A heater would be required for proper sustainment of life.
Sand or dark slate type gravel.
- Thread starter Metta
- Start date
OP
OP
Metta
Fish Crazy
No problem, thanks a lot for that. I don’t think I am wanting snails or shrimps as of yet I’m only having fish and corys when the sand goes down. I hope I don’t kill any fish when I’m doing all this my only worry!
DISCLAIMER - I'm a relative newbie to planted tanks, only a year or so really, so this is just my personal experiences, always do your own research! 
It can be really hard to find out which plants are root feeders and which aren't. I tend to go by whether they form a big root system. If it's a stem plant like elodea or hornwort, they only put out skinny little roots and the plant naturally floats, even if you plant some and it roots more, so it must be taking in nutrition from it's leaves. Amazon swords, dwarf lilies and crytocorynes put out decent root structures, so I root tab those well. Crypts can live with no ferts, but personally I've found they grow better when there are both tabs and liquid ferts in there. I suspect they take in nutrients from roots and leaves; where ever they can get it. So I figure it doesn't hurt to stick a root tab between a bunch of crypts, and they can also use the liquid ferts if they need/prefer.
Anything not planted in substrate, but attached to decor like moss or java fern, need liquid ferts since they can't take anything in from the substrate. Although they will still grow, slowly, without any added ferts, just getting what they need from fish waste etc.
I have a mix of both types of plants, so I'm using both root tabs and liquid ferts in all tanks.
In practice, that means I end up snapping root tablets into 2-3 pieces, and dotting them around the substrate all over the place. Since I know for sure that amazon swords are heavy root feeders, and my dwarf lily has extensive roots, those get a whole tablet each. A load of my crypts are bunched together, so I break up a tablet or two and push the pieces all around, so they all get a chance to use it.
I'm sorry that I don't have a more scientific, numbers based tip for you! I suppose it's possible to overdose root tabs if you put dozens of tablets everywhere and they were all breaking down and releasing too much of a certain nutrient into the water. It's more likely that excess nutrients would lead to a lot of algae. So it can be a case of trial and error. Start out cautiously, and monitor growth and whether you get more algae than is normal. Make sure you're controlling the lighting first -excess light leads to algae, and most of us have been guilty of leaving the lights on for too long to enjoy the tank (I used to leave them on for 12-14 hours! terrible algae from that) but if your lighting is okay in duration and intensity, and you're still getting a lot of algae, then you're probably overdoing the ferts.
If you put a root tab under a sword and it's thriving and growing like mad, or one doesn't have a root tab but is looking lacklustre, you have to adjust accordingly. A bigger plant will be using more, and might need more ferts than it did when you first planted it.
You can dive really deep into lighting/ferts/CO2 etc in planted tanks, it can get really scientific and complicated, and striking a balance in each tank is tricky, when different lighting, different water, and different plants and ferts, and fish bioload all come into play. But for a basic, low tech planted tank, don't panic too much. Add 2-4 root tabs depending on what rooted plants you have, follow the directions for the liquid ferts, and keep your lighting duration consistent at 6-7 hours, and you can't go too far wrong
It can be really hard to find out which plants are root feeders and which aren't. I tend to go by whether they form a big root system. If it's a stem plant like elodea or hornwort, they only put out skinny little roots and the plant naturally floats, even if you plant some and it roots more, so it must be taking in nutrition from it's leaves. Amazon swords, dwarf lilies and crytocorynes put out decent root structures, so I root tab those well. Crypts can live with no ferts, but personally I've found they grow better when there are both tabs and liquid ferts in there. I suspect they take in nutrients from roots and leaves; where ever they can get it. So I figure it doesn't hurt to stick a root tab between a bunch of crypts, and they can also use the liquid ferts if they need/prefer.
Anything not planted in substrate, but attached to decor like moss or java fern, need liquid ferts since they can't take anything in from the substrate. Although they will still grow, slowly, without any added ferts, just getting what they need from fish waste etc.
I have a mix of both types of plants, so I'm using both root tabs and liquid ferts in all tanks.
In practice, that means I end up snapping root tablets into 2-3 pieces, and dotting them around the substrate all over the place. Since I know for sure that amazon swords are heavy root feeders, and my dwarf lily has extensive roots, those get a whole tablet each. A load of my crypts are bunched together, so I break up a tablet or two and push the pieces all around, so they all get a chance to use it.
I'm sorry that I don't have a more scientific, numbers based tip for you! I suppose it's possible to overdose root tabs if you put dozens of tablets everywhere and they were all breaking down and releasing too much of a certain nutrient into the water. It's more likely that excess nutrients would lead to a lot of algae. So it can be a case of trial and error. Start out cautiously, and monitor growth and whether you get more algae than is normal. Make sure you're controlling the lighting first -excess light leads to algae, and most of us have been guilty of leaving the lights on for too long to enjoy the tank (I used to leave them on for 12-14 hours!
terrible algae from that) but if your lighting is okay in duration and intensity, and you're still getting a lot of algae, then you're probably overdoing the ferts.If you put a root tab under a sword and it's thriving and growing like mad, or one doesn't have a root tab but is looking lacklustre, you have to adjust accordingly. A bigger plant will be using more, and might need more ferts than it did when you first planted it.
