Where On Earth Do I Start?!

[fluffycabbage]

Crikey, what a whole new world this fish-keeping is!
Ok as i have an algae problem, i'd like to know how i can combat it with plants. Also i love the look of the planted tanks, so want to go down that route anyway. The jungle ones are great!
So, where do i start? The substrate? What do i need for that? What lighting do i need? Filtration? What type of plants?

Ive had 5 plants in there the last couple of months but theyve all died Im assuming its coz they cant root in the gravel substrate?

Thanks in advance!

 

[pauld]

Crikey, what a whole new world this fish-keeping is!
Ok as i have an algae problem, i'd like to know how i can combat it with plants. Also i love the look of the planted tanks, so want to go down that route anyway. The jungle ones are great!
So, where do i start? The substrate? What do i need for that? What lighting do i need? Filtration? What type of plants?

Ive had 5 plants in there the last couple of months but theyve all died Im assuming its coz they cant root in the gravel substrate?

Thanks in advance!

i would say read read read start with the locked topic at top of this section dont worry its not as scarey as it reads do all your homework there will be loads of disopointments but loads of highs the only good bit of advice i can really give is , remember its a hobbie for plesure enjoy it .

 

[Deek]

Too start with you could give us a few details of your tank helps when choosing plants.

Like the amount of lighting in your tank 2xT8 at 26W etc lighting will determine the plants you can keep.

Plants can root in gravel but a good quality substrate is highly recommended as it allows the plants to obtain nutrients easier.

Filtration is just your standard although a very high output filter can limit plants you can have had a few plants that did not grow well assuming they couldn't grow up properly.

Some decent ferts will also help.

As said look at the top for basics lots of info on here.

Would also recommend sticking to an easy planted tank first and leave out CO2 etc it can be very daunting at first.

 

[RadaR]

Plants can root in gravel but a good quality substrate is highly recommended as it allows the plants to obtain nutrients easier.

Actually the plants can obtain nutrients through their leaves just as easy as they can through their roots. However a nutrient substrate isnt needed as long as you dose the water column enough. The nutrient substrate does give us a larger margain for error incase you forget to dose, or if you dont dose enough. We dont want those plants starving of nutrients because that leads to unhealthy plants and algae.

Filtration is just your standard although a very high output filter can limit plants you can have had a few plants that did not grow well assuming they couldn't grow up properly.

With planted tanks we reccomend very good filtration and good flow. 10x the volume of the tank turned over by the hour is highly regarded. Therefore, a 60litre tank would have 600litres and hour of flow per hour (600lph). It's then a case of setting it up so overall circulation is achieved. This ensures that nutrients and CO2 are delivered to the plants at efficient rates. Deadspots (areas with no flow) are also gotten rid of. The high flow also ensures that physicaly debris doesnt sink down to the bottom of the tank where it will leach ammonia and thus cause algae. Instead it is stucked into the filter. This eliminates the need to gravel vac. Instead hoover every now and then.

Reading "Back to basics" is the best place to start.
Then start with all the other pinned topics.

 

[RBurkett]

Hi,

I have a 60L tank with gravel and have tried various plants, some of which died on me but two which
I found successful were: Anubias and Cryptocoryne.

I removed them from the pot they came in, trimmed the roots and buried them in the gravel.

I use a plant fertiliser and both plants have lots of roots and new growth.

You can get these from Pets at Home 3 for £11.00

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Hope this helps

Rache

 

[ian]

Anubias won't last long in the gravel, it needs to be above the substrate. Preferrably, on wood or rock. Also Rache, you have a non aquatic plant in the back of the second pic on the left. You may want to remove it as it will rot and you'll be getting ammonia spikes.

 

[RBurkett]

Anubias won't last long in the gravel, it needs to be above the substrate. Preferrably, on wood or rock. Also Rache, you have a non aquatic plant in the back of the second pic on the left. You may want to remove it as it will rot and you'll be getting ammonia spikes.

This is why I normally shy away from giving advice, but all I can say is what I see. The Anubias in the second picture has been buried for a month and seems to be ok with new growth, but I will tie it to a rock or stone if that is how I should grow it. Also, I cannot understand what you mean about the other plant. I bought them all from Pets at home for my Aquarium. They had them in water and sold them for that purpose. What is it called? I dont have the name of that one?

Thank for advise by the way, that is how we all learn I guess...

