What more do I need for basic low tech planted tank?

[sealife]

I bought from ebay:
-60cm rimless tank with cabinet.16g
-heater (may not use, keep coldwater tank)
- filter aquaclear 50 (may buy eheim 2213)
- led light 16w (about to purchase)

I want to buy and use basic gravel. Is this possible or will I end up buying tablets for plants because of this?

And only use a small school of white cloud minnows and snails.

Anthing else I need for low light easy to grow plants that I can stick in gravel?

Thanks.

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[wildroseofky]

If you get something like amazon sword, ludwigia, or other stem plants you should use root tabs. If you are using plants like anubias and java fern than root tabs are not necessary. I have done plants in gravel and they grew pretty good. Not as well as sand but it can be done.

 

[sealife]

Hello,
So what substrat is the best for plants where I dont need to use root tabs? And I can just rely on the led to grow plants?
I was thinking Caribsea Floramax. But it looks more like gravel to me. So im not sure if it will work. Plus I heard it has sharp grains.

Thanks again

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[Coursair]

Even the plant substrates like floramax will eventually wear out and you'll need root tabs.

What's the objection to root tabs ?
My DIY ones cost $8 incl Shipping for 50 tabs. I replace them about every 3 to 4 months.


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[Coursair]

I use sand and tabs



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[Autumnsky]

The heater would be appreciated by the fish if set lower for WCMM, 62-74F is ideal, in case of cold temps in winter, they are "cold" water but really cool water fish.

All kinds of plants can be grown in a low tech set up, this pic was taken of this tank as low tech and low light though root tabs are very useful (and pretty much required) for some plants (like Swords).

Liquid ferts from the store are more expensive but for a small tank, not too bad though, it lasts a long time and is worth the convenience for one or a couple small tanks/bowls.

Low tech and low light occasional root caps and rarely Flourish

Planted 3 Gallon Jar (temporarily housed a pair of WCMM breeding experiment)

 

[sealife]

thanks guys for the replies.

Ok so from what I have read on here, it does not matter what substrate I use, (gravel, soil, sand, special planted substrate etc etc) in the end I will use root tabs no matter what. Is that correct?
I wanted to make the tank as easy and low cost as possible. Very low maintenance. I was hoping I just needed to use my light to grow plants and nothing else. But I guess im dreaming. It does not work this way.

So what substrate should I buy that does not cause muddy water, helps with plants, and lets me use less root tabs( if possible)

I can buy Caribsea Floramax Volcano red for cheap if its recommended as solo substrate
Thanks.

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[sealife]

P.S.
All the planted tank pictures posted in here are beautiful. It gets me more excited.
Thanks for the pictures!

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[Autumnsky]

P.S.
All the planted tank pictures posted in here are beautiful. It gets me more excited.
Thanks for the pictures!

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Yay!!! It is exciting (though not all people understand, lol), but most here do!

Anyway you have to rinse the heck out of the Floramax and then when you think you got it all, rinse it some more. People mostly complain it clouds up the water. You can also use construction sand appx 8.00 per bag. Though it shows every little speck of poop. This pic was of qwikcrete construction sand the black specks are sand particles from the vac little bits that got stuck in the seams/connections

or Garnet sand from a sand blasting supply company mine was 17., for 40 lbs I think it was.

If you can do an online order I would use Eco - Complete, amazon has it for 23.99 free shipping for $35 order, mine was way less than that and I got free shipping. Mine has been in for 2 years and looks as good as it did when I put it in.

You can grow stuff like Marimo moss ball and Moss and Java Fern with about no additional cost for tabs or Flourish.

 

[sealife]

I dont like the idea of floramax being so hard I wash.
And I hate garnet quartz gravel.
I will look up eco complete. Thanks.
Is there anything else?

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[ImACoolguy]

Eco complete is what I use. Will only cloud the tank for a short period of time. There is regular size and apperantly a "fine" size EcoC that's looks like black sand almost.

Using flourish wouldn't hurt. The big bottle (not the jug) is only like $12 on Amazon I believe and it's 1 cap for every 50 gallons. In a small 16 gallon that will last a while. API leaf Zone is good too.

Plants like swords just require root tabs no matter what end of story from what I have read. When using root tabs, especially DIY ones, make sure you bury them deep or you could have an ammonia problem from the tab leaching. Simple precaution that's easy to prevent when done correctly.

Java Fern, moss balls, Anubius are all easy low tech plants. Java and Anubius need to be tied to a rock or driftwood. It is possibly to plant Anubias as long as the rhizome is not planted but it's much easier just to tie it.

Hope this helps I'm still learning with plants too.


Caleb

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[sealife]

Thank you for the response.
Is eco complete gravel or soil?
Can I rinse it before use?

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[ImACoolguy]

Thank you for the response.
Is eco complete gravel or soil?
Can I rinse it before use?

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The regular is more "soil" like. The fine looks like sand. If you have NO fish in the tank the bag says just dump the whole thing in no washing or anything. If there IS fish in the tank, drain the liquid in the bag then add it to the tank, again no washing.


Caleb

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[sealife]

Ok thank you very much for that. Sounds like a mix of sand and soil.

Is fluval substrate any good compared to this? It looks more like soil.

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[ImACoolguy]

Ok thank you very much for that. Sounds like a mix of sand and soil.

Is fluval substrate any good compared to this? It looks more like soil.

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Never tried it.


Caleb

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[azmodan]

Eco complete is just crushed lava rock and will basically be about regular gravel size. Because of this it is highly durable but also very rough (not good for any fish that likes to sift in the substrate) and can scratch your glass if you're not careful. It's a good substrate in the long term because it has a high CEC, which essentially means it retains nutrients very well. In the beginning, however, root tabs are necessary for any heavy root feeder because the substrate hasn't been "charged" yet, i.e. it is empty of a lot of nutrients. The fluval substrates are lighter and more like round balls of soil. Fluval stratum, ADA aquasoil, and other soil-type substrates are all very effective but do typically tend to break down after around 2 years or so.

If you can find it cheap I'd recommend Activ-Flora as a substrate over Eco complete. You can sometimes find a good deal for it online if you look around a little.

 

[fish wrangler]

If you get eco complete try for the fine eco complete, same stuff but more like sand AFAIK

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[azmodan]

Unfortunately I think the fine grain was discontinued, but hopefully some retailers still have some left over.

 

[wildroseofky]

You can use organic miraclegro potting soil. Any that has no added fertilizer and no vermiculite. It will float and make the tank look bad. For root tabs you can use those Jobe plant spikes for house plants. I have used them for years with no problems. Cost like $2 for a large pack. I break them into pieces and place under the soil. You can make your own root tabs with gel caps bought on Amazon and Osmocote plant fertilizer. You can make a ton for a few dollars.