Hi All

[NomadbyFate]

Hi all,

I have joined the forum and I am looking forward to learning from you all.

I have kept tanks in the past, but never truly got into it like I am right now. I currently have a Qubiq 30 with plastic plants and some decor. I am looking to convert the tank to live plants but would like some advice, please.

I have standard gravel substrate. I believe the most important thing will be to change this to plant friendly substrate, I am thinking of a layer of plant base topped with sand. What else should I consider? I currently have a male Beta, five neon tetras and two African dwarf frogs. I would like to add some Panda Corys but I am holding off until I have the live plants up and running.

Would really appreciate some thoughts.

Cheers.

 

[TheLavenderBadger]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[BettaFishGirl]

Welcome to the forum! Is the tank 30 liters or gallons?

Plants don't need plants substrate, just sand with root tabs will do.

I will resist my urge to tell you every single thing as this is only a welcome page, so welcome!

 

[NomadbyFate]

Welcome to the forum! Is the tank 30 liters or gallons?

Plants don't need plants substrate, just sand with root tabs will do.

I will resist my urge to tell you every single thing as this is only a welcome page, so welcome!

It is 30l.

Thanks for getting back to me.

 

[jaylach]

If you were to get corys I would go to a sand substrate but without soil under. Plants don't need it and, as I understand, it can be more hassle than help and can change water parameters. Plants such as Java Fern Anubias, etc. don't need any soil as they are attached to rocks and/or wood and get their nutrients from the water column. Stem plants that are actually planted in the substrate do fine with nothing added or possibly root tabs to feed.

Since you have a beta I'd suggest adding some floating plants when you go live.

I have a gravel substrate and the tank is heavily planted. LOL! In fact the plants tend to want to take over and I have to 'mow' about once a month. Just like with fish you can over feed plants. Start off with fertilizers to give the new plants a good start. Whether root tabs or liquid would depend on the types of plants. Don't be surprised if some types of stem plants seem to die off as this is normal and they will usually come back. Once the plants are established start cutting back on the fertilizers until you find a balance. You WILL get algae but that is a good sign as to the level of fertilizer you need. If you start getting algae blooms cut back on fertilizers. Of course the amount of light is also a factor with algae but it can still be used as an indication of too much fertilizer or over feeding the fish.

Back to the corys... With the fish population you already have I would not add any more fish to an 8 gallon tank. Leaving out corys your gravel substrate is fine.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

 

[The603]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[NomadbyFate]

If you were to get corys I would go to a sand substrate but without soil under. Plants don't need it and, as I understand, it can be more hassle than help and can change water parameters. Plants such as Java Fern Anubias, etc. don't need any soil as they are attached to rocks and/or wood and get their nutrients from the water column. Stem plants that are actually planted in the substrate do fine with nothing added or possibly root tabs to feed.

Since you have a beta I'd suggest adding some floating plants when you go live.

I have a gravel substrate and the tank is heavily planted. LOL! In fact the plants tend to want to take over and I have to 'mow' about once a month. Just like with fish you can over feed plants. Start off with fertilizers to give the new plants a good start. Whether root tabs or liquid would depend on the types of plants. Don't be surprised if some types of stem plants seem to die off as this is normal and they will usually come back. Once the plants are established start cutting back on the fertilizers until you find a balance. You WILL get algae but that is a good sign as to the level of fertilizer you need. If you start getting algae blooms cut back on fertilizers. Of course the amount of light is also a factor with algae but it can still be used as an indication of too much fertilizer or over feeding the fish.

Back to the corys... With the fish population you already have I would not add any more fish to an 8 gallon tank. Leaving out corys your gravel substrate is fine.

Thank you for this.

I had an epic fail last night. I tore the tank down and added some plant substrate followed by sand. I decorated the tank and added the live plants and moss. When I topped it up it went brown and looked so unhealthy, I knew I had messed up, so I ran back to the fish shop to buy substrate and went back to my plastic plants with some moss still. 4 hours later I got the tank back to normal.

I'm not going to give up, but next time I need to plan it better. The fish are fine but a slight bruised ego.

 

[Lcc86]

Thank you for this.

I had an epic fail last night. I tore the tank down and added some plant substrate followed by sand. I decorated the tank and added the live plants and moss. When I topped it up it went brown and looked so unhealthy, I knew I had messed up, so I ran back to the fish shop to buy substrate and went back to my plastic plants with some moss still. 4 hours later I got the tank back to normal.

I'm not going to give up, but next time I need to plan it better. The fish are fine but a slight bruised ego.

Welcome!

Keep an eye on your frogs for a bit as they are super sensitive to any changes in water quality. When you do change I'd just go for sand, you can add liquid fertiliser regularly to give the plants what they need.

As others have said the tank size is too small to add any more fish - realistically bettas should be kept alone so long-term you may want to consider that if you have space for a second tank (if you bought a bigger tank you could leave the betta where he is and have more of a community tank going on where you could potentially add cories).

 

[NomadbyFate]

Welcome!

Keep an eye on your frogs for a bit as they are super sensitive to any changes in water quality. When you do change I'd just go for sand, you can add liquid fertiliser regularly to give the plants what they need.

As others have said the tank size is too small to add any more fish - realistically bettas should be kept alone so long-term you may want to consider that if you have space for a second tank (if you bought a bigger tank you could leave the betta where he is and have more of a community tank going on where you could potentially add cories).

Hi!

Thank you for this. The tank is settled fish wise and the beta seems really so I am going to keep it as it is, but not add any more as you say.

I'm hoping to put another tank in my office and try out a full live plant system and then populate the tank once I am sure the it is good to go. That leaves my current tank settled without my experimenting.