 

[fluffycabbage]

ok so i'll do some research, but i think in general i need a better filter - its a 200 litre Juwel tank with a 600l/h Juwel filter pump. Personally i dont think its all that, as i always seem to have particles in the water

 

[pauld]

ok so i'll do some research, but i think in general i need a better filter - its a 200 litre Juwel tank with a 600l/h Juwel filter pump. Personally i dont think its all that, as i always seem to have particles in the water

hi me again read some of the journals on here you can learn a lot by other peoples mistakes and advice 10x lph is reccomended but you dont have to do all that by filtration its all about flow and haveing no dead spots in your tank so no need to go out and buy a 2000lph filter very exspensive i would up your filter to a 1000 lph but would buy a power head for circulation . as someone mentioned above good substrate is not all ways needed to grow plants as they column feed but not all of them . you dont have to spend pounds on tpn+ you can make your own and save pounds without being a chemist look at doseing .

 

[ian]

[

This is why I normally shy away from giving advice, but all I can say is what I see. The Anubias in the second picture has been buried for a month and seems to be ok with new growth, but I will tie it to a rock or stone if that is how I should grow it. Also, I cannot understand what you mean about the other plant. I bought them all from Pets at home for my Aquarium. They had them in water and sold them for that purpose. What is it called? I dont have the name of that one?

Thank for advise by the way, that is how we all learn I guess...

sorry Rache, didn't mean to come across rude...if the rhizome of the anubias is above the substrate, it may do ok for a month or 2, but you do have to be careful as substrate gets moved around and if the rhizome gets covered then the plant will die. As for the non aquatic, P@H do it all the time and we in the planted section advise people all the time to remove this kind of plant. It belongs to the Chlorophytum comosum family and sold as an aquatic, but isn't. hope this helps.

 

[fluffycabbage]

ok so i'll do some research, but i think in general i need a better filter - its a 200 litre Juwel tank with a 600l/h Juwel filter pump. Personally i dont think its all that, as i always seem to have particles in the water

hi me again read some of the journals on here you can learn a lot by other peoples mistakes and advice 10x lph is reccomended but you dont have to do all that by filtration its all about flow and haveing no dead spots in your tank so no need to go out and buy a 2000lph filter very exspensive i would up your filter to a 1000 lph but would buy a power head for circulation . as someone mentioned above good substrate is not all ways needed to grow plants as they column feed but not all of them . you dont have to spend pounds on tpn+ you can make your own and save pounds without being a chemist look at doseing .

Im pretty sure i only have one dead spot and thats in the corner near the bottom of the filter. other than that the water moves really well (you can tell when i feed them, the food flies about everywhere!) What is a powerhead? I'll defo be changing to white sand soon, if i can - is it ok for corys and snails?

 

[RadaR]

Trust us, you'll need more than 600lph in a 200litre tank
The sand will be fine to use.
Good powerheads are Hydor Koralias because they move whole bodies of water instead of creating single jets of current.

 

[ian]

yep, RadaR is right. If i was you i would upgrade your juwel powerhead to a 1000lph and also add a Koralia, like RadaR said. Koralias come in a nano version and then number upwards. I used a nano for a while in my 190ltr and now have a Koralia 1 and its doing a great job along with the 1000lph juwel powerhead.

 

[pauld]

uv had loads of info to take in last few days , dont go out blowing ur wages at lfs look on ebay theres loads of places that you can get ur kit at arf mrp buy plants off members of forums or internet shops i dont know if ur allowed to put links on here so i wont but i use a great one pm me if u want the link . shop wisely you can get top brand name stuff for fraction of the price ive just set up high tech tank for under £300 example korola 4 brand new £36 now contraversal bit which a load of people wont agree with theres lots of copys of top brand kit from china that work great, ok u wont be able to say filtration fx5 or be in the elite club but if all ur after is a great fish and planted tank wat does it matter , watch this get shot down in flames .

 

[fluffycabbage]

uv had loads of info to take in last few days , dont go out blowing ur wages at lfs look on ebay theres loads of places that you can get ur kit at arf mrp buy plants off members of forums or internet shops i dont know if ur allowed to put links on here so i wont but i use a great one pm me if u want the link . shop wisely you can get top brand name stuff for fraction of the price ive just set up high tech tank for under £300 example korola 4 brand new £36 now contraversal bit which a load of people wont agree with theres lots of copys of top brand kit from china that work great, ok u wont be able to say filtration fx5 or be in the elite club but if all ur after is a great fish and planted tank wat does it matter , watch this get shot down in flames .

Thanks for the advice