New Planted Tank!

[Snake42490]

Hey everyone.. I have had my qt tank for a few months until i decided to change it today.its a 15 gallon tank that has been housing some fry in it for about a month now until i switched my qt tank to another tank so i decided i would do something fun with it.. its been cycled and had fish in it up until today.

Anyway I added 3 Plants to the tank along with some neon and glow light tetras. I have never had luck with plants.. trying only 2 or 3 times, this time i thought i would come in and ask to see what you guys would recommend.. It seems my luck is i keep them alive for about 3 months then they just keep rotting.. etc until there is nothing left.. With that being said I know lighting is a huge thing in the process and dont know if my light is putting out enough light to keep the plants healthy.. and i thought i might try doing something with co2 .. if you guys think that would help.. Any basic care things that i really need to know about sounds great. I have read all of the pinned posts if that helps..

anything that you know would help me please tell! thanks

do i need to give the plants plant food.. if yes what kind where should i get it..
would co2 help..
lighting..

weekly care for them etc... Thanks Seth

I cant seem to find the plant names right now.. i had them written down.. if its important i will find them for you guys.. Im going to take a picture now then ill post it.

My WPG is 1.3 for the tank... do you guys think that will be enough to keep these plants going.. i dont plan on adding any more

i would like to keep this as simple as possible but doing everything right or as right as possible..

I have 2 co2 tanks that i used to use for paintballing.. which im sure i could rig up.. but reading up sounds like i wont need it unless i bump up my wpg above 2 ..

I think one thing is the trace elements and fertilizers.. know nothing about but sounds important > <

 

[Snake42490]

 

[Cerbios]

Specifics on your light would be helpfull ( type of bulb and spectrum), and I'm assuming your substrate is all gravel?

I can tell you though no matter what light your using 1.3 is not enough light to keep most of those plants alive, remeber its not nessarely just the galleons but tank shape that tank as most nanos are is comparativly tall to its width means light has more water to travel through before it reaches the plants. Hovever if you do upgrade your light remember to watch your water temp carfully make shure you dont cook up some tetra soup

Co2 while not allways nessary is allways helpfull. But in tank that small a DIY would provide enough cos you dont need to a Paintball tank conversion which would involve expensive valves ect, unless you allready have them.

Fertilizer I wont comment on because I imagine in that small a tank it would dangerously easy to overdose something and hurt your fish, I'm not real experinced in fertilizer and doing it in a nano sounds expert level.

My suggestion as is, you need some low light plants Anubias, most crypts, and anything with the word java in it.

 

[Snake42490]

I have zero clue on what kind of spectrum the bulb is... i know its the standard buld.. it has a twin flouresent buld each says 16 watt.. and the tank is 13 gallons not 15 i checked on petsmart... if i were to add more light how could i go about doing that.. this tank has a weird hood on it. i think i would rather stay out of the co2 and stuff if at all possible and keep an easy going tank.. i know 1 of those is a java something.. or at least petsmart had it marked as > <

I have zero clue on what kind of spectrum the bulb is... i know its the standard buld.. it has a twin flouresent buld each says 16 watt.. and the tank is 13 gallons not 15 i checked on petsmart... if i were to add more light how could i go about doing that.. this tank has a weird hood on it. i think i would rather stay out of the co2 and stuff if at all possible and keep an easy going tank.. i know 1 of those is a java something.. or at least petsmart had it marked as > <


if i got some more lighting would it be possible to keep these plants...
I have a side light i use on some other tanks that has a plant bulb.. i could easily add it to the tank.. its a 15 watt incandescent bulb.. would that add any benefit to the tank.. i could add 2 of them without problem.

 

[SuperColey1]

You should be OK with 1.3WPG but as the poster above says you would want low light plants which are just as pretty as high light plants IMO.

Anubias, Crypts, Ferns and Mosses are easy to grow in low light. Others like Egeria and Cabomba should do OK but will get a bit tall in a small tank.

If you shop around the net for light suppliers you should be able to find a light for your setup and you ideally want to get a light with a K rating of between 4000 and 7500 for plants.

There is no need really to add a nutritious substrate for 3 plants. Nor is there any point IMO of adding CO2 for such a little plant mass coupled with low light.

Therefore I would suggest upgrading the bulb and getting a polished metal reflector for it. Get some basic plant food and dose as per bottle instructions weekly.

If you sort out the lighting first then plants and ferts etc can come later.

Andy

 

[Snake42490]

I want to replace the lighting but could someone give me an idea on where to start... are we talking about adding a whole new lighting fixture or just putting in a new bulb into the one i already have? here are some pictures of what it looks like..

