plant ideas for 240 litre aquarium

[jasiep89]

Hi i am purchasing a new 240 litre aquarium and i'm stuck on ideas for plants to use in it i am defenitely getting amazon swords and jungle val could anybody help me with ideas with what would go well with them many thanks.

 

[Byron]

Can you describe the lighting (be specific)? I know about the GH from the other thread.

Edit: Actually, all I need to know now is if it is the LED or the T5 lighting? I looked the Juwel Rio 125 up and it comes with either.

 

[Toney]

Ludwigia, wisteria, bacopa, Java ferns

 

[jasiep89]

I it is a fluval roma 240 and it comes with t8 lighting.

 

[jasiep89]

Ludwigia, wisteria, bacopa, Java ferns

Thanks for the ideas are they easy to maintain

 

[Byron]

I asked about the lighting because different plant species have differing requirements when it comes to intensity. Now that I know it is T8, I need to know how many tubes and their length.

If you have a single T8 tube you will not have success with stem plants (Wisteria and Ludwigia and Bacopa), whereas swords should manage (depends upon the tube, some work and some don't) and Java Fern would be OK. Vallisneria likely not. If your Jungle Val is doing well after several weeks, I would expect you have two tubes. This would increase options, though some stem plants will still falter, Wisteria in particular.

The tubes are very important. I have T8 over six of my tanks and I have tried most all of the available tubes and found those that work and many that don't.

Byron.

 

[jasiep89]

I asked about the lighting because different plant species have differing requirements when it comes to intensity. Now that I know it is T8, I need to know how many tubes and their length.

If you have a single T8 tube you will not have success with stem plants (Wisteria and Ludwigia and Bacopa), whereas swords should manage (depends upon the tube, some work and some don't) and Java Fern would be OK. Vallisneria likely not. If your Jungle Val is doing well after several weeks, I would expect you have two tubes. This would increase options, though some stem plants will still falter, Wisteria in particular.

The tubes are very important. I have T8 over six of my tanks and I have tried most all of the available tubes and found those that work and many that don't.

Byron.

There are 2 4ft tubes which are built into the hood 1 on the front side and 1 at the back i used to use reflector panels on my old aquarium which boosted the brightness i have attached a picture of the reflectors i have mentioned

 

[Byron]

There are 2 4ft tubes which are built into the hood 1 on the front side and 1 at the back i used to use reflector panels on my old aquarium which boosted the brightness i have attached a picture of the reflectors i have mentioned

Sounds good. I have dual 4-foot tubes over both my 70g and 90g tanks, and I had the same over my former 115g. The tank dimensions I believe are 140cmX40cmX55cm (48inX16inX21in approx). The height is the 55cm, correct?

You have a choice in tubes. Over my 4-foot tanks I use the inexpensive Phillips or Sylvannia tubes. One 6500K, and one 5000K. This provides the closest light to mid-day sun, true colour rendition, and good plant growth. Howevedr, stem plants will struggle, so if this were me I would avoid them. You can try them though, in case one works, and if it does, fine, but if not, discard it and move on.

Swords (Echinodorus) sp.) will thrive, the green-leaf species anyway; the red leaf variants may have difficulty. Your Vallisneria americana [it may be seen as Vallisneria gigantea though this is probably not the species in the hobby] should be OK, but keep in mind this plant has leaves that will easily grow to 3 or 4 feet [Kasselmann says up to 7 feet (2.3 meters)]. It has varying reports from aquarists.

For the substrate, the pygmy chain swords (Helanthium tenellum and related species) should thrive. [The so-called micro sword, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, will probably not manage.] Cryptocoryne sp. are other substrate plants to consider; some have reddish or reddish-brown leaves which can be very attractive.

You will want floating plants (if I remember, gourami are intended, but other soft water fish do not appreciate overhead lighting anyway). Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta is the true and best floating species), Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), and Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum, this is the true tropical species that does better than the related temperate species) are suitable.

 

[jasiep89]

Sounds good. I have dual 4-foot tubes over both my 70g and 90g tanks, and I had the same over my former 115g. The tank dimensions I believe are 140cmX40cmX55cm (48inX16inX21in approx). The height is the 55cm, correct?

You have a choice in tubes. Over my 4-foot tanks I use the inexpensive Phillips or Sylvannia tubes. One 6500K, and one 5000K. This provides the closest light to mid-day sun, true colour rendition, and good plant growth. Howevedr, stem plants will struggle, so if this were me I would avoid them. You can try them though, in case one works, and if it does, fine, but if not, discard it and move on.

Swords (Echinodorus) sp.) will thrive, the green-leaf species anyway; the red leaf variants may have difficulty. Your Vallisneria americana [it may be seen as Vallisneria gigantea though this is probably not the species in the hobby] should be OK, but keep in mind this plant has leaves that will easily grow to 3 or 4 feet [Kasselmann says up to 7 feet (2.3 meters)]. It has varying reports from aquarists.

For the substrate, the pygmy chain swords (Helanthium tenellum and related species) should thrive. [The so-called micro sword, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, will probably not manage.] Cryptocoryne sp. are other substrate plants to consider; some have reddish or reddish-brown leaves which can be very attractive.

You will want floating plants (if I remember, gourami are intended, but other soft water fish do not appreciate overhead lighting anyway). Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta is the true and best floating species), Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), and Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum, this is the true tropical species that does better than the related temperate species) are suitable.

