First Steps Into Planted Tank

[SexyFishKeeper]

Hi all,

I've had my Juwel 180 Vision setup now for a fair few months now and have planted some plants from the LFS but they didn't take and have removed them.

My idea is to use a spare tank to experiment on plants without upsetting my fish. This tank is totally bare and so will be starting from scratch.

I've had a search on the forum but couldn't seem to find a thread on the first steps of plants.

My main tank only has basic gravel and so if I were to go medium-difficult, I think I'd have to swap the substrate around. I leave the lights on for about 8 hours each day and the current stock is...

10 Danios
9 Tiger Barbs
2 Bristlenose Plecs

Could someone point me in a direction of an idiot's guide to planted aquariums on the web? Or write out steps on what I should think about.

I would also appreciate if someone could suggest plants that would be suitable for my current stock.

Cheers,
SFK

 

[SuperColey1]

Most plants should be suitable for your stock.

If you are keeping the inert substrate you have at the moment and the existing lighting then you should look on plantgeek.net. Then select plants for low light.

Try and find plants that are easy rather than difficult like Microsorum (Ferns) mosses, Anubias, Crypts, Egeria, Hygrophylia Polysperma.

Another site is tropica.com which has virtually the same info

this is another good one from dennerle:
Dennerle Plants

The best guide of all is to look through the journal section and see what people with similar setups do, what they use, what problems they face and solutions they come by etc. No substitute for other people making the mistakes so you don't have to whereas the guides on plant sites are from the perspectiveof someone who knows what they are doing.

Andy

 

[Kevstir]

at the very least you need to replace the standard juwel light tubes, they just aren't up to the job plus they make the tank look dull.

an easy upgrade is to replace the rear tube with an Arcadia freshwater tube and replace the front with an Arcadia original (there are better lights out there but im using the Arcadia range as an example because there easily picked up from pets at home and other lfs), at the same time adding reflectors will also help, the tank will look loads better and be a bit better for plants.

I have the same tank as you and im having good success, iv added an extra tube at the rear and put tropica plant substrate under the sand , i dont add co2 and still getting good growth.

the lights im using are

1 Arcadia freshwater (rear)
1 Interpet daylight plus, old style (middle)
1 Arcadia original (front)

Here are the plants i have

Hygrophylia Polysperma
Ambulia (Limnophila indica) this stuff grows great even in low light.
WISTERIA (Hygrophila difformis) also easy to grow, grows like a weed
2x Amazon swords
Windeløv (Microsorum pteropus)
Narow leaf java fern
Moneywort (Bacopa monnieri) doing fine but growing slowly.
Glossostigma elatinoides, added this as a carpet plant, its growing well but slow..

the tank has only ran for 5 weeks with the tropica substrate under the sand and im well impressed, before i added that my plants did ok but no where near as good as they are now..

here was the tank last month (20th nov) the day i stripped it down to add the tropica under the sand.

and here it is 10 mins ago (ignorer the uv steriliser, it keep coming unstuck all the time lol)

who needs co2 lol

Kev

Ps: instead of putting a good substrate under the gravel/sand you could add good quality root tabs under the plants..

 

[lljdma06]

Hi,

You have lovely setup there. I really like cyprinids, so i'm glad you've featured them in your stocking. You would do well to follow Kevstir's advice on swapping out the standard Juwel tubes for tubes that are better geared for plant growth. Aim for a color temp from between 6000-9000k, but most hobbiest settle for tubes between 6700 and 7100k. For me, however, this produces a yellowish light to me that I don't light, so I often mix this with a tube that claims to enhance color. The specific tube I use for my fixture, doesn't state the color temperature of that bulb.

You could add reflectors and at around 1.5WPG (give or take), you could opt for CO2 injection, if that is what you wish. Many here use pressurized and have simple solutions for cost effective pressurized systems. Others used Yeast-based CO2 injection and use the nutrafin Natural Plant system and other similar systems. This is cheaper, but the size of your tank would make a yeast-based method a little impractical, especially if you wanted higher CO2 levels.

To have a pretty planted tank, however, CO2 isn't essential. A nutrient-rich substrate isn't either. Most stemplants consume nutrients directly from the water column, so a nutrient rich substrate isn't essential as long you supply the plants with the nutrients they need in the water column (either in the form of fishwaste, or a commercial fertiliser). The roots that these plants do produce is primarily for anchoring onto the substrate. Crypts, swords, and sags, on the other hand, have extensive root systems and absorb nutrients directly from the substrate. These will also grow well in an inert substrate, provided that they are supplemented with rootabs, which insert into the substrate near the plant's root system.

Check out the link in my signature that says "Easy Plant List". In that list, I have some plants that have been proven to do well in the conditions that you currently have, or will do even better if you tweak your lighting just a tad, add some root tabs, or choose to inject CO2. In addition, may I suggest that you really look into various cryptocoryne species. You already have SE Asian species, and you have the potential for a general biotope, which is quite nice.

Plants from SE Asia include:

Most cryptocorynes
Ambulia (Limnophyla species, especially indica, sessilifolia, and aquaticum will do well for you)
Java fern
Java moss
Rotala rotundifolia
Most hygrophila species

Hope this helps and gets you started. Welcome to our world.

llj

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll have to work out the amount of light that I currently have in my aquarium. They are the standard ones that come with the box but they were the High Lite ones which at the time were just new "apparently" with more light I was told.