*** i found this from another forum what a guy did to the tank i have.. its an ellpise tank.

The lighting that came with the tank is not the greatest for plants,but I supplemented it with 4x13 W screw in fluorescent bulbs in the middle space. The fitted top precludes the addition of hang on anything

i looked at the manual and this is what it says about the lights : /
Illumination is provided by a natural daylight full spectrum fluorescent lamp,
selected for truest color rendition and live aquatic plant growth properties

it also says that the lighting unit is not made for HO or VHO lighting.. high output or very high output lighting.

 

[Cerbios]

A compact flourescent bulb in that fixture would give you more equivelent wattages of light for same energy use, a reflecter will help make shure you get the most amount of light from what you got. This can be done with carefull use of alluminan foil (make shure fixture isnt over heating after you do this). These are what im using in my 55 putting out quivelent 100wats and I have medium light plants growing and doing well. My high light ones are not but its a much bigger aquariam then yours.

Once again adding more light wattage watch your water temp.

I would put some Java moss on your substrate, A/ it will look good, B/ its a low light plant you can trust to became established and help make shure you dont acidently grow an aglae farm while trying to get your other plants established. As ive said before I love my Marimos for doing this as well.

 

[Snake42490]

what do you mean by a compact flourescent bulb in that fixture?? isnt there already one in there though? im a little confused right now ? ? the light has a metal reflector behind the light.. its like a v shape.

where would a good place be to get plants that you have suggested?? online most likely and im in the united states... I know our local stores have jack... maybe some ferns at the best.

 

[Snake42490]

if i added a 15 watt incandescent plant bulb would it do anything? i could easily add it to the tank along with the flourescent bulb.

 

[Faythee]

Check out mikeswetpets on Ebay. I bought from him and they are very nice and pretty. He sells low light easy to grow plants

 

[Cerbios]

This is what I meant. CF lights

 

[Snake42490]

any idea how i could do that method. i could easily see it working, but dont have any glass between light and water.. which seems like a huge problem. With that being said what K should i be looking at? 5000 K about what i want 4200 etc?
if i did this method do you think i should do 2 bulbs or in my case 1? how much extra light do i really need? Thanks Seth

 

[Snake42490]

Im going to our local store now to get an idea on what lights they have.

 

[frozenbarb]

Bubble wall isnt good for plants, They outgas co2.

The second plant is Non Aquatic. The first one im 75% sure its non aquatic but you'll have to see

 

[Snake42490]

ok! everything is done haha... the compact light was a great idea. i added a 10 watt full spectrum light. i compared to all of the others and this one gave out the most i thought. anyway my wpg... if calculated right is 16 + 10 Watt / 12 gallons which is the tank size giving off 2.16 W/g i know the compact lights are not as efficient therefore probably not getting the 2.16 but maybe 1.6.. I also took out the bubble wall as frozen barb suggested : ( any other things i should
get for the plants now? ill get some pictures and show what i did.

do you guys know if the plants i have in the tank will make it or not.. if you dont think they will i could take them back to the store..
im going to order some plants tomorrow ill post some links up and let u guys see and tell me what you think of each..


<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1207188627" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1207188627</a> Java Moss << for sure add to the tank

<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206744625" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206744625</a> Cabomba.. dont know if i will get that exact bid.. dont know what i would do with 30 strands < >

<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206334623" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206334623</a> Lace Java Fern

<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206286899" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206286899</a> Java Fern Windelov (Microsorum pteropus)---- Would love to add this to the tank---

<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206454810" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206454810</a> Anacharis (EGERIA NAJAS) cool looking plant.. does it have easy needs? it says medium light so i dont know if those will work in my tank.

<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206516023" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206516023</a> Cryptocoryne beckettii
really liked this plant more because of the flowering feel rather from the others.. and for light requirements it said very low.. just what i need

<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206332709" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206332709</a> Anubias Nana -- couple places i have read says this is a tricky plant. loved the fulness of the leaves. low light.

<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206321605" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206321605</a> Anubias hastifolia --sounds like a cool plant.. it says it grows tall so i dont know if this plant will work in my tank? low light.


<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1207352416" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1207352416</a> Anubias Lanceolata
<a href="http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206284297" target="_blank">http/www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...&1206284297</a> Dwarf Hairgrass - Medium Light plant thought it might be really cool in the tank.. what do you guys think?

These are some of the plants i like... Which of those would work well for me.. being completely new to this area.. I know some are easier than others and probably some are about the same.. Also how many species of plants would i be ok going in a 12 gallon tank without overdoing it? Please put the caput on any of those plants that i couldnt do : )
What should i get for a fertilizer.. or plant food ? what would you guys recommend?