Converting Fish-Only to Planted? HELP!!!

[Tarkus2112]

As some of you may know...I have been off and on this site for a while...Well, now I'm back again. Hopefully for good. Unfortunately I tend to get distracted and I lost sight of my passion for awhile...Partly because I haven't changed my tank since I've set it up. It gets boring staring at a static display for a year. That is part of the reason I want live plants. The constant upkeep, the ever changing look and the challenge.

I was thinking over the weekend and I have a plan...I just need your help to execute it properly.


THE PLAN = Convert my existing Fish-Only Tank to a Fully Planted Tank. I have a basic understanding of what to do. I am just hesitant to pull the trigger. I also want low to moderate light plants as I only have 1.9 watts per gallon and will not upgrade my lighting or do Co2.

Should I break the tank down and start fresh? Should I keep some of my existing gravel and add Eco-Complete on top? Do I need to take all the fish out? I have around +25. Will I have to redo my cycle? As you can see I'm at a loss because I have an already established tank. It's been running flawlessly for over 9 months.

I guess I am afraid of upsetting the balance I've achieved even though I know my fish would appreciate live plants more.


Help convince me that this won't be a nightmare. haha


MY SETUP:
55 Gallon Tank
AquaticLife Dual T-5 HO Freshwater Light (108 watts total)
2-Hagen AquaClear 70's
Aqueon Pro 250w Heater
80 Lbs of "RiverBed" gravel
10 Lbs. of sand
10-15 lbs of sandstone
A bunch of crappy fake plants
A few decorations

The Fish:
(5) Otocinclus (otos)
(3) Puntius titteya (cherry barbs)
(1) Caridina multidentata (amano)
(7) Danio Choprae (glowlight danios)
(8) pristella maxillaris (Xray Tetra-golden albino var.)
(2) Atyopsis moluccensis (Flower Shrimp)



Ugh!...I should have just listened to mfdrookie516 over a year ago. Hindsight is 20/20 I suppose.

From 10/29/2010

Sounds like you've got it all planned out then While I think it would probably be easier to go with what your end goal is in the beginning (tearing apart a tank once it is established is a pain), I certainly give you kudos for having it all planned out and doing your research before. Keep up the good work!

 

[Tarkus2112]

Refer to this old thread to see pics and more info:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/tarkus2112s-epic-55-gallon-of-superbness-164392.html

 

[Tarkus2112]

Alright...I have been thinking since I got home from work and I know what I need to do. I guess I was just hoping for a shortcut. Haha. You ever know the answer you're looking for but hope someone has a different one?

Basically, I need to get 4 bags of Eco or equivalent, a bunch of plants and transfer my fish to a temporary home. How long can they be without a heater and filtration? That was my main concern.


Is this doable in a day? Breakdown and adding new substrate/plants then adding fish back in?

 

[RedFlame]

I would say if you have another tank that they could be easily transferred into with heat and filtration than just move them there for the time being. On the other hand if you don't have another tank that is ready I would say you should be fine in a 55g to just work in sections, the choice is up to you if you want to stick with the gravel you have and you could always just add root tabs for the root feeding plants you have.

Eco is not cheap and the quickest/cheapest route would be to just keep the gravel you have, plant away and get some root tabs and ferts for the water column feeding plants.

On a side note what plants are you considering?

 

[Tarkus2112]

I would say if you have another tank that they could be easily transferred into with heat and filtration than just move them there for the time being. On the other hand if you don't have another tank that is ready I would say you should be fine in a 55g to just work in sections, the choice is up to you if you want to stick with the gravel you have and you could always just add root tabs for the root feeding plants you have.

Eco is not cheap and the quickest/cheapest route would be to just keep the gravel you have, plant away and get some root tabs and ferts for the water column feeding plants.

On a side note what plants are you considering?

No extra tank...Yet
That is what was putting me off from a full substrate change. But if it is possible to use the gravel I have now by supplementing nutrients, I may just go that route.

I know. The more I think about spending $100 dollars on dirt, the less I want to do the Eco. haha

As for plants: Low -Moderate light. I was thinking
-a couple Java Ferns on some driftwood.
-some Cryptocoryne
-some Anubias nana
-Dwarf Hairgrass and/or Micro Swords for a lawn effect.
-Not sure what to use in background. Preferable something tall and slender.

How many plants do you recommend in a 55 gallon? I know "they" say to plant heavy in the beginning. What is exactly is heavy? 30 plants? 50?


