New fish nerd here

[Fishdreamz]

I have always loved fish for what reason im not sure yet. As a child I had a tropical freshwater. As an adult I went to African chiclids. Then moved on to the full saltwater reef aquarium!!! Yeah that was a huge learning curve. After divorce and having to sell off all my beloved corals rocks and fish. I have a now 49 gallon temperd glass tank. I had always wanted a whole tank of fancy tail guppies and i got that. One day a bad water change mistake and wham they were gone. Yes I do cry when a fish dies. Soo Im thinking of doing a planted tank with bolivian ram and not sure what to put with it. I bought Florite by seachem for substrate. Man talk about chocaloate milk. Its settled but if i go near to substrate is clouds up. I have to start a brand new cycle.
I would love any advice on a planted ram tank as this is a new adventure for me. I was going to get a green spotted but decided this route instead. Hope to meet some fish friends.I have never done plants still need to order a light. No sure where to order it or what specific kind. I dont want a bunch of algae. I do know how to control it with phosban reactor. Which i sold mine. Think I need 36 in bulb. Herd leds are the way to go but expense to intense and algae. Next I need to get this tank cycled I know what it is but its never easy and I guess i need suggestions on what fish to put in to cycle it and if i need to go to the expense of live bacteria. Any other tips on Rams having more that one etc. and fertilizing plants. Thanks

 

[Mebbid]

I have always loved fish for what reason im not sure yet. As a child I had a tropical freshwater. As an adult I went to African chiclids. Then moved on to the full saltwater reef aquarium!!! Yeah that was a huge learning curve. After divorce and having to sell off all my beloved corals rocks and fish. I have a now 49 gallon temperd glass tank. I had always wanted a whole tank of fancy tail guppies and i got that. One day a bad water change mistake and wham they were gone. Yes I do cry when a fish dies. Soo Im thinking of doing a planted tank with bolivian ram and not sure what to put with it. I bought Florite by seachem for substrate. Man talk about chocaloate milk. Its settled but if i go near to substrate is clouds up. I have to start a brand new cycle.
I would love any advice on a planted ram tank as this is a new adventure for me. I was going to get a green spotted but decided this route instead. Hope to meet some fish friends.I have never done plants still need to order a light. No sure where to order it or what specific kind. I dont want a bunch of algae. I do know how to control it with phosban reactor. Which i sold mine. Think I need 36 in bulb. Herd leds are the way to go but expense to intense and algae. Next I need to get this tank cycled I know what it is but its never easy and I guess i need suggestions on what fish to put in to cycle it and if i need to go to the expense of live bacteria. Any other tips on Rams having more that one etc. and fertilizing plants. Thanks

Wow that's a lot to cover

1. Substrate - I would either remove the substrate and wash it very very very thoroughly and refill the tank OR do many water changes with a gravel vac sucking out as much mud as you can. It's a pain but there's no easy way to handle it.

2. The light you want to buy depends entirely on what plants you want to keep. I would research for some plants you like and then go from there.

3. Algae in a planted tank is a whole different animal compared to salt water. Its more of a balancing act in planted tanks because you need high levels of nutrients (phosphate included) to match the light you are using and enough co2 to balance out the high light and nutrient levels in the tank. Plants require phosphate for growth so you can't just remove that to control algae growth. I would look up an EI dosing schedule for tips on dosing ferts for a tank.

4. People have a lot of luck with LEDs and planted tanks. Currently, I'm not the biggest fan of them on a fresh water tank. But that's just my personal preference.

5. I think your best bet for cycling a tank would be to do a silent start. A silent start is where you buy a lot of fast growing stem plants such as anacharis, water sprite, and water wisteria and then throw fish right in with them not even worrying about the cycle. The plants will work very well to absorb excess ammonia in the tank.

6. Just go with one male / female pair of rams. More than that and they tend to kill each other.

7. Welcome to the forum!