New set up and I think I’ve messed up already!

[JennyD1]

I think your tank is looking better! Which plants do you have? If you are concerned about ammonia you can add floating plants like Hornwort. The water will clear and you'll get to enjoy your beautiful scape.

I’m so sorry, but I have no idea what plants they are. He put them in bags and wrote ‘back of tank’, ‘middle of tank’ and ‘on rock’.

 

[JennyD1]

I’ve ordered some moss balls. If I buy some Hornwort, will that prevent the light reaching plants on the tank bottom?

 

[eatyourpeas]

Definitely stay away from the man at the shop! Sheeesh...

Ok. The big plant to the left of the wood looks like Amazon sword ("back of tank"), the little guy in the foreground ("middle of tank") could be a Sagitaria. The ones in the second picture look like Anubias ("on rock"). The Anubias should not go into the substrate or they will rot. Tie or glue them to the hardscape, as they take their nutrients from the water column and not the soil. @mbsqw1d or @Wills could help identifying your plants in case I got it wrong, they are awesome at planted tanks.

Your plants are low to medium light, so the filtering through the Hornwort should be fine unless it gets out of control. You could look into Frog bit as well. With that tank, maintenance is not going to be fun due to the small opening. Planted tanks need care and trimming, and if you are up for it, you will have a stunning aquascape. It takes gardening to a new level.

Back to the man in the shop, could you contact him and ask for the names of the plants he sold you? You'd want this information so you can read about their needs and properly take care of them.

 

[mbsqw1d]

I think the one in the foreground is Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (micro sword)

Back left is a sword.. and if its Echinodorus Impai, then it will grow very big! You can expect to see the leaves 'melting' and growing back for the first month or so. This is due to both: 1) the plant is aclimating to submerged conditions, (2) the root network needs to develop.
Agre, ensure the rhizome of the anubias isnt buried in the substrate as it will rot.

 

[Essjay]

This tank is a Fluval Edge and it is meant to be filled so that the water is in contact with the top glass. If you want floating plants, those typically used won't work. Plants such as frogbit, water sprite, water lettuce and salvinia stick up out of the water. The only way to use these is to have the water level lower so there is an air space over the water.

Other plants can be used as floating plants though they can also be planted in the substrate - eg hornwort and elodea. With that brancy wood, you also have the option to wing hornwort stem round the branches and leave the growing end of the stem to float on the surface. But with that tiny opening in the Edge, pruning hornwort to keep it under control might not be easy.

 

[JennyD1]

Thank you all so much for your advice! I agree that the tank isn’t the most practical, I wanted a tank that looked stylish in the living room but now see that was a huge error. I daren’t say that to my husband though, he’ll kill me if I say I don’t like the tank now! Hopefully, I can get this one set up and established and he will agree to a change in tank in time.

 

[madmark285]

Thank you all so much for your advice! I agree that the tank isn’t the most practical, I wanted a tank that looked stylish in the living room but now see that was a huge error.

I disagree, I think the tank is really cool. In fact, I been thinking about building something like that out of acrylic.

I don't like the exposed water line on frameless tanks, to me it is a distraction. The edge design eliminates the water line and you have a top view of your tank. So I think you made a wise choice, it will look so cool in living room.

Mark

 

[Essjay]

Provided you are prepared to work with the limitations of this tank, it's a nice looking tank.

The limitations for the 46 litre version are -
It has the same footprint as the 23 litre version - in other words it's tall and not very long for the volume. So stock it with fish suitable for a narrow tank and avoid labyrinth fish which sometimes find it hard to find the small area of surface with air above.
It has a small opening which means it's more difficult to do things in the tank. Keep it simple and easy to maintain.
The corners are more difficult to get at to clean them. A toothbrush (brand new) is a very useful tool.

 

[JennyD1]

I’ve done another 75% water change today and removed the very obviously dead plants. It looks a million times better. But now I have these yellow balls on the bottom of the tank (second pic) does anyone have any idea what they could be?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Did you use plant ferts in gelatin capsules, buried in the sand?
That's what is looks like to me, Osmocote balls....I have them, too

 

[JennyD1]

Did you use plant ferts in gelatin capsules, buried in the sand?
That's what is looks like to me, Osmocote balls....I have them, too

I haven’t put anything in myself, but they could possibly have been in with the plants from the shop. I did think they could be something like that because I hadn’t noticed them until I began to remove dead plants.

 

[Slaphppy7]

That's what they are, harmless....you can remove them if they annoy you (like they do me)

 

[JennyD1]

I just couldn’t get on with the Fluval Edge at all so I bought a Fluval Flex 57l. I instantly feel happier with it. I bought play sand and rinsed it a lot and moved my existing plants and ornaments over. I filled the filter with the existing media and moved the water over to the new tank. Hopefully, the tank shouldn’t take too long to get back to where the previous tank was.