n00bie planted tank

[Ash]

Hey all,

I've been wanting to do a planted tank for some time & getting a LFS gift voucher for chrissy has given me the push I needed. I've been doing some reading but just want to know if I'm attacking this right.

I have 3 swords in there now and a small anubias nana, all of which were previously leveled by my severums & spotted Metynnis. I'd like thick growth at the rear of the tank & some sort of grassy substrate cover for the foreground with the existing plants & driftwood (possibly with java fern added) incorporated - any suggestions for the foreground & background?

I currently have a single 24" reflector, I was going to switch to a dual - is this enough?

I have a pair of BN's and some platys in the tank now, are breeding BN's at odds to a planted tank?

Filtration is an AQ-Mini, I assume this will be fine if I keep the water level up to avoid splashing & hence CO2 loss? (planning one of the DIY yeast CO2 injections setups)

I currently have a snail infestation, with such a small tank & wanting it to be planted, will a few small clown loaches work as they are meant to be slow growing? The other option is breaking down the tank which leads to...

There is currently 4cm of 6mm white (mix) gravel in there, should I just mix something finer with it or replace it altogether? Suggestions? What's the go with kitty litter?

Sorry for all the noob Q's

Cheers

Ash

[grungefreek]

I currently have a single 24" reflector, I was going to switch to a dual - is this enough?

Hmm, i would definitely get dual. 1 is not going to be enough. 2 will allow u to grow low light plants. That will give u 36 watts over the tank. Yeah low-moderate plants only i would think.

. I'd like thick growth at the rear of the tank & some sort of grassy substrate cover for the foreground

Well do some research and there should be lots of low-moderate plants for the background. Get plants with small leaves, makes the tank look bigger. For foreground, hmm, glosso is out, cant think offhand what might be a good fore ground plant for u, someone else may have some ideas.

are breeding BN's at odds to a planted tank?

BN's arent generally recommended for planted tanks. They make holes in the leaves of the plants. Try ottos and SAE's for algae control.

Filtration is an AQ-Mini, I assume this will be fine if I keep the water level up to avoid splashing & hence CO2 loss?

Yep this should be fine. Maybe add a plastic flap to the filter outlet so the water is pushed downwards and not along the waters surface.

I currently have a snail infestation,

Put some cucumber or zucchini in the tank over night, then in the morning it will be covered in snails, pull it out and kill them. Or the loaches may work as long as they are only in there for a short while (grow too big). I have heaps of snails, they dont usually do any harm.

There is currently 4cm of 6mm white (mix) gravel in there, should I just mix something finer with it or replace it altogether?

Hmm 2mm gravel would be better, maybe mix some sand in with it. It will make the plants stay in the plants stay in the ground better. Depends on the look u want whether u replace it or just mix stuff in it.

What's the go with kitty litter?

Americans use kitty litter (specific brand) as substrate as it has a high chelated iron content. We dont have that particular brand here in Aus, and so far i dont think anyone has found one here that doesn’t go mushy in water and be a real pain. So for u, dont worry bout it. I did read an interesting article on worm castings as a substrate, dont remember the link, haven’t tried it personally.

Good luck with the tank, u will wnat to go high tech in no time, and thats where the real fun starts. Also, dont think u will need CO2 with only the low light u will have, may help, but may cause problems.

Have fun with it

[Ash]

so if I can add a double AND keep my single as well that would be better? I suppose you need a certian amount of light before the plants require the CO2? What other lighting options are there?

If the BN's are no good then I may as well break the tank down totally anyway & feed off the livebearers - cheers for the advice

[IntoTheRainz]

ok

here's some of my gismo tips (ur decision is upto u)

* stick with 1 globe at first then after afew weeks add more globe, this to minimise algea at first

* if u starting up a new plant tank, go to ur backyard ( dont let ur parent see LOL ) dig down and get some red clay use that at the bootom of ur plant tank . ( the redder it is that more ion mineral are present and plant loves it )

* then go to some nursery store get some peat moss and use that as ontop of the clay substrate

*then use gravel ( to hold all da stuff down )

Now when i started plant tank algea appear at first due to leaking nutirent in water

but after 1 months i didnt even dose any fertilise and my plant grow like krazy ( ask hungsta or grouch, they seen my setup). My plant tank has been going for 2 years now and i only do water change and trimming

* as for the forground plant stick with chain sword they are very easy they grow very quickly and they not weed like elodea crap. This plant are very low maintanent

*be consistent with plant ( get all medium light plant or all low light of plant ) otherwise later on u will get algea grow on low light plant due to cant compete nutrient or enought light for photosythesis.

