KimW Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Ok so it's been eons since I have posted here. Been so busy with life ( 5 kids will do that ), however now that the kids are getting older I have decided to turn my 120G into a planted tank. I will apologize right now for the length of this....what can I say I am chatty LOL This tank used to be a cichlid tank but with the heavy bio load the cichlids just got to be too much, and all the aggression was beginning to get excessive so I have opted for a community tetra tank. I want to start off fairly well ( so semi-planted ) and see how it goes. As of yet I have not been able to purchase a C02 system. I am hoping I can sweet talk my husband into it, if the planting goes well. Tank Information: Lighting: 4x 80W 60" T5 HO Lighting Filtration: Fluval FX5 Substrate: Approx 2" Seachem Flourite Black Tank Dimensions: 26" H x 18"W x 60" L I am a firm believer in do it right the first time so.... for the questions: I plan to aquascape this as best I can with a limited budget, what is the best thing/material to use to bring the back of the tank bottom/substrate up in height a bit. I am thinking about 6-8" ( maybe more )? What is the best foreground plant to use to get a grass-like feeling across the majority of the bottom of the tank that is fairly fast growing, can handle a high light tank, and no C02 at present? I am looking for a variety of colors for background plantings...any suggestions? What are peoples opinions on (I believe they are) resin aquarium shelfs? I have seen them and am interested but if they will not hold substrate in any form then they are a waste of time/money. Just wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge on these. Filtration? As I said before I am running a Fluval FX5, will this be too much current for a planted tank? If yes, how do I modify the filtration so as to not wreck the filter, but tone down the current from the intake and out-flow? Last but not least, Fertilizer? Best brand, Format? How often would/should I dose? I trust AA's members opinions as you all have more experience with this stuff at this point than I do, and research can only get you so far LOL. I am sure I will have plenty more questions as time goes on but for now this is what I am wondering as I am getting to the point of purchasing plant life. I do currently have a pile of some variety of Anubias (some of which I intend to trade ) in this tank and they are doing well so far so I guess that is a good sign LOL If anyone has any plants they would like to donate/trade for some of the Anubias (-snails), I of course would be forever grateful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekbottom Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Welcome back!!! To increase height at the back of the tank you could use larger bits of rock, or put lava rocks bits in filter socks to help them hold their shape. Cover in substrate. Go to landscape places for cheaper supplies, fish stores inflate the price astronomically on rock. Dwarf saggitaria is a good bet for grassy ground cover that will spread like a plague. It's pretty tough and will stay fairly short with high light. I find too much filtration can turn into just the right amount as the tank grows in and plants slow down water movement. There are several ways to fertilize a tank, all of them customizable. Do some research on the Estimative Index way of fertilizing. Probably the best way for a tank that size. You can buy ferts at All Seasons Garden center just off Whyte. It would also be a good idea to use root tabs. I've found dwarf sag really likes that. Good Luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Don't have tonnes of time atm so will answer quick. Why do you want to raise the tank substrate bed? Closer to the light to have a higher value of par is one reason. 3-4 inches of substrate is great for planted tanks. Don't need 8" ! dwarf hair grass shelfs...i don't put anything in the tank which is not 'natural'. i personally hate plastic stuff in a planted tank. grab rock or wood to add height in your tank your tank is something like a 100g? that filter is fine but i'd do something as in adding a spray bar. you don't need a avalanche of water but a current dyi is the best and cheapest. grab dry chemicals and you can mix to your own ppm. I do this and never looked back seachem has good products if you don't want to mix your own for how often that has way too many attributes to answer properly with the info you just gave btw...snails in a planted tank is a must imo. don't shy away from them as they help complete 'the circle of life' your building within glass walls in your living room. recreate as much as possible an outside river/stream/pond environment. BALANCE in this is key...have your tank in balance and you will NEVER have any problems I do suggest to get MTS snails and pond snails. YES...add pond snails. hit me up if you want...i do planted tanks as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 With that much light, you'll NEED a source of carbon if you don't want algae soup in short order. If you feed the plants right, they will always out-compete algae; and the nutrient plants need most is carbon. The easiest, and probably cheapest in the long run is pressurized CO2 - set it and forget. Other options are Metricide or Seachem Excel, but there are a few plants that can't handle those chemicals. IMO, don't start fertilizing until you have a source of carbon - I've done it the lazy way and usually end up throwing out handfuls of moss and other fine plants with the algae. I agree with ckmullin that you don't need to raise the substrate in the back; there are plenty of plants that'll reach the surface of a 26" tank with 3-4" of substrate. Most Vallisneria will do it, just about any stem plant will, Cryptocoryne balance is a personal favorite that will reach the surface. Once you get a source of carbon, plant it as thick as you can from the get-go. If you can fill in the tank with lots of fast-growing plants right away, you will eliminate the need to cycle the tank before adding fish. If your tank is fully planted, it can be fully stocked. The best place to get plants on the cheap is here on AA. Put an ad in the Livestock Classifieds,and jump on any post for plants. IMO, get as many fast-growing plants as you can to get things started; once your tank gets more established, you can get rid of some of the plants that grow too fast and put in more of the slower growing plants that you may like more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimW Posted June 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 What is your opinion on a DIY source of C02? I think I can pull it off fairly easily and low budget at the moment. I ask only because Hubby ( AKA the money) has issues with sinking money into "My" tank. So I know until I can show him I can successfully pull off a planted tank he won't want to pony up the dough to get an actual C02 system. