New to plants

[Derek015]

I have a 55 gal tank and i want it to be heavily planted, but i currently am waiting for a job to buy some lights. What brand lights would you guys reccomend, and what type? What plants would be good?

I am planning to have a very tropical in my 55 gal, with such fish like, glass catfish, maybe(not for sure) a knife fish, LOTS OF TETRAS!!(gotta love those little guys), a few mollies, some rainbow fish, and maybe only maybe(if i dont want to go with the mollies and catfish and knife fish) some Discus to go along with the tetras.

I know discus are very sensitive and cost up to $50 for a 2 1/2 inch fish. I have to do a PWC every week or less of 10% and make sure they dont get their growth stunted. ect. I studied up on discus and love their colors(especially the red).

Would you guys recommend discus in a heavily planted tank? would they eat the plants? and if they would, Can it get stuck in the digestive tract?
that happend to my friend his discus ate some floating plants and died cause it couldnt pass foods.


Hopefully i gave you sufficient information on what i would like to do.

p.s. the tetras would be cardinals cause i know they can take the 86*F temp

 

[sudz]

I wanted (want) discus too. If you have discus, they need lots of swimming space, and there is a certian number of discus that you should have.

They also secrete slime, and some people dislike having to clean the glass often. You would have to get bigger tetra's as well. I've heard cardinals get along with discus, which suprised me.

Water changes would be more like 30% every week. Discus are the Diva's of tropical fish. They also like really warm water. 82-84*f. Make sure the other fish are fine with this.

I REALLY wanted discus, but talked myself out of it because i realized there will be times in my life that i wouldn't be able to keep up with them. I ended up going for rainbowfish and gourami's. They are very pretty, and i find my golden gourami VERY smart. He actually comes up to the glass when i come in, and i was hand feeding him within a week. He's the star of my tank at the moment, but my rainbow fish will probably take that "star" away when he grows up.

is this a 55 long tank?

As for it eating plants, if you keep it well fed, it shouldn't be an issue. Feeding boiled pea-mush is basically like all-bran for fish, it keeps their insides squeaky clean. (only they actually like the taste of peas, lol, Unlike all-bran)

HTH,

p.s. Aquariumguys.com is awesome for lights. i got mine there, 50 bucks cheaper than any of my LFS offered.

 

[malkore]

I would read the stickies at the top fo the page for some detailed lighting information.

As far as brands, everyone kind of has their favorites. I prefer Ahsupply.com kits or Coralife fixtures. I know TravisSimonson has an Orbit fixture and likes it a lot.

I'd avoid the really cheap Satellite fixtures because they seem to have lots of quirks. Often they're under warranty...but I'd rather have a light that works right the first time.

www.ahsupply.com
www.hellolights.com

 

[Derek015]

Ok thanks for the discus advice your right sometimes i wouldnt be able to keep up with them, and sometimes i cant get to the store and i wouldnt have the much needed items the discus requires


But for the most part you really would recommend some Gouramis and Rainbows?

if yes i would do boesemani rainbow for sure i definitely love those things!!

As for gouramis im still wary on what to choose and what would be prettiest

its a normal length 55 gal 42x13x20

as for plants im thinking some tall grasses in the background maybe some anubias in the foreground and maybe some anarchis in the front

whats your opinion
i know i need some variety but im just used to low lighting plants

give me som suggestions on what would look pretty in the tank

 

[malkore]

gouramis can be plant eaters. I've experienced it first hand, and know some others who have too.

 

[Derek015]

so no gourami? 8O

 

[sudz]

I would keep the anubias in the back, they grow tall and would block your view.

Something like java fern would be better suited, and may survive very low light that you have now. What do you have for lighting right now, anywy?

I had java fern growing with no CO2, and only a 25 watt in incandescent light in a 10 gallon. Just had to dose a cap of general ferts every week to keep it green.

Yeah, Discus aren't HARD to keep, its just they require more attention than your typical fish.

