Water Parameters

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finchfarm

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I have a relatively newly set up 75 gallon that I was wanting to plant. Iā€™ve never kept a planted tank, and my tank is still cycling. Was just curious what water conditions are considered plant safe? Iā€™m definitely not in fish safe parameters right now.
 
I have a relatively newly set up 75 gallon that I was wanting to plant. Iā€™ve never kept a planted tank, and my tank is still cycling. Was just curious what water conditions are considered plant safe? Iā€™m definitely not in fish safe parameters right now.

Plants in most cases are far more tolerant of parameters than fish. But at this point, "parameters" needs to be defined. Parameters refer to four things, GH, KH (Alkalinity), pH and temperature. Nitrogen types being ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are not parameters, they are water conditions.

With that in mind, what are your source water parameters? You don't need specific tests, not yet anyway, you should be able to ascertain these from your water authority, check their website. GH, KH/Alkalinity and pH, obviously, the temperature you can govern with a heater.

If you are comfortable cycling, fine; but do not add ammonia once you have plants in the tank.

Second issue, what is the substrate. Here too fish are more exacting, some must have sand; plants will usually grow well in anything that is not too large a grain size. Sand is preferable depending upon intended fish.
 
Source water is 103ppm/6gpg, and I wasnā€™t able to find anything listed as to the KH. pH is 6.5. I usually only use the heater in the winter time, right now itā€™s holding at 78F by itself. Substrate is flourite red.
 
Source water is 103ppm/6gpg, and I wasnā€™t able to find anything listed as to the KH. pH is 6.5. I usually only use the heater in the winter time, right now itā€™s holding at 78F by itself. Substrate is flourite red.

GH of 103ppm is very soft, no problem for plants or soft water fish species. With a pH of 6.5, we can assume the KH is going to be similar to the GH. All that bodes well.

I had Flourite several years ago and found it more trouble than benefit. After two years it got dumpd in a hole in the back garden. My cories within a week of setting up the Flourite tank had to be removed due to very serious barbel erosion, but they recovered over soft sand. This will limit you fish options, which may not matter if you do not intend substrate fish, but cories and all loaches should not be housed over this or any similar "plant" substrate. There are issues of sharpness but even more risky the bacterial problems.
 
GH of 103ppm is very soft, no problem for plants or soft water fish species. With a pH of 6.5, we can assume the KH is going to be similar to the GH. All that bodes well.

I had Flourite several years ago and found it more trouble than benefit. After two years it got dumpd in a hole in the back garden. My cories within a week of setting up the Flourite tank had to be removed due to very serious barbel erosion, but they recovered over soft sand. This will limit you fish options, which may not matter if you do not intend substrate fish, but cories and all loaches should not be housed over this or any similar "plant" substrate. There are issues of sharpness but even more risky the bacterial problems.
What about a layer of Flourite or soil capped by a layer of sand?
 
Sand would most likely just sift through the flourite.
I wouldn't bother myself. Eventually the Flourite runs out of nutrients anyways. So I just use sand with root tabs. But I often see people talking about capping a layer of dirt and wonder about it and if there's something that I'm missing.
 
What about a layer of Flourite or soil capped by a layer of sand?

Fish that dig will still disturb the Flourite, and the two will mix. The Flourite in my case was nothing special when it came to the plants anyway, a terrible waste of money.
 
I have a relatively newly set up 75 gallon that I was wanting to plant. Iā€™ve never kept a planted tank, and my tank is still cycling. Was just curious what water conditions are considered plant safe? Iā€™m definitely not in fish safe parameters right now.
What do you mean by planted tank:
  1. A "high tech" tank with CO2, heavy fertilisation, bright lights and plants that are challenging to grow
  2. A fish tank that has plants in it
If your answer is 2 set it up to suit your fish and get easy plants. The tank in my signature is a 2 - I tend not to call it a planted tank because people then assume my answer to the question is 1. This particular tank has low light, inert sand for the substrate and gets liquid fertiliser when I remember - usually that menas every week but I did a WC today as I am now away from home for a week and forgot. Nothing to worry about and the tank will look the same when I get home. If I forget every week it will start to suffer after a month or so.
 
I have a relatively newly set up 75 gallon that I was wanting to plant. Iā€™ve never kept a planted tank, and my tank is still cycling. Was just curious what water conditions are considered plant safe? Iā€™m definitely not in fish safe parameters right now.
Hello finch. Keeping plants is pretty much the same as keeping fish. As long as you keep basic fish and plants, you'll never need to worry about the water chemistry. You simply need to provide a steady water chemistry. This means removing and replacing most of the tank water weekly. Now, if you keep rare fish and more difficult plants, that's another story.

Easy to grow plants include, Anubias, Java Fern, Anacharis, Hornwort, Water Sprite and Dwarf Water Lettuce. These are more than enough to fill up most tanks. Just provide a T8 light, 6500K and roughly 32 watts per bulb. Shop lighting from the local hardware store is fine and you can use a three or four bulb strip. This lighting is very cheap and the bulbs will last several months.

10 Tanks (Now 11)
 

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