Substrate Suggestions

[KimW]

one thing that I didnt know is that if you go too deep with the sand, you will get anaerobic areas. I experienced this in my tank. In those areas my plants wouldnt grow. Mind you in that area was something like 3.5 inches of sand but it should be known. It even seemed that the mts stayed away from there as well. It was under some rocks. Lesson learned.

I should also mention that I have read that the compost thing is only a bad idea if bought commercially since a lot of compost companies will put additives in their compost to enhance the effects of their product.

If you google it, there are countless formulas that people swear by for their tanks, formulas that many others would counter with various lists of potential cons. Since this is your first planted tank, I would recommend a more common substrate, one that will allow you to rule out other factors in your set up. Many plants will grow more than adequately in gravel, but if you are looking for a more comprehensive suggestion, I would throw Flourite out there as a suggestion. ADA has a pretty sweet system out there too.

Good luck with you plants! It can be a rewarding part of the hobby!

Ok well with that being said, how big of a bag of the flourite would you figure I would need for a 15G tank? I have to keep my budget pretty low, as I already have a 120G African Cichlid tank that my hubby squawks about me sinking money into LOL.

As well is the flourite basically just a base to use ? Is that something I could top with sand for that finished look in areas where I am looking for that effect? I plan to plant fairly heavily, and after doing some research am debating between two possibilities of biotopes Amazon, Asian Riverbed.

In addition to the research I have done, will this color the water at all?, and I am assuming I will have to cycle the tank prior to adding fish, but does the process speed up at all when it's a planted tank?

With a 15G is there any need to add a co2 system at all or is it a small enough tank that this is not required?, or would it still benefit?

As far as filters I have an HOB filter from an old 30G that i want to use, now I guess my question here is, would this be alright? A lot of the reading I have done says you want minimal water surface disturbance, and minimal contact of the water with oxygen itself?? Someone help me here not really sure about this there seems to be sooo many contradicting opinions on this matter.

Sorry if these seem like silly questions but I want all the information I can get before I start this project. When I started fish keeping I went into it kinda blind and I lost a lot of fish as I was learning, lesson learned....research, research, research! LOL

I figure here is the best place to ask because you all know yer stuff

[jamesbarr]

ok, so Ill try my best to answer you. Others will likely fill in the blanks. All of this is from my experience or research so results may vary :P

As mentioned above, substrate can get crazy. People put all kinds of stuff into their tanks and a good deal of them get spot on results. IMO its all about the husbandry. Some substrates take more maintenance than others. As you mentioned above, its all in the research you do about it, or how much you feel like doing. I personally have never used flourite. My recommendation came from the countless beautifully planted tanks that I have seen over the years that have used the stuff. The concept is that the nutrients are made available to the plants immediately through the substrate, rather than with dosing where it has to get there through the water column first. This doesnt mean that you cant or shouldnt dose on top of that. It will all depend on what you are wanting to grow and how fast you want it to happen. It will also depend on how much you want to do to your tank after its set up. As for how much, I imagine that there is some kind of prescribed amount per gallon or to a specific depth inch wise, tho I cant speak to that for sure. Flourite does have a reputation for being rather colourful when you first add it to your tank set up, but from what I understand, there are ways to mitigate that. Others will be more helpful in that department.

Co2 is something that most hobbiests are going to have an opinion on. Mainly, where to get it from. In my past, I ran a 15g, moderately planted. I dosed Flourish comprehensive but no Co2 or Excel. This tank is the bar on which I measure all my tanks. It looked super, at least to me. Now, you say that you are thinking that you want to go heavy planted. On this, you have a couple options. You can go pressurized (lots of equipment), diy Co2 (cheap but not super consistent), you can dose Excel/Metricide (daily dosing, excel is expensive) or you can rely on your fish to get the job done. These options are things I would read about. Only you know your character and what you want in your tank.

You ask about filtration. I might stir the pot on this, maybe not. This is the way that I look at things, and I know it will be contrary to what some may say, so again, I recommend that you read up on this and figure out what you think is more up your alley. IMO filtration in a planted tank should be for water clarity and nothing else should be needed. If you have the right ratio plants:fish one should take care of the other. This is easier said than done sometimes but with some patience a person can get it figured out. I like the idea of starting out with too many plants and adding fish since plants tend to take longer to get established. In this way, you can 'over filter' your tank. Once its cycled and the plants begin to use all the nutrients in the water, you can figure out through water tests if your plants are getting rid of all your nitrates. If they arent, you can either feed your fish less, add plants, get rid of fish or start doing more scheduled w/c. Once you seem to achieve this equilibrium, you can begin to gage your success on the look of your plants. If they are taking up all the nutrients, but appear to be languishing, you can add more fish, feed more, do fewer scheduled w/c or begin to dose your tank with ferts. I realise that this approach is relatively meticulous and can take a lot of time, just the way I like to do things.