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 dyi yeast on that size tank is a waste of $. Don't even try on your tank. Use Metricide. I use this product daily and it's liquid steroids for plants. For a co2 pressurized system it isn't that expensive over time. Don't get Seachem's Excel as it is over priced but rather use the Metricide product. The active ingredient is Glutaraldehyde. It's nasty stuff so keep watch on it but it works great for aquarium submerged plants. As it was said above some plants may not like however the amount of plant species that do benefit from this chemical far larger. I strongly recommend this Glutaraldehyde route over dyi yeast on your tank size. Not much more than a 30 gal is good for yeast. If you did go this chemical route, I'd be happy to help with dosing amounts and how to properly dose the tank. When you are able to go pressurized something like this can do the trick. 100% what I've got below and works like a charm. While there are other sources I do like JL. http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/cr-p10lbc/Aluminum+CO2+Cylinder+-+10+Pound.html http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/cr-ppmilreg/Milwaukee+CO2+Regulator+with+Needle+Valve+%26+Solenoid.html You'll need some co2 proof tubing and some sort of diffuser/reactor etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishclubgirl Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 A planted tank is a matter of balance and also a learning process.. There's some great suggestions here to battle algae but if you don't want to offend hubby with yet another fish purchase, you could avoid CO2. You can shorten the lighting period, or remove some bulbs, get some fish(mollies, bn, etc) or snails who will eat the algae. You could also have some floating plants or lilies that like to grow to the top. As someone who loves planted tanks, I always encourage newbies to start with easy plants that require simple care. Some great plants for this are Vals,amazon swords, the aforementioned sag, hygrophilia polysperma and augustifolia, crypts, the anubias and ludwigia repens. Then when you have success and your hubby enjoys it, you can talk him into pressurised CO2, etc..Good luck and let us know how it goes!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirinashi Posted June 6, 2014 Report Share Posted June 6, 2014 Where are you located? Metricide 14 is available from Vereburn for 24.00 a gallon and it is about 1.6 time the strength of excel. If you go liquid carbon, it is the easy choice on a tank that big http://vereburn.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=137_449&products_id=9833 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimW Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Ok, so I was doing some more reading LOL, I'd swear everytime I do this I wind up with more questions! As I said before, running Fluval FX5 filter. What media should I be using for this, for the planted tank? Are there some things I should omit or add? Also what effect does having lunar lighting on at night have on a planted tank? I'm sure I could find a wealth of information online about these two questions, but I prefer to ask here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 lunar - is eye candy for humans media - anything almost. grab some plastic sponges from the $1 store and fill it with that...many things can be used...all the same result. (don't need carbon for a planted tank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 You probably could get away with only biomedia - I like using the scrubbies CKMullin mentioned b/c they're super cheap and have a great surface area. I can't remember where we put it, but CKMullin and I have a thread around here somewhere with modifications for the FX5. I run 2 at the moment; both have modified intake/output and one has the internal mod - went from just over 5L of biomedia to 10L, plus 3" of mechanical filtraton! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted June 7, 2014 Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 Fluval Fx5 - Internal Modificationhttp://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=38740 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimW Posted June 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2014 lunar - is eye candy for humans media - anything almost. grab some plastic sponges from the $1 store and fill it with that...many things can be used...all the same result. (don't need carbon for a planted tank) Thank you, I was wondering about the carbon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frogfish Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 Just go for it and don't stop reading, researching and trying new things. In the end pressurised carbon is the way to go but starting off with liquid should do just fine. From what I have seen it's mostly the soft tissued plants like hemianthus and mircanthemum that melt away with liquid carbon dosing. As far as the night light goes the blue hue does not significantly increase algae growth I have one turned on in a tank 24/7 and everything looks good. In another tank I used a submergible green led light everything but the bulbs are buried so it blends into the substrate, unfortunately this one never gets turned on because the green light caused rapid algae growth. Like I said just go for it and have fun with it, just watch your wallet sometimes trying and doing can be costly. Like killing off about a hundred dollars worth of plants from the lfs before reaching that ah ha I figured it out moment. My favourite newbie plant was actually duckweed because it was pretty much the only thing I didn't kill. Try getting plants grown submerged from other members as the agony of plant dieback, rooting, and slow regrowth will greatly diminish. Pillow or quilt stuffing works great for micro filtration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimW Posted June 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 I have been thinking about ordering some plants online while it is warm, and they wouldn't die due to cold weather during shipping. I have been looking at two different sites in particular for possible purchases. I have heard a couple good things about angelfins, and am considering ordering some from there - has anyone had any experiences they can share with me? I am also thinking about ordering semi-local TNTaquatica but despite me sending messages I am not hearing anything back? anyone have any experience here, or is this particular site no longer "running". I seem to come across a lot of potentially dead sites these days LOL. ( Just my luck ) Also the dreaded E place? anyone have positive experiences ordering from overseas. I am thinking just mosses mainly as they seem to have a great selection, and so far the feedback on this one particular seller appears to be A-1! They say they can have them to me in a maximum of 10days which i think with mosses would be alright? Or am I totally off par and out to lunch LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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