Need some help with pruning plants.. please.

[philipraposo198]

So my tank has not been up and running for roughly 16 days and I think I need to start pruning, or maybe I don't... I am unsure which is why I am here asking for the pros opinions

Here is a full list of my plants:
Fish:
(25) Cardinal Tetra
(2) Golden Rams
(2) Pearl Gourami

Inverts:
Ramshorn snails

Plants:
Ludwigia brevipes
Tonina Belem
Anubias nana
Anubias barteri
Crypt wendtti
Rotala rotundifolia
Salvinia natan
Water lettuce
Val, unsure which one
Lace fern
Cabomba
frogbit
duckweed
Water hyacinth
Dwarf Sag

from the pic (was taken today) what do you guys think?

Some info on my setup:
low tech/ med light?!
finnex planted plus 48"
substrate is safe-t-sorb
i don't fert, was thinking of starting to do weekly dose of flourish to see how my plants react to it. thoughts?!
i keep my light on roughly 11 hours a day, i think maybe i need to cut it down, I dunno. thoughts?!
filter is eheim pro 3 2075 media is 2 trays of mechanical, and 2 of the biological (beige balls) bought this filter used and this is what he had already in it. so i left it. thoughts?!

room lights on:


room lights off:

 

[Buckfins]

Looks BEAUTIFUL! I would cut ur lights back to a max of 8 hrs a day or ur gonna have an algae problem. I have a heavily planted angel tank and I keep mine on about 6-7 hours because I had an algae party start up. So I supplement with ferts. Potassium, flourish and flourish excel. Your tank is great!

 

[philipraposo198]

Thank you

Do you think I should start using ferts? I was thinking maybe just the one dose of flourish a week to start.

should i cut back the cabomba?

 

[Buckfins]

Thank you

Do you think I should start using ferts? I was thinking maybe just the one dose of flourish a week to start.

should i cut back the cabomba?

I use ferts twice a week. Sun and Wed. Two capfuls of each. If you cut ur lighting back the fertilizer will be a great supplement. I had a bad fight with that algae bloom and am still popping it here and there. If you do start using supplements, you will have to prune because your plants will grow and they will become lush and green. Which is a good thing. The healthier your plants, the less algae you will have to worry about. Plants fight algae for the nutrients in the water. So healthy, green plants are a good thing!

 

[azmodan]

Totally agree with Buckfins here! Reduce lighting and invest in some ferts and also a carbon supplement such as Flourish Excel or Metricide 14. For the ferts you can start off with the premixed ones like Flourish comprehensive and API leafzone or you can also buy the raw dry ferts and mix them yourself. Try looking up GLA's PPS-pro and EI dry fert packs as buying dry ferts is actually very simple and MUCH cheaper into the long run (spend $30-$40 once and you'll have enough for years and years). All you need is a digital food scale (~$10 on Amazon). Also remember that your root feeders like the crypts and dwarf sag will benefit from root tabs. These are pretty easy to find as Seachem makes a good one as does jetajockey on his website Peabody's Paradise. You can also make DIY osmocote+ ones that are commonly used in the hobby.

 

[Coyne]

When to trim your plants ultimately comes down to how you want your tank to look. Some people prefer the manicured look, while others like the wild jungle look. If you have plants that have grown to the point that they are blocking light to other plants, then I would recommend trimming (or relocating) that plant so that the shaded plants dont die off.

Glancing at your tank, it doesnt look like anything is TOO out of control. So unless some of those larger plants are blocking light to the lower plants, I wouldnt worry about it unless you just prefer them to be shorter.

 

[philipraposo198]

Awesome information thanks guys