What do i need?

[freshcichlid]

I am planning on planting my 40BR tank, i am going to have a 350gph filter, spectra-stone gravel, 12" bubble stone, 2 pieces of driftwood, 36" light from Petsmart, and fish !
is there anything else i need to get or know in order to keep plants alive in this tank ?
thanks

 

[zig]

Hiya freshcichlid

Your 40g breeder should be ideal for a planted tank, i presume you mean 350 lph and not 350 gph as your filter output, what type of filter is this? internal or external.

An external is preferable over an internal filter, you should get away with the output from the filter you have, somewhere around 3x the tank volume is usually the target (your tank is approx 150L so divide this into your filter output of 350L and it gives you approx 2.2 times turnover of water per hour) the idea with the filter is to reduce any surface agitation of the water and this helps keep in any co2 that is present in the water and makes it available for the plants, so this would also mean the idea of useing the airstone or bubble stone wouldnt work as this would constantly agitate the water surface and you would lose the co2.

Other things you will need include, good lighting, and a good substrate, you may also have to consider a co2 system depending on the lighting setup you decide to go with, the lighting setup will also determine what type of plants you will be able to grow.

I suggest you read gf225s pinned article on lighting at the top of this section to decide on how much you want to go with, i doubt your single tube would be enough to grow anything more than low light plants.

I also suggest you read a thread a couple of posts down from yours (at the moment) on substrates, again gf225 gives a very good rundown on what you will need.

So really you need to consider

Lighting
Substrate
Filter

and when you have done a bit more research on the above you can then consider

Plants
Fertilisers

Any more questions just ask, but i think you should read about the lighting and substrate first, as these are probably the most important aspects to consider.

Best of luck you wont regret it.

 

[freshcichlid]

hey, thanks for the reply.
-i do have a 350gph, gallon per hour im in the US so its different i think! i think that is correct!
-so my bubble stone is gone
-i cant rememer my light bulb brand, i bought it at petsmart and is for -freshwate aquariums
-the substrate is spetra-stone gravel
-the filter is a bio-wheel 350 external filter

-so with that info, does that sound alriight ?
( im looking for plants but dont know which ones yet, something that is low maintenace and needs no fertilizers.... any suggestions?)

 

[zig]

Ok, well that sounds like a lot of circulation, that would be about 9x the tank volume per hour, if your tank is heavily planted you dont need that much, id still suggest you read up on the lighting and the substrate, the light you have mightnt be enough, try and find out the wattage and spectrum of the light is and it must be for growing plants otherwise it may be a waste of time or grow you algae instead.

 

[freshcichlid]

i know the filter is too much , i wanted to do an african cichlid tank, so i was told to get a lot higher than normal.
the light i have is a Zoo Med "Ultra Sun" light.. is that ok ?

 

[George Farmer]

the light i have is a Zoo Med "Ultra Sun" light.. is that ok ?

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That's a good light - use a reflector for maximum intensity.

 

[freshcichlid]

my light bulb is held in some holder that has two silver strpes that cover it, i guess thats the reflector. it has a lot of intensity

but what are fertilizers and how important are they and is c02 measurement very important, and how do i get that ?

 

[zig]

Yeah thats probably the reflector, what wattage is the tube, what watts per gallon do you have, this will determine if you need co2 or not, i doubt you have 2 WPG, under 2WPG you dont need it, it would help to have it but you dont need it, and i would say with the filter you are useing it would be very difficult to keep the co2 in the water for any worthwhile length of time.

You could use root tabs and regular liquid fertiliser to feed the plants.

 

[freshcichlid]

Yeah thats probably the reflector, what wattage is the tube, what watts per gallon do you have, this will determine if you need co2 or not, i doubt you have 2 WPG, under 2WPG you dont need it, it would help to have it but you dont need it, and i would say with the filter you are useing it would be very difficult to keep the co2 in the water for any worthwhile length of time.

You could use root tabs and regular liquid fertiliser to feed the plants.

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I know the bulb is 6500k, i dont know what wattage it is, i think it something like 25-35 ?
What do you mean by i cant keep the co2 in my tank a long time ? what do i do to fix that problem, besides buy a new filter, sinse this one isnt open yet.
and i saw you say i can use tabs or liquid to get food to the plants, are they any plants that dont need this and can survive just be alive without doing much extra to them like that ?
thanks

 

[freshcichlid]

ok i just found out that my bulb is 25watts, and in a 40br tank that should be 1.6wpg. this means i dont need any co2 thing right ?
so i am alright with what i have or not ?
im still looking for plants that dont need much maintenance or fertilizer, any help ?

 

[freshcichlid]

hey ive found out that my wpg is .6 not 1.6 and im seeing that i need more wattage. are there any plants that i can keep in this low light set-up until i can get enough cash to get another bulb and a double light holder ??

 

[Wiggler 1]

read this and you can see what plants you can grow with your light conditions ...their are some there that use low light http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=22604
hope this helps you

 

[freshcichlid]

that is a great article, thanks
but i saw no pics and was wondering what is a type of grass-like plant and does anyone have any pics.. or any for sale !!