Converting an up and running tank to planted

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Lev

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Dec 18, 2016
Messages
195
Location
Lake District, UK
Hi all.

Any advice on how to convert this 350L tank stocked with 5x mollies 2xangels 6xwestern rainbows and 10xcorydoras? Everything in there atm is fake except a bit of driftwood.

Its fully cycled and healthy so far. Maintenance currently is weekly 20% water changes.

To the bottom is a mixture of sand and coarse gravel (trying to look stream bed - y)

I'm jealous of everyone's planted tanks!

A few bits: I don't think my lighting levels are great
Im scared of pests coming in on the plants
How donyou gravel vac when its planted / do you gravel vac?1484243987532.jpg
 
Hi all.

Any advice on how to convert this 350L tank stocked with 5x mollies 2xangels 6xwestern rainbows and 10xcorydoras? Everything in there atm is fake except a bit of driftwood.

Its fully cycled and healthy so far. Maintenance currently is weekly 20% water changes.

To the bottom is a mixture of sand and coarse gravel (trying to look stream bed - y)

I'm jealous of everyone's planted tanks!

A few bits: I don't think my lighting levels are great
Im scared of pests coming in on the plants
How donyou gravel vac when its planted / do you gravel vac?View attachment 293196



What lighting do you have?

If going high light you will need co2 injection.

Normal substrate is fine with a few root tabs.

Get flourish and trace and excel as ferts.

No need to vac the gravel as the plants will feed on the debris.

Weekly water changes will need to be 50%

Start with anubias, Java fern, vals, crypts, mosses. There nice easy low light plants ;)
 
Start with anubias, Java fern, vals, crypts, mosses. There nice easy low light plants ;)

I very much agree with Bert2oo1! If you want less maintenance, you can have a beautiful tank with those plants he listed. Folks here can steer you in the right direction as far as the lighting you'll need for whichever type of plants you choose.
 
Only about an inch in places 2 inches in others its not that even but I'm open to altering it I've done this before with fish in
 
What lighting do you have?

If going high light you will need co2 injection.

Normal substrate is fine with a few root tabs.

Get flourish and trace and excel as ferts.

No need to vac the gravel as the plants will feed on the debris.

Weekly water changes will need to be 50%

Start with anubias, Java fern, vals, crypts, mosses. There nice easy low light plants ;)
My lighting must be quite Low and basic because its on over 12 hours without much of an algae problem at all (so far?) and only really has an on or off, no fancy settings.

Ill try to get a look at the label to see what brand /spec it is when home from work later
 
You might need a tiny bit more depth in your substrate. You could also attach plants to driftwood or stones to hold them in place.
 
2 t5's should be heaps for a low light setup. Even if they are abit old and dimmer. I think you would grow anubias, Java, mosses etc no trouble at all.

You want about 1.5-2 inch of substrate depth. Ideally
 
These are the plants... There is moss in there too

I feel it looks a bit bare but I didnt want to put too many in knowing they'll grow? [emoji53]
1484415192266.jpg
 
Thanks ?
Got some liquid ferts to dose tank with. Bought some root tabs but when we got home there were only 2 in there so we drove back to swap them for a pack they hadn't been using to plant their own tanks and they didn't have any. They refunded money for that and the liquid ferts and said the liquid ferts should be enough , but I can easily order some root tabs online if you reckons? Can I sort of tunnel under the plant and poke the root tab in so I don't have to completely uproot it now it's in?
 
Thanks [emoji4]
Got some liquid ferts to dose tank with. Bought some root tabs but when we got home there were only 2 in there so we drove back to swap them for a pack they hadn't been using to plant their own tanks and they didn't have any. They refunded money for that and the liquid ferts and said the liquid ferts should be enough , but I can easily order some root tabs online if you reckons? Can I sort of tunnel under the plant and poke the root tab in so I don't have to completely uproot it now it's in?



Ahh don't worry about the tabs. See how they go without it. What liquid ferts did you get?
 
You have a decent set up there lighting wise. I started with t8's which are a bit lies efficient both in power consumption and how much light they throw out.

Some people swear by the substrates designed for planted tanks. I've personally never bothered spending the money. I'm sure they help establish plants faster, but I've never tried anything but inert substrates. If you have issues keeping plants rooted in the substrate the issue may be with the size of the gravel. I use either sand or fine grained black substrate. I won't go any bigger than 2-3mm grain size and it holds the plants down well. The danger size just means the substrate guys together a bit richer around the roots or stems.

I've read a few threads tonight but I think you mentioned substrate vacuuming. The trick is to vacuum about an inch above the substrate to get the waste that didn't sink into the substrate, but leave anything that takes below your pebbles as plant food.

If you want to Dave money and use better root tabs than are commercially available google diy root tabs. There are a few methods and recipes. I personally use osmocote granules inside of gel caps. The osmocote is available almost anywhere gardening supplies are sold in Australia. Gel caps are available at chemists (they are empty pills that you can fill with anything). By making your own root tabs you can add extra trace segments like iron or potassium if you knew this will improve plant colour or growth.
 
You can make diy root tabs that have a better balance of nutrients than the commercially available ones. Osmocote packed into gel tabs weeks very well. You can add specific ingredients to aid plants that use more of one thing by mashing your own tabs too. The only way I've been able to make plants get red or brown colouring in their leaves is by adding extra iron to my root tabs.

As far as substrate goes I never use grains larger than 3mm and stays without sharp edges. It packs together a bit more tightly around the roots and stems. If you find yourself having to replant a few plants every two hours maybe you could look at danced or small gravel to some the problem.

Your lighting looks good. The tubes lose their effectiveness after about 7-9 months, so if you've never replaced your tubes it might be with thinking about replacing them.

I think the other thing you agreed about was gravel vacuuming. Wyeth played tanks I vacuum about an inch above the gravel. Any waste that falls below the gravel becomes plant food. But what I can see above the gravel gets messy if its not cleaned reasonably regularly.
 
You can make diy root tabs that have a better balance of nutrients than the commercially available ones. Osmocote packed into gel tabs weeks very well. You can add specific ingredients to aid plants that use more of one thing by mashing your own tabs too. The only way I've been able to make plants get red or brown colouring in their leaves is by adding extra iron to my root tabs.

As far as substrate goes I never use grains larger than 3mm and stays without sharp edges. It packs together a bit more tightly around the roots and stems. If you find yourself having to replant a few plants every two hours maybe you could look at danced or small gravel to some the problem.

Your lighting looks good. The tubes lose their effectiveness after about 7-9 months, so if you've never replaced your tubes it might be with thinking about replacing them.

I think the other thing you agreed about was gravel vacuuming. Wyeth played tanks I vacuum about an inch above the gravel. Any waste that falls below the gravel becomes plant food. But what I can see above the gravel gets messy if its not cleaned reasonably regularly.

I bought the tank, lighting, filter and one of the heaters 2nd hand so who knows when lights last changed - one of the things I was too newb to ask!! :D :angel: Although all that used filter media meant my fishless cycle went like a dream
 
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