Thanks for your help Byron the hieght is 21 inches i was actually thinking of trying 2 reflectors first then if it doesn't work i'll take one off and try that if not i will look into different tubes for it.

 

[jasiep89]

This is the aquarium i am purchasing.

 

[Byron]

Thanks for your help Byron the hieght is 21 inches i was actually thinking of trying 2 reflectors first then if it doesn't work i'll take one off and try that if not i will look into different tubes for it.

I don't know what tubes you have now, I may be able to offer something if you tell me what they are (the name and the Kelvin or CRI is what I need; the wattage will be 32w or 40w, doesn't matter these are identical in actuality). Reflectors are not really that important; it is the way the tubes are made, the spectrum and intensity they output.

By "two reflectors" are you meaning a second unit, with two more tubes? This would be disastrous and you would have algae problems. I mentioned I have this unit over my 70g, which is same length and height, and I have to keep the duration to seven hours or algae becomes problematic. My 90g runs for 8 hours. Once you have the light intensity, duration must be factored in.

Byron.

 

[jasiep89]

I don't know what tubes you have now, I may be able to offer something if you tell me what they are (the name and the Kelvin or CRI is what I need; the wattage will be 32w or 40w, doesn't matter these are identical in actuality). Reflectors are not really that important; it is the way the tubes are made, the spectrum and intensity they output.

By "two reflectors" are you meaning a second unit, with two more tubes? This would be disastrous and you would have algae problems. I mentioned I have this unit over my 70g, which is same length and height, and I have to keep the duration to seven hours or algae becomes problematic. My 90g runs for 8 hours. Once you have the light intensity, duration must be factored in.

Byron.

They are 2 t8 tubes its a fluval roma 240 aquarium i won't be able to get that info until i buy my aquarium is it best to run a cycle for a week or 2 before adding plants this will be the first aquarium i will have had starting with real plants my last aquarium i used artificial plants and gradually added my real plants over time the reflectors come in a set of 2, 1 for the front tube and 1 for the back i used to have my lights on no more than 6 1/2 hours daily as the brightness started causing abit of trouble with algae when i had them on for more than 7 hours a day

 

[Toney]

lm running one 48" t8, took the reflector off and only running it eight hours a day.

 

[jasiep89]

View attachment 83604 lm running one 48" t8, took the reflector off and only running it eight hours a day.

Beutiful looking tank mate water looks crystal clear and plants look beutiful

 

[Byron]

They are 2 t8 tubes its a fluval roma 240 aquarium i won't be able to get that info until i buy my aquarium is it best to run a cycle for a week or 2 before adding plants this will be the first aquarium i will have had starting with real plants my last aquarium i used artificial plants and gradually added my real plants over time the reflectors come in a set of 2, 1 for the front tube and 1 for the back i used to have my lights on no more than 6 1/2 hours daily as the brightness started causing abit of trouble with algae when i had them on for more than 7 hours a day

I tried to track down the T8 on Fluval's site but they only detail LED. Chances are the tubes that come with the unit will not be worth anything, this is standard. I have bought Aqueon tanks a few times with T8 lighting included, and the tube goes into recycling. But we can sort that out later. The tubes I previosly mentioned are probably your best bet. You can get them from home improvement stores (not sure what you have in the UK). Other options (more expensive, but very good light) are the ZooMed series (I would use one UltraSun and one TropicSun) or the Hagen "Glo" series (2 Life-Glo 6700K) or you can use a Life-Glo and 1 TropicSun. The TropicSun is slightly warmer (increased red which is important for photosynthesis) and makes a nice combo with the cooler Life-Glo or UltraSun which are 6700K and 6500K respectively.

You might be better without the additional reflectors. The tubes I have suggested are more intense lighting and will allow you more plant options, but one has to keep things in balance to avoid algae issues. Even the additional daylight in summer (longer duration and brighter) entering a window can offset this balance. A timer for the lighting is very sensible, as having the light on for the same duration and period each 24 hours is not only better for plants (and thwarts algae), it is much better for the fish.

Now to your cycling question. I never "cycle" new tanks. I use live plants. Some call it "silent cycle" because the bacteria still colonize, but with live plants it is a slower cycle and you won't even see ammonia or nitrite. Plants need nitrogen, it is a macro-nutrient. Aquatic plants prefer nitrogen in the form ammonium (ammonia) so they will take this up readily. And their uptake of ammonia/ammonium is faster than the nitrifying bacteria. Provided you have some fast-growing plants--and here nothing is better than floating plants--you will not need to "cycle" artificially. Once the plants are settled and showing signs of growth (this is quick in floating plants because they are fast growing species), you can add the first fish. Doing this slowly works very well, I've done it dozens of times now, and never lost a fish, and never had ammonia or nitrite above zero. We can discuss which fish; some are better than others, not because of any harm from cycling issues, but because of the biological system. Some fish should only be added to established aquaria. Other issues are territory...when adding gourami for example it is better to have some or all of the intended smaller shoaling species already present. We can get into this more as you want.

A couple photos of my comparable 70g tank may illustrate all this. This tank is 4 feet by 18in width by 21 inches height, so pretty close, and the lighting is the dual 4-foot T8 tubes, one 6500K and one 5000K using Phillips tubes. It has been torn down and reset a few times over the past 20 years I've had it, so these photos will show what is attainable. I've stayed with plants that thrive, having tried many. One of these will show how thick the chain swords got before I thinned them out.

Byron.