Scrapping tank. Starting over. Need best advice

Hello everyone. So some backstiry. I've been fighting with my tank for over 3 years now. I had plants growing like crazy and then they stopped. Had black beard algae and fixed that. Plants had nutrient deficiencies. Got fertilizer and they wouldn't grow or grew super slow. Added more gravel and pebbles and root tabs. Got an airstone. Added 2 more filters(sponge) to my already hang on back filter, so 3 filters total. Used all kinds of ammonia, chlorine and similar removers. Bacteria helpers, best fish food, blood worms, brine shrimp, huts, heavily planted when the plants were growing. I used 2 regular light bulbs that were bright and illuminated the whole tank. Just couldn't seem to stop the fish from dying.

So now since I have none I wanna start new.
1.) Are the lamps okay or do I have to get plant lights? If so please provide the cheapest link to plants light for a 55 gallon long

2.) Do I have to add c02 because I never have and don't know how to do it.

3.) Are gravel and pebbles okay as substrate for plants?

4.) List some easy plants because my Jungle Val not even duck weed or moss would grow in my tank. K? Lol embarrassing but whatever

5.) Are my 3 filters okay (1 hang on back, 2 sponge) and should I keep the bacteria colonies on them or just start over completely.

6.) Anything else I'm forgetting??

bianca_m35 said:

1.) Are the lamps okay or do I have to get plant lights? If so please provide the cheapest link to plants light for a 55 gallon long

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Can you give data on the present light, the type, intensity and spectrum.

bianca_m35 said:

2.) Do I have to add c02 because I never have and don't know how to do it.

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No, absolutely not. CO2 is now known to be detrimental to fish anyway, but my planted tanks over 30 years have never had any form of CO2/carbon additive and the plants had to be thinned at every other water change.

bianca_m35 said:

3.) Are gravel and pebbles okay as substrate for plants?

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Yes and no. Sand is better for plants, and needed for substrate fish, so that is your best option. A bag of Quikrete Play Sand from Lowe's or Home Depot for $6 or so dollars will work ideally on both counts. Pebbles and river rock in various sizes can provide nice variety, but with a sand substrate (about 1.5 inches depth spread even should do you).

bianca_m35 said:

4.) List some easy plants because my Jungle Val not even duck weed or moss would grow in my tank. K? Lol embarrassing but whatever

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Hard to say why without knowing all the data, but the light and nutrients are what allow plants to thrive. Vallisneria is not the best as it needs more light and nutrients than some other plants. Hard to suggest plants without knowing the light.

bianca_m35 said:

5.) Are my 3 filters okay (1 hang on back, 2 sponge) and should I keep the bacteria colonies on them or just start over completely.

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No harm in using them if they are still (and have remained) wet, however, it is always possible something in the tank killed the plants/fish so I would chuck the media. With a planted tank the filter is not really necessary except to move water around, and the filter type should depend uppon the intended fish.

Just a comment on the lights. If they are regular incandescent bulbs like you would put in a lamp it is unlikely that they would be full spectrum. Without being full spectrum is is very doubtful that they would all the wavelengths of light that most plants would want/need.

Byron said:

Can you give data on the present light, the type, intensity and spectrum.



No, absolutely not. CO2 is now known to be detrimental to fish anyway, but my planted tanks over 30 years have never had any form of CO2/carbon additive and the plants had to be thinned at every other water change.



Yes and no. Sand is better for plants, and needed for substrate fish, so that is your best option. A bag of Quikrete Play Sand from Lowe's or Home Depot for $6 or so dollars will work ideally on both counts. Pebbles and river rock in various sizes can provide nice variety, but with a sand substrate (about 1.5 inches depth spread even should do you).



Hard to say why without knowing all the data, but the light and nutrients are what allow plants to thrive. Vallisneria is not the best as it needs more light and nutrients than some other plants. Hard to suggest plants without knowing the light.



No harm in using them if they are still (and have remained) wet, however, it is always possible something in the tank killed the plants/fish so I would chuck the media. With a planted tank the filter is not really necessary except to move water around, and the filter type should depend uppon the intended fish.

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Wow you're response if very interesting and unique to other recommendations I've seen. Most people recommend a rich substrate like fluval stratum or nutrient dense aquarium made dirt.

C02 isn't good?

I don't have to use a filter?

Could you please elaborate because this is very interesting and I always want to learn something new and go with the best possible option.

