Frogfish Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Is there such a thing as an over planted tank? My fish are loosing real estate by the minute but the plant load really makes the tank stand out. Its not what I would call an aquacsape but more of a jungle mish mash of random plants, over 15 species in a 65 gal. My wife thinks the plants are going to put the fish out of their home haha. I've been holding off on trimming so that I can do a huge batch of trimmings for trade or give away. So much for the trade idea there's no room for additions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 Not for me. I have over 2 dozen species in a 75. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 +1 on the wild jungle look but does make viewing fish a challenge. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 I find that a tank can really look good after trimming back a huge jungle. Just make sure you do a good large WC when you trim, bc you are essentially taking out a large portion of biofilter. That being said, after most jungles are trimmed back to controlable levels, they're still HEAVILY planted, and still require the addition of ferts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted April 2, 2014 Report Share Posted April 2, 2014 No such thing....only issue is you'll probably find you have more fish!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted April 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 I might reduce ferts a bit too because there will be less plant matter to uptake the nutrients. Tough call as I am still fine tuning my fert regime based on frequent test results and consistent water change schedules. I love watching the jungle grow back. The plants in the under canopy really get a boost from the trim due to the increased light received. Viewing the fish isn't a huge deal i'm too busy watching the plants, that and there's probably too many fish in the tank. Thanks for the tip on increasing the wc volume. I should really get on board with the photo sharing to post, I get a lot of compliments on my tank. I was going to post a pic of my baby girls tank with a single sword plantlet as an April fools joke but was tiered and went to bed instead. Indeed there is no such thing as too many plants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted April 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 (edited) Edited April 4, 2014 by Frogfish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted April 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 Well isn't that pathetic, how can the picture be made bigger? I used the instructions from the post on hosting pictures and signed up with photobucket. And this is what it uploaded! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 4, 2014 Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 don't waste your time with photobucket. i'll give you a pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewels Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Is there such a thing as an over planted tank? . I will be the voice of treason here and say - Yes. There are some naturally inherent draw backs of excessive plant matter. Starting with the least significant - Physical pitfalls - Anyone remember the photo I posted with a P. furcatus hung up with a stem thru the gill Decreased swimming area; if the plants occupy 75% of the volume all the fish must get along with a 4X increase in population density. Some fish can manage, some cannot. Increased temperature - a solid green floating mat under direct light will elevate the temperature exponentially. Decreased circulation - water around the tank - CO2 distribution within the tank -as well as oxy xchange @ the suface. Respiration - On an exceptionally long night ( If I should neglect to turn on lights in the morning) plants have robbed enough oxyg. to make fish uncomfy. I would say the most significant and unsurmountable drawback to having overstuffed plants is the lower die off or Killer Umbrella effect. Eventually - regardless of amount of fixtures added - light at the substrate will be absent. After playing with a PAR metre for a couple years I have found light fall off to be the most alarming measurement I encounter. Once a plant has reached the waterline the value of the intensity of light below is devastated. For example I have a Twenty Gallon with 3 T5 bulbs and 2 40Watt spiral CFL above. That is over 100 Watts of light all sitting directly on the glass cover. The par reading at the substrate is 0.5 PAR. Dont get me wrong; I wont trim until I get a solid green block and the poor little fish have their faces squished up to the glass. It just takes gratuitous amount of light to do it. I grew this mess below with 430W HPS and direct sunlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted April 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2014 Ha that's encouraging thanks for sharing the info in regards to what massively planting or reduced trimming has for an effect on the ecosystem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SomethingIsFishy Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Is there such a thing as an over planted tank? . I wont trim until I get a solid green block and the poor little fish have their faces squished up to the glass. . Love the humor. I'm struggling to get my 29 g planted tank to look even 25% like that. Just need to find potassium sulfate as a last ingredient for PMDD and I hope to be off to the races.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted April 14, 2014 Report Share Posted April 14, 2014 Love the humor. I'm struggling to get my 29 g planted tank to look even 25% like that. Just need to find potassium sulfate as a last ingredient for PMDD and I hope to be off to the races.... You should be able to get started without the KSO4 - I find that until the tank starts looking like Jewels', you likely won't see a Potassium deficiency. You'll be getting lots from KNO3 and KH2PO4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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