You can dive really deep into lighting/ferts/CO2 etc in planted tanks, it can get really scientific and complicated, and striking a balance in each tank is tricky, when different lighting, different water, and different plants and ferts, and fish bioload all come into play. But for a basic, low tech planted tank, don't panic too much. Add 2-4 root tabs depending on what rooted plants you have, follow the directions for the liquid ferts, and keep your lighting duration consistent at 6-7 hours, and you can't go too far wrong
OP
OP
Metta
Fish Crazy
Do you have any fish yet, I can't remember 
OP
OP
Metta
Fish Crazy
Yes mate, This is my main issue of changing everything around. That’s why I’m worried about loosing fish. List below I have a 150L Fluval tank.Do you have any fish yet, I can't remember
Rosie Barbs x4
Neon Tetras x8
Black Phantom Tetras x4
Pearl Guorami x1
Albino brisle nose x2
Golden shark x1
The golden shark will be leaving aslong with the albino bristle noses. Replacing with some Corys.
I rushed into getting fish as my first setup as we all do.
It's probably been said before but there will be a lot of muck in the old substrate so you'll end up having to completely empty the tank. I did when I changed to sand. I couldn't believe how messy the old gravel was 
Siphon some water into a container, and put the fish, and decor and filter in the container. Once you've removed the old substrate and water, put the sand in and plant those plants rooted in the substrate then refill with new water. If you want to use a bacterial starter to help replace the bacteria in the old substrate, add it when you refill. Then put the fish, decor and filter back into the tank.
Siphon some water into a container, and put the fish, and decor and filter in the container. Once you've removed the old substrate and water, put the sand in and plant those plants rooted in the substrate then refill with new water. If you want to use a bacterial starter to help replace the bacteria in the old substrate, add it when you refill. Then put the fish, decor and filter back into the tank.
OP
OP
Metta
Fish Crazy
It's probably been said before but there will be a lot of muck in the old substrate so you'll end up having to completely empty the tank. I did when I changed to sand. I couldn't believe how messy the old gravel was
Siphon some water into a container, and put the fish, and decor and filter in the container. Once you've removed the old substrate and water, put the sand in and plant those plants rooted in the substrate then refill with new water. If you want to use a bacterial starter to help replace the bacteria in the old substrate, add it when you refill. Then put the fish, decor and filter back into the tank.
Sounds good mate! I’ll also add some of the old water back in. I cleaned some gravel today and done a water change and omg it was disgusting tank had some floating about all clear now.
I have a questions I have an external filter and worried about sand sucking into it? It doesn’t have a foam bit on the outlet just a bit Of grooves plastic. How can I ensure nothing damages the filter?
Measure the size of the inlet pipe (the bit with the open plastic grooves where the water is taken from the tank into the filter) then search for an intake sponge that will fit.
They reduce the flow slightly, but do stop massive things from clogging the filter or sand being sucked up. Acts as more mechanical and biological filtration too.You do need to keep an eye on how dirty and blocked it gets though, my intake sponge needs removing and cleaning more often than the rest of the filter. I put a plastic bag over my hand and cover the intake sponge before turning it off, then remove the whole lot and rinse it out. When I turned it off and then removed the sponge without the bag, a lot of the muck would fall off and float around the tank again.
About your pm, I'll upload some photos when I get some more time later, have some water changes and fish catching to do right now
OP
OP
Metta
Fish Crazy
Measure the size of the inlet pipe (the bit with the open plastic grooves where the water is taken from the tank into the filter) then search for an intake sponge that will fit.
You do need to keep an eye on how dirty and blocked it gets though, my intake sponge needs removing and cleaning more often than the rest of the filter. I put a plastic bag over my hand and cover the intake sponge before turning it off, then remove the whole lot and rinse it out. When I turned it off and then removed the sponge without the bag, a lot of the muck would fall off and float around the tank again.
About your pm, I'll upload some photos when I get some more time later, have some water changes and fish catching to do right now
Thanks mate, no rush.
Would it not work if I move the inlet pipe further up. rather tan say 1 inch of the bottom. As wouldn't it not filter the dirt out the tank correctly with a foam pad around the inlet?
Yeah, moving it up should work.
Sorry, I automatically think of sponge intake covers because I keep shrimp and have fry from my guppies, which would get sucked into the canister filter without an intake sponge (one time my sponge slipped, and I found 13 fry in the canister. most survived, but some didn't
) But if you're not going to have shrimp or teeny fish, no need to cover the intake.Intake sponges do slow the flow a little, but they still do a good job of filtering. Anything too large gets stuck in the sponge, but the sponge also becomes covered in nitrifying bacteria, and means you need to clean the sponge to get the larger stuff as well as cleaning the filter. But it doesn't stop the bacteria from processing ammonia/nitrites, or turning over the water, which is the main thing I want from my filter. I tend to remove things like plant debris during weekly gravel/sand cleaning.
Picture of my first tank, before I ripped it apart a couple of weeks ago. 15 gallon, 59 litre, gravel substrate.