Also unfortunately I don't know the light specifics. Its just a normal light bulb you'd put in a ceiling fan haha. I have 2 lamps with those light bulbs though.

I've had really bad luck with plants and it's my dream to have a heavily planted forest like tank!! Like these photos

jaylach said:

Just a comment on the lights. If they are regular incandescent bulbs like you would put in a lamp it is unlikely that they would be full spectrum. Without being full spectrum is is very doubtful that they would all the wavelengths of light that most plants would want/need.

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They're normal lightbulbs you'd put in a ceiling fan lol

bianca_m35 said:

Wow you're response if very interesting and unique to other recommendations I've seen. Most people recommend a rich substrate like fluval stratum or nutrient dense aquarium made dirt.

C02 isn't good?

I don't have to use a filter?

Could you please elaborate because this is very interesting and I always want to learn something new and go with the best possible option.

Also unfortunately I don't know the light specifics. Its just a normal light bulb you'd put in a ceiling fan haha. I have 2 lamps with those light bulbs though.

I've had really bad luck with plants and it's my dream to have a heavily planted forest like tank!! Like these photos

Click to expand...

CO2 is very good for plants. But not necessarily for fish. We can have a successfully planted tank without injecting CO2. Besides, the fish themselves are a source of CO2.
You'll still need a filter to move the water around. How much movement depends on what kind of fish you want. Some fish, like hillstream loaches, are better suited for higher flow waters. Some fish like gourami, don't like current and need low flow tanks.
I don't think a regular household lightbulb has an adequate spectrum for plants. Maybe that's the reason you're having issues with plants.

Dealing solely on the filter issue. There are two aspects to a filter, one is mechanical filtration and the other is biological; there is also chemical filtration but we can leave that out for clarity. Mechanical filtration involves moving the water through various media to filter out particulate matter and keep the water clear. This I have in all my tanks and would recommend it, though I did have one 10g tank with no filter for over a year and the fish were healthy. But I would suggest a filter for a tank. This is where the water flow comes in, and the filter needs to be providing the current that the fish require, if any. Some fish must have good water current, some fish very little or nearly no water movement.

Biological filtration is what we think of with cycling. Bacteria consume the ammonia which produces nitrite, and different bacteria consume the nitrite producing nitrate. In a planted tank, the aim is to have the plants remove the ammonia, which has the added benefit of not producing nitrite or nitrate. Studies have shown that fast growing plants easily outcompete the nitrifying bacteria; and because the plants need the ammonium as their nitrogen, there is no point in our encouraging biological filtration which will compete. In my smaller tanks, under 40 gallons, I tend to have a sponge filter for the mechanical, and obviously it will function as biological filtration too. In larger tanks I might use a stronger filter, or a canister, depending upon the fish species and their water current needs.

One important factor in deciding on fish for any tank is to ensure they all have similar requirements when it comes to water flow.

bianca_m35 said:

They're normal lightbulbs you'd put in a ceiling fan lol

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This is likely one factor in your problems with plants, but also the lack of nutrients probably played into it too. There ar members here with more experience in LED lighting which is fairly basic now, so I will leave it for their advice. I've been in the hobby 30 years and used T8 fluorescent tubes, but these are being phased out these days in favour of LED.

bianca_m35 said:

Wow you're response if very interesting and unique to other recommendations I've seen. Most people recommend a rich substrate like fluval stratum or nutrient dense aquarium made dirt.

C02 isn't good?

I don't have to use a filter?

Could you please elaborate because this is very interesting and I always want to learn something new and go with the best possible option.

Also unfortunately I don't know the light specifics. Its just a normal light bulb you'd put in a ceiling fan haha. I have 2 lamps with those light bulbs though.

I've had really bad luck with plants and it's my dream to have a heavily planted forest like tank!! Like these photos

Click to expand...

Thats Iti's tank, he doesn't have any aftermarket substrate or dirt, just pea gravel. Using those substrates can cause spikes.

He doesn't use lights but has put his tank beside a window to get natural sun (this can cause its own problems.)

He doesn't use CO2

Hes got a under gravel filter.

Heres my tank, no C02, just Pea gravel with sand on top (I put some API root tabs in to start with and dose with API leaf zone once a week.) Lighting is factory from Juwel using one of their Day and one Nature LED. You dont need high tech to get heavily planted.

Lot of good ideas/advice has been posted but we would still need to know what plants would be involved. Different types of plants need different planting. Some can be planted by putting in the substrate but, with other plants, doing this could kill the plant.