Planting A Fluval Edge

[Corrine]

Hello I hope someone can help me

Im currently going through a fish in cycle in my fluval edge following advice from my LFS.. (the same LFS that advised 2 red honey gouramis would be suitable for an edge... luckily i have a 180 litre tank just getting ready to go that they can move into)... ANYWAY...

I would like to put some small rasboras into the edge and i a have been advised they like a planted tank... sooooo...
I have upgraded to the LED lights (10000k, 1.8watts, 2xMR11/12V ... watever that means)& I have a sand substrate

1)What plants would suit this tank
2)what upkeep/feeding etc do these plants require
3)Bearing in mind i am going through a fish- in cycle.. when would you recommend planting the plants
4)How do you plant them ?

Sorry for all the questions .. as you can probably tell I have never kept aquarium plants before ...

Thankyou x

 

[Corrine]

Can anyone help me

thankyou x

 

[mattyd1701]

Can anyone help me

thankyou x

i have a Edge myself (currently away back to Fluval to fix a crack i put in the side of it )
anyways if you have not figured it out yet you soon will that this tank is extremely awkward for even general maintenance with that small access at the top so my recommendations would be some small plants that take as long as possible to grow the slower the better. i cant recommend plants as i have just started a planted tank myself for the first time but i would deffos recommend something small and slow growing also the plants are going to have to go near enough to the center of the tank because i dont know about yours but mine seems not to get alot of light in the corners which will restrict growth unless you get a plant that does not require a lot of light unless you have the larger 46L tank rather than the smaller 23L i have as the lights are higher up and the corners get a lot more light from what i have seen

 

[Corrine]

Can anyone help me

thankyou x

i have a Edge myself (currently away back to Fluval to fix a crack i put in the side of it )
anyways if you have not figured it out yet you soon will that this tank is extremely awkward for even general maintenance with that small access at the top so my recommendations would be some small plants that take as long as possible to grow the slower the better. i cant recommend plants as i have just started a planted tank myself for the first time but i would deffos recommend something small and slow growing also the plants are going to have to go near enough to the center of the tank because i dont know about yours but mine seems not to get alot of light in the corners which will restrict growth unless you get a plant that does not require a lot of light unless you have the larger 46L tank rather than the smaller 23L i have as the lights are higher up and the corners get a lot more light from what i have seen

Thanks for the reply .. I have since purchased some java fern and a nice small peice of bogwood from my LFS... so going to attatch it to that with thread and put it at the back in the middle of the tank.. I think it should get enough light from that ...

The bogwood is still soaking ... takes AGES!!

I know what you mean about the maintenance... but it does look nice

Thanks again

 

[mattyd1701]

Can anyone help me

thankyou x

i have a Edge myself (currently away back to Fluval to fix a crack i put in the side of it )
anyways if you have not figured it out yet you soon will that this tank is extremely awkward for even general maintenance with that small access at the top so my recommendations would be some small plants that take as long as possible to grow the slower the better. i cant recommend plants as i have just started a planted tank myself for the first time but i would deffos recommend something small and slow growing also the plants are going to have to go near enough to the center of the tank because i dont know about yours but mine seems not to get alot of light in the corners which will restrict growth unless you get a plant that does not require a lot of light unless you have the larger 46L tank rather than the smaller 23L i have as the lights are higher up and the corners get a lot more light from what i have seen

Thanks for the reply .. I have since purchased some java fern and a nice small peice of bogwood from my LFS... so going to attatch it to that with thread and put it at the back in the middle of the tank.. I think it should get enough light from that ...

The bogwood is still soaking ... takes AGES!!

I know what you mean about the maintenance... but it does look nice

Thanks again

yeah bogwood can take a while my grandad had a few large pieces for his big tank and they where still releasing tannings after 4 weeks with water changes 3 times a day they took a really long time but it was worth it and the fluval does look nice but i find it a nightmare to clean but you learn the best ways to clean it after a while and it does really well

 

[Haveagojoe]

I've got an edge as well only had it since xmas, i've put some nano driftwood in and pogostemon erectus at the rear and lilaeopsis brasiliensis at the front, both are slow growing.



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[Corrine]

I've got an edge as well only had it since xmas, i've put some nano driftwood in and pogostemon erectus at the rear and lilaeopsis brasiliensis at the front, both are slow growing.



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That looks really good It'll look even better when the plants have grown! I was thinking of attatching a java fern to a peice of bogwood for the centre peice.. but might try the pogostemon erectus in the back as they look really nice. What lights have you got in yours, is it the LED's? If so .. is that enough for all the plants?

Oh and what fish are you planning to keep in yours?