*For beginer best get crypts, anybuis,embulia (spells?), cork screw val ( this plant grow only like 20cm high and more light it will twist more can put in middle forground, and maybe afew more but i cant remember all on my head now LOL

* Goldent rule get plant are easy maintanent (at first u are excited when plantgrow but after acouple of month u sick of sticking ur hand in and trimming every day or so , this happen to me at very first

And the rest on aquascape ( i dont want to go detail into this, first stage is get ur plant healthy).

for aquascape its really on how creativity u are with ur eye and how that catch attention to others.I read a few article on focal point and some competition foto and judged coment , this is a very useful source to improve the aquascape.

best of luck

happy new yar

[Ash]

I've ordered some stuff from aquaria warehouse, all was listed as medium light so hopefully I'll be on a winner...

Echinodorus grandifolius - picked it for the round leaves as the rest of my selection has pretty thin leaves

Microsorium pteropus - java fern for on my existing pieces of wood

Nomaphila var. Cherry Leaf ?? Thought it looked interesting so I got a bit

Echinodorus tenellus - aka chain sword, for the foreground.

I didn't bother breaking the tank down so I just mixed in some 2mm gravel of the same colour & replanted the swords accordingly.

For the hell of it I took some elodia out of my pond & it seems to be growing at least 3cm/day! (I have an extra compact flouro & the DIY CO2 in there now, still seems to be not enough light) Don't worry, the Elodia will be thrown when I get the "real" plants!

[graceless]

I've ordered some stuff from aquaria warehouse, all was listed as medium light so hopefully I'll be on a winner...

Echinodorus grandifolius - picked it for the round leaves as the rest of my selection has pretty thin leaves

Microsorium pteropus - java fern for on my existing pieces of wood

Nomaphila var. Cherry Leaf ?? Thought it looked interesting so I got a bit

Echinodorus tenellus - aka chain sword, for the foreground.

I didn't bother breaking the tank down so I just mixed in some 2mm gravel of the same colour & replanted the swords accordingly.

For the hell of it I took some elodia out of my pond & it seems to be growing at least 3cm/day! (I have an extra compact flouro & the DIY CO2 in there now, still seems to be not enough light) Don't worry, the Elodia will be thrown when I get the "real" plants!

Ash... good luck getting rid of the elodea.

that stuff is amazing how it keeps springing up again when you think you've got it all.

[foai]

The advice you have been given is excellent.

I would only add that for the snail infestation if the cucmber trick doesn't work then put a length of copper pipe (about 6 inches) in the water. It will kill all snails in about 4 days to a week.

I had a snail infestation of very small snails (rice grain size) and I tried molluscicide solutions which didn't work. Someone else here mentioned the copper pipe and it worked a treat.

I have peppermint bristlenose in my 2 foot planted and they don't eat the plants at all.

Hope it goes well.

David

[Ash]

I gave the bristlies my 4' fry growout tank as a hopeful breeding spot & got (false) SAE's for the planted tank, along with 10 neons that have dwindled to 8

The elodia is long gone & the cheapie stem plan got fed to the severums cause it was shading the rest of the plants too much.

The snails are gone after doing the cucumber (well, zuchini) thing, americans loved the snails too!

Now the sword are 3/4 the way to the top of the tank & the chain sword has nearly covered the whole base of the tank, all from 5 small starters.

the false SAE's (no V in the tail & a slight line above the stripe, 1st false one mentioned on thekrib after the real one) have eaten most of the algae that started forming on the leaves whilst the stem plants had shaded everything.

also got kuli loaches in there and I actually see them all the time!

I'd post a pic but no cam anymore

Cheers

Ash