Think it's one of these things that can't be rushed into and so will spend some time reason up on them.

I never thought that reflectors would double the light but then realising - oh yes it would.

Thanks for the suggestions on the plant types, I do want to get something that is more natural to the fish I have so will look into the types suggested.

These root tabs: are they like little plant pots? I've never seen them before but heard people talk about them.

 

[lljdma06]

These root tabs: are they like little plant pots? I've never seen them before but heard people talk about them.

No, they don't look like plant pots. At least I don't think of them that way. The ones I have look like little black, hard, solid cherry cordials to me, but I can see how people think they look like solid little plant pots, and I always think everything looks like food. They are about 1.25cm tall, and maybe 1cm wide. I use Red Sea rootabs, but there are tons of brands out there. When I remember, which is usually every 3-4 months, I stick a few in my tanks' gravel, about 2-3cm deep, usually near heavy root feeders that I have.

llj

 

[Chri$]

Root tabs are small tablets that are pushed under the gravel or sand near the plants route system.

For example: <a href="http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8_221&products_id=308&zenid=1695413fee771795e866cd2b83bc5bc1" target="_blank">http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...866cd2b83bc5bc1</a>

Beat me to it lljdma06!

 

[Kevstir]

sorry didn't realize you had the new high light system, i was basing my advice on you having the old t8 system.

i would think your new system should be on par with mines seeing as you have 2 t5 tubes, im sure iv read that you can only use juwel tubes with the high lite system and there not cheap so try nice cheap reflectors and some roots tabs first.

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

Thanks again people.

Will have a look online tonight to see which plants I like the look of and will get back to you all with my ideas.

It doesn't sound too bad on the equipment stuff then: some root tabs and reflectors.

I might need some deeper gravel as mine is rather flat at only about 1-2cm deep.

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

and here it is 10 mins ago (ignorer the uv steriliser, it keep coming unstuck all the time lol)

Wow thats really a massive change over time. Guess I shouldn't look to fill the tank straight away as the plants should grow into the space. That really helps.

Only noticed now as the internet police at work don't allow pictures from photobucket.

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

Do you think its worth me trying some plants out in a smaller tank ~30 litres without fish in?

The 30ltr has a 10W light in it with a reflector. So even without the reflector its 6.5 UK Gallons, that's 1.5WPG. In my main tank has two "Nature" 35W (no reflectors) in an ~160 ltr providing 2WPG (using UK Gal again).

I just don't want to stress the fish out whilst I try out plants and once plants have established in the smaller tank to move into the big tank in one go with possibly some aqua-scaping.

Does that sound a good plan?

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

I've also come up with a little design:

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

I've looked at the plants that http/www.aquaticplants.eu.com/ stocks and have made a little shopping list...

Vesicularis Dubyana - Java Moss (Attached to wood or rock for carpet)
Microsorium Pteropus - Java Fern (Attached to Wood)
Hygrophila Difformis (Background/Side)
Cryptocoryne Pontederifolia (Middle)
Cryptocoryne Lingua (Foreground)

So comments on my last few posts would be appreciated

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

Any comments and/or suggestions

 

[scappaflow]

at the very least you need to replace the standard juwel light tubes, they just aren't up to the job plus they make the tank look dull.

an easy upgrade is to replace the rear tube with an Arcadia freshwater tube and replace the front with an Arcadia original (there are better lights out there but im using the Arcadia range as an example because there easily picked up from pets at home and other lfs), at the same time adding reflectors will also help, the tank will look loads better and be a bit better for plants.

I have the same tank as you and im having good success, iv added an extra tube at the rear and put tropica plant substrate under the sand , i dont add co2 and still getting good growth.

the lights im using are

1 Arcadia freshwater (rear)
1 Interpet daylight plus, old style (middle)
1 Arcadia original (front)

Here are the plants i have

Hygrophylia Polysperma
Ambulia (Limnophila indica) this stuff grows great even in low light.
WISTERIA (Hygrophila difformis) also easy to grow, grows like a weed
2x Amazon swords
Windeløv (Microsorum pteropus)
Narow leaf java fern
Moneywort (Bacopa monnieri) doing fine but growing slowly.
Glossostigma elatinoides, added this as a carpet plant, its growing well but slow..

the tank has only ran for 5 weeks with the tropica substrate under the sand and im well impressed, before i added that my plants did ok but no where near as good as they are now..

here was the tank last month (20th nov) the day i stripped it down to add the tropica under the sand.

and here it is 10 mins ago (ignorer the uv steriliser, it keep coming unstuck all the time lol)

who needs co2 lol

Kev

Ps: instead of putting a good substrate under the gravel/sand you could add good quality root tabs under the plants..

That is impressive stuff Kev.

Just getting set up with a 63L tank and quite like the idea of some plant growth going. Got a wee selection from my LFS, so will see what takes (if any) and what grows the best.

Just looking at the pics yours looks a lot brighter than mine, which is a fairly cost effective set up, so I feel probably some better lighting will be important to get this going.