Help Converting Fish-Only to Planted

[Brian_Nano12g]

I only have one tank which is a 12 gallon JBJ Nano Cube for FW. It's been cycled and established to be a fish-only tank with a pair of Rams and some Tetras. Anyway, I have silk plants in there in which I'm getting real bored of. I want to add some plants that require low to moderate light. Since I have basic gravel in there, will those plant tabs you place under the gravel work in leu of a substrate meant for planted tanks? Or would it be best to use First Layer Pure Laterite instead?

Since this will be my first attempt at a planted tank, what are some plants that are best and tips on how to plant? I'm wondering if by planting while these fish are in the tank will I risk messing up the water conditions and clarity with tabs or Laterite?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[mfdrookie516]

You don't need root tabs unless you do get swords. Laterite would be a pain to put in for very little benefit in a low-medium light setup IMO. What kind of lighting do you have? That'll determine what kind of plants you can keep.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

You don't need root tabs unless you do get swords. Laterite would be a pain to put in for very little benefit in a low-medium light setup IMO. What kind of lighting do you have? That'll determine what kind of plants you can keep.

It's the stock 50/50 2 x 24 CFL's that came with it. I didn't really mind the blue hue because my tank has been fish-only. However, I plan on upgrading the bulbs to the FW type when I embark on this conversion project. I think I may want to get some swords unless you have some other suggestions?

 

[mfdrookie516]

CFL's, or PC's? On a 12g, I'd probably just do one 6500-10,000k and one actinic unless you want to inject co2. With that, you could keep quite a bit. Just some options I'd go with (not all of them, of course)... giant hairgrass, ludwigia repens, sunset hygro, rotala rotundifolia, blyxa japonica, dwarf sag, microsword, ludwigia narrow leaf, stargrass, marsilea minuta. Those are just some of my favorites that I've kept. Definitely not the only plants you could do.

 

[rich311k]

I am with rookie no need to change substrates, Your also are in good lighting shape, you just need plants and off you go. Try to grow what appeals to you, you may be pleasantly surprised about what will grow.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

CFL's, or PC's? On a 12g, I'd probably just do one 6500-10,000k and one actinic unless you want to inject co2. With that, you could keep quite a bit. Just some options I'd go with (not all of them, of course)... giant hairgrass, ludwigia repens, sunset hygro, rotala rotundifolia, blyxa japonica, dwarf sag, microsword, ludwigia narrow leaf, stargrass, marsilea minuta. Those are just some of my favorites that I've kept. Definitely not the only plants you could do.

I guess the stock bulbs are CFL's according to specs on Dr. Foster's on the 12g DX. So are you saying that I can just keep using the 50/50 bulbs it came with? I thought the actinic's were only for corals and that FW plants cant use that spectrum of light. I don't mind keeping the stocks on there until they burn out eventually to save money. Also what about the gravel? Can I sustain the plants you recommended without any additives?

 

[jetajockey]

I'd run the 50/50s on it and see how it does. I ran the stock PCs on my bowfront till they burnt out and they grew plants great.

I agree with mfd, if you get any plants with big root structures like swords or crypts, then you'll want to use root tabs, otherwise don't worry about it. If you want to keep fertilizing simple, get some flourish comprehensive and dose it every couple of days, and don't even bother with co2. Limiting co2 will limit the speed that the plants grow, but they should still grow.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'd run the 50/50s on it and see how it does. I ran the stock PCs on my bowfront till they burnt out and they grew plants great.

I agree with mfd, if you get any plants with big root structures like swords or crypts, then you'll want to use root tabs, otherwise don't worry about it. If you want to keep fertilizing simple, get some flourish comprehensive and dose it every couple of days, and don't even bother with co2. Limiting co2 will limit the speed that the plants grow, but they should still grow.

Thanks Jeta... Do u have experience with using root tabs? I read in one review on the API branded ones that it turned the water brownish/cloudy for one person. Not sure if this is the case. Anyway, if I did get tabs I don't see myself using many because since my tank is so small I'd only have one or two swords and crypts and some other plants (still need to do the research).

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'll warn you that swords get very big. I had one outgrow my 125 (broadleaf amazon). Root tabs will turn your water brown if you don't properly insert them in your substrate. Some people can't grasp the concept that they need to be completely under the substrate (hence the review you read)... I've yet to have them turn my tank brown... and I had 15 in my 125 at one point

 

[jetajockey]

Thanks Jeta... Do u have experience with using root tabs? I read in one review on the API branded ones that it turned the water brownish/cloudy for one person. Not sure if this is the case. Anyway, if I did get tabs I don't see myself using many because since my tank is so small I'd only have one or two swords and crypts and some other plants (still need to do the research).

I actually make my own root tabs. I've used the API ones in the past and they are o.k. I guess, I prefer something with bigger blend of macros/micros. If you bury them really deep they shouldnt cloud the water.

And I agree about the swords, I have radicans that send leaves out of the top of my 125 (they dry up and die) and the amazons are easily 2 feet tall.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Thanks to both of you for the input. My knowledge is pretty limited about the various plant species that would work in my tank. Now I'm a bit worried about how tall the swords can get, since my tank is just a little over a foot in height (14.8" to be exact). I'm going to take some of the suggested plants MFD indicated earlier and research them before I head to the LFS. @Jeta if you have any suggestions for plants, I'd love to hear it too!

 

[jetajockey]

With PC lights you can probably get away with most plant species. I would just pick some cheap ones that you like and see how they do, if they do well then get more to fill them in.

If your tank can grow commonly found plants like hornwort, ludwigia repens, anacharis, bacopa, etc, then you'll probably be okay with most other plants.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Update:

When I moved from California to AZ, the major gripe I had (aside from the scorching heat) is that there aren't that many mom & pop owned LFS. There's actually one really good one but it's at least a 20 mile drive. I'll go there occasionally when I can't find what I'm looking for at the chain stores (i.e. petco & petsmart). So I ran down to the Petsmart the other day and found some plants that I wanted to try out. To my surprise, they have a sale right now in which all their aquatic plants are 50% off!

So here it is, I bought an Anubias (anubias nana), Java Fern (microsorium pteropus), and Amazon Sword (echinodorus amazonicus) which actually had 3 plants in the container.

Here's the pic of the tank now.. hopefully the 50/50 lights will do that plants well. One other thing, I picked up a bottle of Aqueon Plant Food because it was much cheaper than the Flourish Comprehensive. I looked at the ingredients listed and compared the two, they seem to be comprised of the same stuff, so hopefully it will do the job.