Optimal Conditions For A Plant Only Tank.

[Neo8223]

Hi all. Recently my flrescent light tube burned out and i've been soooo busy with work that i havn't had the time to get a new tube. Now i got a new tube, i noticed all of my planrs (except for the java fern) are looking seriously bad. most of the leaves have died back but new shoots are forming. I have no fish in there at the moment and only want to put in my fish once the plants are back to covering 1/4 of the tank. Is there any optimal conditions for plant only tanks that i can use, remembering theres no risk of killing fish, seeing theres none in there. Theres only pest snails in there atm, which are seriosuly red for some reason.

I work at a plant nursery (garden center) part time, so i can get some fertaliser if any are recommended.
I also have 2 DIY CO2 bottles that i can use, and do not mind keeping the light on 24 hours daily (its a really small tank and a 6watt tube) My tank is 2.7 us gall.

Any suggestions welcomed. eg:

Light,
heat,
pH,
fertalizers (which dont create algae blooms as theres no fish to eat it)
CO2,
speed of water flow,
etc.

Thanks
Paul

 

[Themuleous]

Lighting - will depend on the plants you have, but 6w over 2.7g is low light. So upping that could help, but will mean you doing other things like CO2 and ferts.

Heat - just normal aquarium temp is fine.

pH - generally below 7 is best but plants will adapt to most conditions.

ferts - a decent substrate IMHO is a must, then add a good trace (flourish or tropica plant nutrition.) You may been to add NO3 and PO4 as well but that will depend on the lighting.

CO2 - if there is nothing in the tank fish or shrimp wise, wack it up. Over 50ppm CO2 would be ideal. You can reduce it to safer levels before adding the fish.

Water flow - open to debate but 3-5x the tank water per hour seems to be favoured.

Sam

 

[Neo8223]

Excellent stuff. Thanks. I'll order another tube of my best friend.... ebay I was previously using a sun-glo 12" 8w tube before it fried, that gave out a lot more light, and really aided photosynthesis. I'll keep this 9" 6W "Arcadia origonal tropical lamp" tube for spare.

I'll wack on my CO2 to the max as well, and really give it a lot of fertalizer.
My water softner wacks out water of a slightly lower pH, so i can use that too

Thanks again sam.

Any more tips are welcomed

 

[Neo8223]

ok. i have added CO2 on tap and loads of fertalizer.

pH is on its way down shortly.

Seeing my lamp isnt very powerful, until i get my new lamp, should i keep this 1 on 24/7?

 

[Themuleous]

DONT OVER DO THE FERTS! The plants will need it but planted tanks are all about creating stability. If you throw something off the algae monster will rear its ugly head. Until you have the second tube I would add the fert according to the instructions on the bottle.

Have you read the pinned estimative Index article?

Sam

 

[Neo8223]

Heya, update on my tank!

Firstly, i read the post you told me to read. After realising i had maybe just slightly.... (understatement) overdosed the nutrients, i did a 20% water change. Today my new light came (8w) and i made a fresh batch of CO2 (letting out 1 bubble every 1.1 seconds. I put in a lot more CO2 than i would have normally done, and subsequently, all of my pest snails are now floating at the top from carbon dioxide poisoning or something The growth in my tank of plants has BOOMED! and there is no signs of algae growing on the plants or the glass. (although some still remains on my java moss from the last algae massacre)

In 5 days, i'm going to empty my tank again and remove all of the plants, get rid of all the bad, old shoots and dead leaves, which had, and then re-plant only the new growth. I'm also going to get rid of my java moss as its brown, horrible and still has a bit of algae on it, and then plant the riccia on to the stone and also a piece of oak wood thats being soaked.

In the picture, you see the old 6w tube, the new 6w tube, my plant fertalizer, and my home made CO2 tanks. In the tank, you can see a horrible mess with some really scrawny looking plants (on the mend)and some riccia flutains on the top. I got told that if you let riccia float, it grows double its size in a week. But to only do this process for a week, otherwise it dies.


I'll post more pics as i go along. Thanks for all the help

 

[Neo8223]

pH is now under 6 (the limit of my testing capabilities)

I was also wandering for the future (in a bigger tank), whether purchasing an undergravel heater would be good? Would this be able to replace my glass filter (hidden horisontally) at the back?

Also, if its not too much to ask, are electronic CO2 dispensers very good?

 

[Neo8223]

couldnt resist. I just put the riccia onto a stone, and java moss onto my piece of oak wood. Hopefully that will grow onto the wood with a bit of luck and grow better now anyhow! Removed more dead leaves. You can really see the new shoots growing. Going to get hornwart hopefully by thursday to go at the back of the tank and going to cut the plant on the left to make a new bunch and get rid of the old horrible stuff. Dont suppose anyone could identify the name of that plant too plz

I also need to clean the back of that tank, but that will be a project for when i have another 1/2 hour to spare so plz do ignore the mess. Also there are no fish in the tank so no one moan that its a nasty looking tank and the fish will not be heppy there, cuz there are none cuz i thought the same

 

[cleekdaFish]

nice but u r gonna need more faster growers or algae attack

 

[Neo8223]

Will the hornwart not be fast enough? I'll have a look on one of the many lists on the forums and then source a supplier and plant em

Thanks for the heads up though My last set-up got taken over by algae too

EDIT****
am now looking for mexican oak leaf i think its called. Anyone have some they dont mind departing with, i'd be greatful for some, obviously i'd happily pay you

 

[cleekdaFish]

i dunno , i would plant more , just incase , trust me , I have learned the hard way