And a pic of my new set up, sorry not a great pic, I need to adjust my camera, and this was only set up last Tuesday, so it looks really new. Also a 15 gallon, sand substrate. More pics and info about the planting in this thread:
Re-starting 15 gallon, 1st time with sand
Planning to add MTS, but also going to be a planted tank, so stirring up the sand too much especially in the thicker areas might be a problem for the plants, possibly? I do want a fairly thick layer so I can have some height at one end, but think I might have gone a bit mad. Any thoughts before...
www.fishforums.net
So the first tank is a mess now, will be rescaping it when I can get some more hardscape and plants, but plants are tricky right now since I have shrimp. Like @essjay warned, plants grown outside the EU have been sprayed or dipped in pesticides that kill shrimp. I didn't know that, bought some plants from LFS and online, lost a lot of shrimp. So this second, sanded tank was set up quickly to move my shrimp colony into a safe tank.
Also have a 12 gallon grow out tank but nothing special and don't have a pic yet, and partial custody of my elderly father's 57 gallon tank. It's his tank/fish/say, I just do water changes, add plants and filtration, and do maintenance.
This one is an overstocked, livebearer nightmare, but I caught up a load of the fish to go to the LFS tomorrow. Still a crowded tank full of fry, but less overstocked now I've removed 30 odd young adult platies and mollies.
For anyone wondering, OP asked me for pics of my current set ups. I'm not just randomly hijacking a thread
OP, what did you want to ask about plant names?
OP
OP
Metta
Fish Crazy
Yeah, moving it up should work.
Sorry, I automatically think of sponge intake covers because I keep shrimp and have fry from my guppies, which would get sucked into the canister filter without an intake sponge (one time my sponge slipped, and I found 13 fry in the canister. most survived, but some didn't
Intake sponges do slow the flow a little, but they still do a good job of filtering. Anything too large gets stuck in the sponge, but the sponge also becomes covered in nitrifying bacteria, and means you need to clean the sponge to get the larger stuff as well as cleaning the filter. But it doesn't stop the bacteria from processing ammonia/nitrites, or turning over the water, which is the main thing I want from my filter. I tend to remove things like plant debris during weekly gravel/sand cleaning.
Picture of my first tank, before I ripped it apart a couple of weeks ago. 15 gallon, 59 litre, gravel substrate.
View attachment 114715View attachment 114716
And a pic of my new set up, sorry not a great pic, I need to adjust my camera, and this was only set up last Tuesday, so it looks really new. Also a 15 gallon, sand substrate. More pics and info about the planting in this thread:
View attachment 114717
Re-starting 15 gallon, 1st time with sand
Planning to add MTS, but also going to be a planted tank, so stirring up the sand too much especially in the thicker areas might be a problem for the plants, possibly? I do want a fairly thick layer so I can have some height at one end, but think I might have gone a bit mad. Any thoughts before...
So the first tank is a mess now, will be rescaping it when I can get some more hardscape and plants, but plants are tricky right now since I have shrimp. Like @essjay warned, plants grown outside the EU have been sprayed or dipped in pesticides that kill shrimp. I didn't know that, bought some plants from LFS and online, lost a lot of shrimp. So this second, sanded tank was set up quickly to move my shrimp colony into a safe tank.
Also have a 12 gallon grow out tank but nothing special and don't have a pic yet, and partial custody of my elderly father's 57 gallon tank. It's his tank/fish/say, I just do water changes, add plants and filtration, and do maintenance.
View attachment 114722
This one is an overstocked, livebearer nightmare, but I caught up a load of the fish to go to the LFS tomorrow. Still a crowded tank full of fry, but less overstocked now I've removed 30 odd young adult platies and mollies.
For anyone wondering, OP asked me for pics of my current set ups. I'm not just randomly hijacking a thread
OP, what did you want to ask about plant names?
Some nice looking tank there mate, Thanks for the advice!
Yes I want to know the names and plants I should go for as such as Java moss, and AmazonSwords. The real names are confusing haha.
FishFriend11
New Member
Eco-complete for plants is great for a planted aquarium. I've had mine for going on 15 years this month and my plants love it. After a few months it gets packed down a bit and makes vaccuuming pretty easy, but I hardly vaccuum mine, since my filter gets most of it. If I remember correctly, since its been 15 years, I used 4 bags of the eco-complete in my 30G long. Here is a current photo of it. Look at online PetCo and PetSmart for it being on sale, at a reduced cost.
Tobek28
New Member
I believe you said you already ordered some sand, but I thought I'd chime in. I haven't used it, but play sand can be a little dirty and take more rinsing to get it clean at the start. Many people in the States have used pool filter sand (I did) because it is cleaner. I got about 50 lbs for $8 USD at my local Menards (hardware/construction supply store). It might be worth checking out if it could work for you in the future.
About replacing substrate. If you haven't already, it might be as good idea to replace 50% at a time. That way you lose less of the bacteria in the substrate at once and can help repopulate it faster.
About replacing substrate. If you haven't already, it might be as good idea to replace 50% at a time. That way you lose less of the bacteria in the substrate at once and can help repopulate it faster.
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