I hope this helps in some way. Make sure you post a thread of you progress when you do get it going

Edited March 1, 2013 by jamesbarr

[ckmullin]

changed info

Edited September 18, 2016 by ckmullin

[jamesbarr]

ckmullin is definitely right about the plants. choosing plants that will propagate themselves is for sure good advice. When I suggested using lots of plants at once, I forgot that I have been using the same sub for a few years now. Its quite loaded with mulm by now and that allows me to do this approach. My advice of heavy planting straight away is probably not the best now that hes mentioned it.

You mentioned doing an amazon biotope. These tend to do a lot of blade plants, and they tend to fill in the gaps pretty fast. Good call Mullin.

[Jro]

Kim, get whatever fits into your budget. Fluorite is near the top as for as pricey goes but has long term nutrient sustainability, sand is cheap but has high surface area for bacterial growth, but next to no long term nutrients (root tabs every couple of months will help with that).

[Jro]

As far as plants I'm going fairly basic for now, as I am just a beginner. I am figuring on doing an asian theme riverbed type tank, so whatever plant life will fit into that. I haven't yet done all the research on specific plant species that belong in this habitat or the exact lighting and current requirements.

Is a flourescent light generally better to meet lighting requirements?

As well what sort of general wattage should I consider that will basically cover all of my needs plant wise, that will in conjunction with providing suitable lighting for my plants bring out the vibrant colors of the fish?

As far as fish Rasboras for sure will be in it. They are an interesting little fish, that's about as far as I have gotten with it.

I am thinking I will probably go the sand route as I really like the look of sand over gravel.

There is such a thing as too much light. In my previous experience I have found that HO setups in a 15 gallon are nice and all but unless you are constantly adding nutrients (fertilizing and CO2) back into the water, the plants will use it too quickly, the water volume just isn't a lot. The plants end up frying.

Find a light that covers the tank end to end evenly with a bulb spectrum between 6500k - 10000k. 6500k gives off a more yellowish tinge while 10000k is more white, personal preference really.

My first planted tank was a 20 gallon with a Power Compact 36 watt light ($14) that I had about 10" above the tank to cover the whole tank and I did just fine. I wasn't growing carpets of HC or anything but my crypts and rotala (both asian plants) did well. They grew at a slower pace when compared to a High tech setup but they did well.

One more thing, I found my plants LOVE water changes. It adds and circulates nutrients in the water column and they pearl (produce oxygen bubbles) like mad after a good water change.

Like the other folks have stated, have fun and learn.

Edited March 1, 2013 by Jro

[KimW]

Kim, get whatever fits into your budget. Fluorite is near the top as for as pricey goes but has long term nutrient sustainability, sand is cheap but has high surface area for bacterial growth, but next to no long term nutrients (root tabs every couple of months will help with that).

You say it has long term nutrient sustainability....basically my question to this is, if I go big so to speak and use the flourite will this save me money with having to add ferts in the long run? I am assuming I will still have to do some sort of dosing whether it be liquid or tab/stake format but will I have to do this less frequently?

Also sand over top of the flourite would be fine??, can't see as anyone answered this for me as of yet.

I am thinking of doing a black sand of some sort ( As I really like the green/black contrast), is there a larger grain sand available to avoid the anaerobic possibilities?

As well any suggestions for a reliable LFS to purchase plants? Has anyone had luck via mail-order, ebay etc?

[cainechow]

Really you don't need to use anything over flourite. And if you don't like the red brown colour, just get the black one You know because you already mentioned black sand... There is also flourite sand.

If you really are going to go heavily planted, you are going to end up fertilising eventually... and probably end up either going co2 or liquid carbon. I'm just saying but you can get there when you get there. No need to go whole hog really.

Edited March 1, 2013 by cainechow

[KimW]

Well wish me luck, going to get the tank cleaned and prepped today. Gonna test it as it has been sitting for quite some time, make sure there are no leaks. Everything looks intact, so it should be fine.

I realized today too after I dug it out that the hood has two incandescent bulb outlets. Will this pose a problem for correct lighting?

Is there a specific bulb I should be looking at to maintain the proper light spectrum?(as I no longer have bulbs for this tank I will have to purchase two)

I am considering 2 of the Zoo Med 6,500K Ultra Sun Mini Compact Flourescent 10W, as it screws into this type of base and should hopefully keep my temps down while still providing the light I need, if anyone has an opinion on this matter I would really appreciate it before I go out and purchase these

I do plan to eventually replace the hood altogether but for now this will have to do. I am watching a couple of light fixtures on ebay that if one of them goes for a decent price I may order.