Help A Complete Spoon

[Confish]

i have a 4ft juwel rio 240l tank with a tetratec ex1200 and i have the lights that came with the tank juwel high lite ones its one of the newer models of tank. i have small gravel with a few pieces of wood.

basically ive tried plastic which looked rubbish and got ripped up by my aggressive stocking and tried live plants which just seemed to die... they were bought form LFS they had some roots but not many when bought ? (am i buying the right type)

but i have now change my stocking to more peaceful fish so want to try and have some plants i do not want a forest or start aquascaping just a few bunches here and there to bring depth and colour into the mix.

ive heard and read abit but still confused ive read co2 and liquid co2 and liquid ferts and ferts that you put under the gravel and fert tablets....

so as we all know well this is the place to ask so im asking you guys in the know what do i need to grow a few plants also what types should i go for aka tough little blighters

cheers guys and girls

 

[Ps3Steveo]

We need to know your newly peaceful stocking? Your lighting output in watts (will say on the bulbs)? Then we can get some ideas of whether you will need ferts and CO2 and what plants you will be ok with. Good site to look up plants on that you might want is tropica.com. Come back to us with the details and a few plants you like and we'll see how we can help.

 

[Confish]

We need to know your newly peaceful stocking? Your lighting output in watts (will say on the bulbs)? Then we can get some ideas of whether you will need ferts and CO2 and what plants you will be ok with. Good site to look up plants on that you might want is tropica.com. Come back to us with the details and a few plants you like and we'll see how we can help.

sorry for late reply.

20 neons
20 rummynose
7 corys
1 dora catfish
3 dwarf cichlids
group of angels

this is not my actual but more of a final stock check

i have two bulbs one says "day 34w" other natural 34w" they are the stock bulbs that came on my juwel rio 240 its hard to read as the writing is starting to come off abit.

i dont want to go down the co2 path due to cost. im only looking for some plants i dont want a full planted tank. (im use to owning cichlids so bare tanks normally)

and i dont mind what plants at this stage.

cheers guys and girls

 

[minnnt]

Easy going plants such as Anubias, Java Fern, Moss, Crypts, Cabomba, Elodea will do great under your lights. Once you have learned a little more about plants you can add others that may be a little more difficult to grow and keep well. Straight Vallis would also do well i would imagine. You could bulk out the tank with these (lots of different varieties within each species of plant) and then add one or two others to break it up a little.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

If your having cichlids don't get vallis they have a habbit of shredding it but the others mentioned are fine and you won't need CO2 with those plants you may just need to add some ferts from time to time but you'll be able to tell once they're in and have adjusted to your water conditions and it depends how heavily you end up planting too.

 

[Confish]

cheers guys for the fast replies, ill look into the plants listed i like the look of them so all i need to do is have my lights on for 6 hours a day? and just plant them into the gravel i have? you mention ferts what type? and how do i use it ect. and when buying do i need to look for lots of roots? and how deep does the gravel need to be? cheers

 

[This Old Spouse]

The gravel should be a couple of inches deep. I just use Seachem Flourish as I'll never get into the CO2 realm.

What are 7 corys and 1 dora catfish?

 

[minnnt]

If your having cichlids don't get vallis they have a habbit of shredding it but the others mentioned are fine and you won't need CO2 with those plants you may just need to add some ferts from time to time but you'll be able to tell once they're in and have adjusted to your water conditions and it depends how heavily you end up planting too.

All depends on which cichlids. Thats a very broad answer... I have had many cichlids in my planted tanks which have had alot of Vallis in them and apart from the obvious Sevs and Rainbows non have bothered any plants at all. My current Ellioti pays them no attention what so ever. Unsure of what kind of Dwarf Cichlids you have in mind, but i know alot of members here keep Apisto's in heavily planted tanks.

cheers guys for the fast replies, ill look into the plants listed i like the look of them so all i need to do is have my lights on for 6 hours a day? and just plant them into the gravel i have? you mention ferts what type? and how do i use it ect. and when buying do i need to look for lots of roots? and how deep does the gravel need to be? cheers

Are you dead set on gravel? Sand imo is alot easier to plant in, alot easier for plants to spread their roots in and alot cleaner. Also, again, dependant upon the choice of Dwarf Cichlid, sand would also be better for them too as alot of them like to dig and sift sand (Rams)

As for ferts, something like a general one would be a good start. I use one called 'Green Low' frm eBay, and have had good results. Others include Seachem Flourish, TPN and TNC. All will be very similar and do a similar job, especially for something like the tank you describe. I dose daily to even out nutrient content, but you can dose how ever you want. If it is easier for you just to dose once a week after a water change then try that.

7-8 hours would be a better starting photosynthesis period, then you can lower this if you start to notice any algae or plants not doing so well etc.