That's all I have so far. I'm sketching it out on paper right now with help from a book I have. It has suggested planting schemes. Even one called "low-light" Perfect.

Any comments or suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi,
I would leave the gravel as is. IMO expensive plant substrates are over rated. Think of all the lovely plant food your fish have been providing over the last 9 months. As said above just add some root tabs and your good to go!

 

[aqua_chem]

I've said it once, I'll say it again. If you can't grow a plant with sand/gravel and root tabs, then you won't be able to grow it in fancy plant substrates either.

 

[Kharrnn]

I have "foxtail" in the back in my tank. It's tall, slender and was growing great in my low light setup (I've since upgraded my lighting and it's still doing wonderfully). Elodea/Anacharis is another that does fine in low light and is tall. I think I read that dwarf hairgrass does way better in high light but I may be wrong. Micro-swords look awesome though. Star grass is a fast grower and can get tall as well, and was thriving in low light.

I am using Eco Complete and dose ferts for the water column once a week. And I just recently added root tabs to add a boost my root plants. I do not use co2, but I'm seriously thinking about it (it's just cost prohibitive for me at the moment).

 

[Tarkus2112]

DISREGARD MY PREVIOUS STATEMENTS

Apparently I don't know what I'm talking about quite yet...haha

I thought I could do "low-light" / no Co2. Well, I have the AquaticLife 48" dual T5HO light and it dictates what I'm doing. After digging deeper I now realize I am in the "high-light" category and will have problems if I don't use Co2 and do a full substrate change. I overlooked the fact that the WPG rule doesn't apply to T5HO. Oops.

This changes everything. I am kind of excited though. Now my options are wide open.

Thanks though. I appreciate the advice. I shall continue to lurk somemore.

 

[TheCrazyFishLady]

So you're wanting to do CO2 now? DIY is what I do. Just remiss everything every two weeks. I so have a bit of algae on the glass, but its not much more to clean each week. Oh and I have metal halide lights.

 

[Kharrnn]

Wait, WPG doesn't matter with HO lights? I am running t5HO on my 10g tank. Course, it is 72w which would put me in high light no matter what, but that's good to know either way.

Guess I'll be adding co2 sooner than I thought then. I really don't want to kill my plants

 

[Stefernini]

What do you mean WPG doesn't matter with T5HO? I have a 48" T5HO with 2 54w bulbs. I bought it with the 2 wpg rule in mind so I would have a low light set up.

I don't want to deal with a Co2 set up

 

[aqua_chem]

WPG hasn't really been relevant for several years now. A 'watt' is just a unit of energy consumption and not actually a measure of how much light something puts off. As technology as evolved, bulbs become more efficient, meaning that the actual light emitted per watt has increased and the heat loss decreased.

If you have a T5HO on a tank, you're probably well into medium light to high light depending on where in the tank you're measuring the light.

 

[Stefernini]

Do the kelvins matter? Like I said, I have t5ho dual bulb, but they are only 6700k. Not 10k like most t5 lights.

 

[Kharrnn]

I have to admit that lighting is the most complicated part about keeping plants lol

 

[richpowell1989]

Do the kelvins matter? Like I said, I have t5ho dual bulb, but they are only 6700k. Not 10k like most t5 lights.

6700k is very very good for plants all mine are 6700k and I have 8 heavily planted tanks

 

[Stefernini]

Right, but do 6700k bulbs put me in the high light catagory for a 50g 21in tall? The light is right on top of the tank.

 

[OneFishTwoFish]

Right, but do 6700k bulbs put me in the high light catagory for a 50g 21in tall? The light is right on top of the tank.

The color temperature doesn't specify the ammount of light just the spectrum of light displayed. As mentioned earlier most plants do fine innthe 6700 range. Depending on the plants you might be able to go as low as 5000k.

You need the lumens rating to determine the light output. If I can find some links that describe the light out put I'll put them in later.

A couple other things to keep in mind. Light doesn't travel well in water. The taller the tank the less light output reaches the bottom. Also height above the tank matters as well. I used to have a 60g hex that was tall and i could never getenough light to the bottom to grow plants successfully.

 

[aqua_chem]

Kelvin rating is just a description of how the bulb appears to the human eye. It doesn't really have a profound impact on PAR as long as it's a full spectrum bulb. It certainly wouldn't bump you up a light category.

 

[Stefernini]

I didn't mean to hyjack your thread tarkus. Sorry about that.