What Matienence Do These Plants Need?

[Gav935]

No idea about the substrate, but according to the liquid fert's description, it doesn't.

 

[youngfisher]

Urrghh! So how much would it cost me for some ferts & substrate? - Ones that worked. I like the soil kind of look.

 

[Gav935]

Tbh I've no idea whether the substrate is any good or not, so I wouldn't advise you to chuck it if you already have it, someone else might be able to advise you there. As for liquid ferts, Tropica's TPN+ has served me and many others very well and is definitely your best bet.

 

[youngfisher]

What substrate do you use?

 

[Gav935]

I use eco complete with a bit of gravel through it and it's not bad, ideally I'd like to go with something else like Naturesoil but thats just personal preference really. I'm not suggesting there's anything wrong with the flora grow stuff and tbh most plants can be grown in regular sand or gravel, they just need a bit more water column dosing.

 

[youngfisher]

Im debating now. Because i'd rather know if the flora-grow would do the job before i use it if you get what I mean. How much do you pay for ur eco complete?

 

[Gav935]

I don't see why it wouldn't, my other tank gets perfectly good growth and it's only got sand in it as a substrate, I just dose TPN+ every so often. Eco complete usually comes in at around 25 notes a bag, give or take.

 

[youngfisher]

So I will use the substraite (flora grow) and will buy the tpn+

 

[lljdma06]

the hc cuba wont grow with that light, you will need another 11w for it to do well.

theres 2 ways you can go:

low maintinance:

lower light-11watts
less easycarbo-about 1ml a day
less tpn+-about 1.5ml a day
low light plants, vailis, cambomba, crypts, ferns, mosses, anubias
less cutting needed becuase the plants grow slower

higher maintancance:
higher light-22watts
easycarbo @ 1.5ml a day
tpn+ @ 2-2.5ml a day
nicer plants, such as hc cuba, p.helferi, blyxa, rotala.
more growth due to higher light, fert dosing and co2 = more cutting

plus both of that list would need some type of nutritious substrate, like tropica plant substrate, and then wack some sand or fine gravel on top

good luck

Or...

11 watt, even less maintenance in the long run...
-No CO2
-No ferts
-crypts, anubias, java fern, java moss, marsilea hirsuta, Egeria najas (great plant), vallis nana (another awesome plant), E. tennelus, I can go on, but you get the idea
-keep the substrate you've got, unless it's really obnoxious, the nutricious substrate is an easy plus, but not absolutely necessary
-add some root tabs once every 3 months or when you remember, or dose like AdAndrews said
-put wood and rocks in your hardscape (they leech important trace elements)
-keep your water very clean
-over filter and make sure you have good water circulation
-slightly over stock with smaller fish (this is really the fun part!)
-be a little agressive with water changes while the tank is young, 3-6 months, then you can ease off.
-densly plant with mostly stemplants initially, covering like 75% of the substrate. Or if you don't like this, I find that placing Pothos sprigs in the water helps too.

Not saying that the above two are bad, they're great, and work very well. I just personally find them a bit heavy on the gadgetry and maintenance, and it saves you some money that you can use for plants, fish, and hardscape, which is what I prefer buying. The above is what I typically do, and algae only appears when I'm lazy and don't do water changes like I'm supposed to (like last semester!), or when I'm rescaping (which I sometimes do) and I get an ammonia spike, otherwise I don't have many problems. Now, this could be due to my water composition, but it may be something to try. You do have to put up with a jungle for a while and probably tannic water, but I kind of like the look. I used to use CO2 quite a bit but I find it isn't absolutely necessary where I currently live, unless I really want to go high-light,which then opens up the whole "maintenance" thing, which I can't stand doing anyway.

It is up to you, really.

 

[youngfisher]

Well I think I will have to keep the tank more clean, as its for DPs.

I want it to look like a jungle haha

Thanks for the info