Yes

[baron von bubba]

hop over to uKaps for more plant jargon!!

yup, thats the place to be!

 

[Renate]

question 1: sand substrate
There are rhizome plants, mostly Java ferns, and moss that don't require a good substrate. Possibly could have some stem plants if you use plant sticks or you could get some laterite and mix it in. Laterite is cheaper than the fluorite in the long run. Here is example of a tank where the root tabs were used, just in the beginning.

If you decide to do the Walsted method it seems to work better when you use dirt with ferts like Fertilome which uses legomaniac89 here or Shultz Cactus Soil.

Question2 about lights.
What you need depends on the plants you get. Plants like Java fern, moss, Wisteria, and Hornwort are very easy to grow. Incandescent bulbs use more electricity and create heat thus I don't like them. There are fluorescent screw in bulbs. Wall-mart has simple in pet sectioin 1s for $5. There are the Cfl bulbs, spriral, rated daylight that some use with clip on lights. A good one is this

question 3: ferts
Flourish Excel which is a substitute for Co2 is good to have. Even if you get plants that don't require ferts it is good for getting rid of algae. Some people just have fish poop for ferts. I think a good general fert is plant nutrition which you can buy on line at Big Als. Weather if you need ferts depends on the type of plants and minerals in the water.

Fastest way to cycle a tank is to use hornwort. For test you should at least get an item you can stick on the tank for ammonia readings. Need to read about cycling tank before you get started.

 

[CKutz]

thank you for all the info. i'll be keeping it in mind.
i'm glad i saw this post, it's not in my subscriptions anymore.

 

[Renate]

thank you for all the info. i'll be keeping it in mind.
i'm glad i saw this post, it's not in my subscriptions anymore.

Is that because you got the tank set up? What did you end up doing?

 

[CKutz]

no i still haven't even got the tank.
i just found someone selling one, and she has a bunch of plants in it also...but she also has livestock in it, so i'd have to wait till she gets rid of them.
i found another tank closer, for $10 more. so i'm thinking about getting that instead, and getting plants and things from the lady.

the problem is i still feel lost with the whole plants thing..i mean i'm glad i've discussed it with people a bit, and i'm know more now then i did awhile ago..but i don't feel any closer to deciding what plants to get, substrate, ferts...it seems kinda like tough decisions to make, but i've sorta gotta get it pretty right from the start because of going to school and not having a really good store nearby.

i don't think i'm going with the walstad method..i'd like to be able to move my plants around occasionally..and i don't know how i feel about not doing waterchanges..i like a little interaction. and some people say the water tends to get a tint to it, and i like a clean looking set up

 

[Renate]

i just found someone selling one, and she has a bunch of plants in it also...but she also has livestock in it, so i'd have to wait till she gets rid of them.

If there is an independent pet store you could trade the fish there for other items, like test kits. Also have you checked to see if there is an Aquarium Association near you? For could auction items that you don't want there.

Also having a bunch of plants that come with the tank will help you to see if you are going to have algae problems. Some tanks like mine have algae problems due poor water quality. By poor water quality I mean the water is soft and has a high ph. Soft water is suppose to have a low ph. Sometimes you can have hard water with a low ph too. This means there is an excess of a mineral. I had problems with black algae until I started dosing with potassium.

i don't think i'm going with the walstad method..i'd like to be able to move my plants around occasionally.

Then you could put plants in small red ceramic plants and hide them with gravel and moss. I saw 1 tank somewhere done this way and it looked great.

Just found a superior plant food. It is Kent freshwater plant food. With shipping cost it is $10.

 

[CKutz]

yes i was looking at that kent stuff also. they are a little cheaper than the seachem products.

i know the one petstore i really like doesn't give any credit for fish..i just found this one in my town that is really small, i'm going to check them out sometime, maybe they would.

i don't think i really like the pot idea..too much stuff in the tank..too much work to cover them up.

 

[Renate]

yes i was looking at that kent stuff also. they are a little cheaper than the seachem products.

I just found out about the Kent products. Called a store 15 miles from me to check on Seachem products and we talked about them. When I run out of Seachem products I am switching to a Kent product. Except for Seachem Excel, for can't stand the smell of diy Co2 and got to add it for the plants I have. Not all plants need it. Since gh of my tap water is very low I need a lot of nutrients. To limit the amount I need I also will be adding organic charcoal and lave rock to the substrate. At present have organic charcoal in the tank and it has helped ludwiga plant come back from the dead.

You should find out what your gh and kh is. If you can't get it tested at a store could can call up the city to get info about the water.