Thanks for reply

 

[mattyd1701]

I've got an edge as well only had it since xmas, i've put some nano driftwood in and pogostemon erectus at the rear and lilaeopsis brasiliensis at the front, both are slow growing.



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looks good with that bit of wood in it really good center piece, is it all one bit? and did you have any problems getting it through the hole at the top

heres my edge before i had to empty it because i cracked the glass

Plastic plants with 2 pieces of Bogwood, Argos Play Sand, and 2 pieces of Decor going to set it back up as a planted tank when i get it back from Hagen

 

[jme369]

Can anyone help me

thankyou x

i have a Edge myself (currently away back to Fluval to fix a crack i put in the side of it )
anyways if you have not figured it out yet you soon will that this tank is extremely awkward for even general maintenance with that small access at the top so my recommendations would be some small plants that take as long as possible to grow the slower the better. i cant recommend plants as i have just started a planted tank myself for the first time but i would deffos recommend something small and slow growing also the plants are going to have to go near enough to the center of the tank because i dont know about yours but mine seems not to get alot of light in the corners which will restrict growth unless you get a plant that does not require a lot of light unless you have the larger 46L tank rather than the smaller 23L i have as the lights are higher up and the corners get a lot more light from what i have seen

Thanks for the reply .. I have since purchased some java fern and a nice small peice of bogwood from my LFS... so going to attatch it to that with thread and put it at the back in the middle of the tank.. I think it should get enough light from that ...

The bogwood is still soaking ... takes AGES!!

I know what you mean about the maintenance... but it does look nice

Thanks again

yeah bogwood can take a while my grandad had a few large pieces for his big tank and they where still releasing tannings after 4 weeks with water changes 3 times a day they took a really long time but it was worth it and the fluval does look nice but i find it a nightmare to clean but you learn the best ways to clean it after a while and it does really well

How important is soaking bogwood then? I have bogwood from my LFS in (incidentally) my edge that I rinsed and cleaned with tonic salts but after that I just put it in. Had it for over a month and the fish seem fine, the water is stained slightly tea coloured but after replacing my activated carbon it seems to have gone.

 

[Corrine]

Can anyone help me

thankyou x

i have a Edge myself (currently away back to Fluval to fix a crack i put in the side of it )
anyways if you have not figured it out yet you soon will that this tank is extremely awkward for even general maintenance with that small access at the top so my recommendations would be some small plants that take as long as possible to grow the slower the better. i cant recommend plants as i have just started a planted tank myself for the first time but i would deffos recommend something small and slow growing also the plants are going to have to go near enough to the center of the tank because i dont know about yours but mine seems not to get alot of light in the corners which will restrict growth unless you get a plant that does not require a lot of light unless you have the larger 46L tank rather than the smaller 23L i have as the lights are higher up and the corners get a lot more light from what i have seen

Thanks for the reply .. I have since purchased some java fern and a nice small peice of bogwood from my LFS... so going to attatch it to that with thread and put it at the back in the middle of the tank.. I think it should get enough light from that ...

The bogwood is still soaking ... takes AGES!!

I know what you mean about the maintenance... but it does look nice

Thanks again

yeah bogwood can take a while my grandad had a few large pieces for his big tank and they where still releasing tannings after 4 weeks with water changes 3 times a day they took a really long time but it was worth it and the fluval does look nice but i find it a nightmare to clean but you learn the best ways to clean it after a while and it does really well

How important is soaking bogwood then? I have bogwood from my LFS in (incidentally) my edge that I rinsed and cleaned with tonic salts but after that I just put it in. Had it for over a month and the fish seem fine, the water is stained slightly tea coloured but after replacing my activated carbon it seems to have gone.

If its from your LFS then i suppose you only soak it to try n get rid of the tannins so it doesn't stain your water ..

I just put a nice big bit of red moor root in my 180litre n the water is all red now .. I couldnt see any tannins when i soaked it in the bath..

 

[mattyd1701]

How important is soaking bogwood then? I have bogwood from my LFS in (incidentally) my edge that I rinsed and cleaned with tonic salts but after that I just put it in. Had it for over a month and the fish seem fine, the water is stained slightly tea coloured but after replacing my activated carbon it seems to have gone.

its not really important the wood is perfectly fine to put straight into the tank if you want to give it that tea coloured water some fish like it that way i would imagin activated carbon would remove some of the colour but water changes would get rid of it all together i soaked the piece (left on my picture above) for 2 weeks and after that it was put into the tank after a week it was still releasing tannins but not as much and a few water changes got rid of it and spending the rest of the time in the tank removed the tannins and now it does not release any, soaking it first will also help it to sink when you put it in your tank.

so over all its up to you how important it is to soak it you want that tea coloured water kinda then just drop it in your tank if you dont then you have to soak it for a while

 

[Corrine]

Sorry moved