your tank to tie in with the plan of how you want the tank to look, then go for it, however there is nicer wood out there such as mopani and redmoor woods.7
 
In terms of the nitrate levels, wait, wait and see what happens after the cycle for around 2 weeks and make a decision from there.
 
One thing to mention. DO NOT ADD PLANTS UNTIL THE CYCLING PROCESS HAS FINISHED, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. 
The reason for this is that the plants will absorb the nitrates out of the water, however the whole point of the nitrogen cycle is to promote Nitrate and Nitrite levels to promote the bacteria to ward off this harmfull pollutants.
 
So add plants after the cycling process!

 

[benthyer]

I have a tetra tech in 1000. I have a powerhead that came with the tank but didnt really know what to do with it so its just sat in a box at the moment.

If I find a nice piece of wood I'll go with it but I won't fret over it.

I'll play the waiting game like you said and see how it goes

 

[phishyphil]

Best thing really, fishkeeping is a lot about Patience, and Frustration, but eventually, the patience will lead to less of the Frustration experience has taught me. What lph is the Powerhead? 
 
Place this on the opposite side to the intake of the filter preferably flowing along the opposite site to the filter outlet.
 
So, if you have your Internal Filter positioned along the left hand side of the glass blowing along the back of the tank, have your powerhead in the far right corner blowing towards the middle front and lower of the tank.
 
This will eliminate any "dead Spots" where waste is not being moved around! also transports nutrients to the whole of the tank

 

[benthyer]

http/db.tt/GUw2GF7i

This is the test I done today

 

[phishyphil]

ahh i see, you pH may be due to your water kH and gH levels 
 
I would take a water sample to the LFS and ask them to test your kH and gH and report back to us, w can then see if there is a need to change your water chemistry, (i.e. addition of bicarbonate of soda for instance )
 
Check the article out here
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/54177-wood-and-its-types/
 
For wood types too

 

[benthyer]

Well I have just cranked up my Filter to the max and the flow around the tank is great but can't figure out if the danios are loving it or struggling with the flow haha. The powerhead I have is 430l/h and is made by hydor.
 
I am going to go to my LFS and see what they can do in regards to some mature media, I have also found out that I can get 25l of RO Water from them for £3 or for £9.99 get a canister and the RO Water. They can also test my water for free if I buy something or will do it for £1
 
Also had a disaster today when I came home from work to find the electricity had gone! Flew to the shop immediately and got it back on. The fish seem fine and the tank hadn't quite dropped out of the "safe zone" in regards to the temperature. Will this mishap have an effect on my cycling process?

 

[phishyphil]

Well I have just cranked up my Filter to the max and the flow around the tank is great but can't figure out if the danios are loving it or struggling with the flow haha. The powerhead I have is 430l/h and is made by hydor.
 
I am going to go to my LFS and see what they can do in regards to some mature media, I have also found out that I can get 25l of RO Water from them for £3 or for £9.99 get a canister and the RO Water. They can also test my water for free if I buy something or will do it for £1
 
Also had a disaster today when I came home from work to find the electricity had gone! Flew to the shop immediately and got it back on. The fish seem fine and the tank hadn't quite dropped out of the "safe zone" in regards to the temperature. Will this mishap have an effect on my cycling process?

 
Danios will LOVE the flow, natural for them to be zipping up the current, they love it, they will inhabit the top third of the tank anyway and will appreciate the extra flow!
 
Hydor powerheads are a good powerhead in deed, just behind Koralia in my opinion which are seen as the industrys finest.
 
Not too worry too much about the power cut, temp will drop relatively slowly anyway, and in terms of cycling being hampered, I severely doubt it would have harmed it in any way due to it only being off for a few hours.
 
Why are you looking at RO water by the way>? Tropical Fish keepers only tend to use RO if there water is really hard and mix it with 50% tap water.
 
RO water is predominantly used in marine fish tanks as the nasty minerals that play havoc on reefs and sensitive fish are removed, where these are not affected with freshwater fish, If you was to use RO water alone, your water would be striped of vital nutrients and be more susceptible to pH swings as the buffering capacity is severely affected. 
 
This okay?

 

[benthyer]

That's alright then i will keep it high It was quite interesting seeing how much muck had already built up in the few hours the filter had been on, should all be cleared up now though  
 
I was only mentioning the RO Water as I have seen that people use it when they have high nitrate levels, I don't want to get it yet, like I said I will wait until fully cycled to see where the levels sit etc.
 
I will go down to my fish shop in a bit with a sample of water to test the hardness and really need to find a bucket to do a water change but it's impossible to find a 25l bucket! Arrghh. Only place I have seen them is online but would like the convenience of just going to pick one up. Also still undecided what decor to get! Might go with some wood and rocks if I'm getting live plants to try and keep looking as natural as possible!

 

[phishyphil]

Have a look over the classifed section, always people selling quality plants in there, and have a look over the planted journals for inspiration pal