With plants, You basically need 3 things:

Nutrients: Basically Fertilizer and a good substrate (ground) Little pebbles will USUALLY do it, but something like Eco complete or another enriched substrate would be awesome. You will notice the difference.
Ferts should not be over done. I just follow the directions on the bottle. I have the generic big al's ferts, works well enough

Light! Light Drives the plants. Basically gets them converting CO2 into oxygen This CAN be overdone. Typically stick with 1.5 wpg if your new. More than that and you may have a breeding ground for algae. Sunlight is bad. Typically 6700k bulbs are recommended for growing plants. A lot of lights come with a 50/50 bulb. This is for saltwater tanks. It won't KILL anything, but you wont notice any growth on your plants.

Light for a max of 12 hours. I ususally do 12 on my 10 gallon, and 10 on my 44 gallon. Some people do less or more, its really preference.

AND... CO2. Your Water does absorbe CO2 from the air... Just not very much. CO2 injection scares alot of people because it messes up your PH if you are not careful. ANY small amount of CO2 is good CO2. But don't go over 30PPM.

I started by doing a 1 litre pop bottle with sugar and water, and add some baking yeast. Tap the lid with some air tubing, and put it into the intake of your HOB filter (assuming you have a hangon back filter) It got my 10 gallon to around 20ppm, which is decent.

CO2 is only a NECESSITY if you have high lighting. CO2 makes plants more efficient, so they use the nutrients, and not pesky algae.

This is an insane amount of information to digest in one post, but I got started and couldn't stop.

Also, i'm not exactly seasoned yet, This is just what i've been doing, and it seems to work good for me. Some people have different methods and opinions.

Rainbow fish are really pretty. When they are small they aren't very colorful, but as they mature, they become absolutley and amazing. I can't wait till my little tyke gets big

They are friendly too! I have a boesemani rainbow fish as well.

Cheers!

 

[sudz]

My golden gourami doesn't touch my plants. I've seen him eat little saplings that were floating in the water, then spit it out again. You can also talk to your LFS, If you take it home, and it starts eating your tank, you usually have 3 days to exchange it. Thats what big al's here does, anyway.

 

[Derek015]

hmmm im confused but im happy with the results on my exxploration im really pondering the thought fo a heavily planted tank

Anubias and tall grass plants are going in the back, lots of java fern and java moss and driftwood is going in middle and some anarchis is going in the foreground

hopefully this will all cost under $150


whats your estimate? :?

 

[sudz]

I may have some watersprite clippings soon, If your in canada it wouldn't be hard to send it to you. However, i'm not 100% sure if customs lets live plants pass the border.

My hornwort isn't doing as well, and that's what you want for the back of your tank. I had it pearling, but i got some spot algae growing all over it, so i just clipped it all off.

watersprite is incredibly fast growing, and eats up a lot of nitrates, which is good in my books! It can be a floating plant or planted, i perosnally like it planted. I have some in both my tanks, check out my gallery.

Java fern i also have, but i can't spare much of it.

You may want to check out the buy/sell/trade section in the forumn.
JChillin also has some excellent java moss. It grows amazingly well, i just got some from him. PM him, but odds are hes watching this thread anyway

 

[Jchillin]

JChillin also has some excellent java moss. It grows amazingly well, i just got some from him. PM him, but odds are hes watching this thread anyway.

Really? LOL!

Just a couple of thoughts. Anacharis is a fast growing, tall stem plant and should also go in the rear.

sudz is correct in stating that you should visit the barter/trade and classifieds here at AA. Many members have clippings after pruning and would be more than happy to send you theirs, probably for no more than the shipping costs.

The other suggestion is getting your plants from folks who really know what they are doing (other than LFS). There is a really good planted tank guy on Aquabid.com by the name of lowcoaster. Check his stuff out.

 

[sudz]

I knew you'd be watching this thread

Thanks again for the java moss! its doing quite well. I was amazed it was still dark green even after being stuck in the mail for 8 days!

Truly a hardy plant!

I'll have some watersprite soon. I have 3 plants floating at the top of my 10 gallon, once they get a bit bigger i'll send em your way.

 

[Derek015]

Ok thats great Java fern i can get at a petco here, hornwart i meant like cabumba(spelling?) Java moss i have no idea if i can get at a major retail store like petco or petsmart i might have to get it from the LFS

also driftwood lowers pH right? cause if so i want like an amazon river type tank with the water stained alittle from the tannic acid but not too much, and i want floating plants to let light thru but not too much light ya know?

If driftwood does lower pH then i will go with Angelfish and rainbows and some rasporas or tetras but all in all this is what i really would go with