New to Plants - New Tank Questions!

[David14259]

Greetings all,

I recently purchased a 12 gallon Eclipse tank and I'm about ready to add some fish. So far, I've treated the water and added bacteria from the lfs. As of yesterday, the water levels were good so I purchased several plants and put them in the tank.

Plants: Anacharis, Wisteria, Water Sprite, Anubias barteri, and Micro Sword.

Anyways, all I have in the tank for substrate is medium aquarium gravel. I've been looking at things to add to the gravel (Laterite?), things to add to the water (Plant chemicals/fertilizers?), or tablets to put under the plants. My first inclination was to mix in Laterite with my gravel, but I was told that this would make my water cloudy and was unecessary.

So, I'm here for your expert opinions, what is the easiest and best way to get my new plants the nutrients they'll need to live?

Thanks,
David

Oh, 2nd question:

The tank came with a 13W 5000K compact fluorscent bulb. I'm thinking this isn't bright enough for my plants. Should I get a brighter bulb, and if so, what kind/specs should I look for?

Thanks again!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Laterite (Aka Clay or Kitty litter) is very high in iron and other things, but it turns to an almost paste and will definately make the water cloudy.. Layered substrates are more a thing to do before you set up the tank (gravel over the laterite)

The 1 thing you will definately need will be potassium.. How much depends on the following.

What is your light level? 12 Gallon, but what light is over it. If you don't hit over 24Watts then chances are you will just need to add about 20ppm Potassium with each water change.

The Seachem tabs are pretty good. I've always had luck with them..

The most important nutrient to add is Co2. Carbon is the building block of life. Without it, plants cannot grow.. a DIY setup on a 12Gal should be more then enough. Avoid Carbon suppliments like Seachem Excel. It inhibits Anacharis and Vals. ability to extract carbon from the KH of the water (a little technical I know, but things you'll need to know sooner or later).

I wouldn't expect too much from the Sword with lower light, don't be too surprised if not all plants make it. It is often a trial and error thing.

Also, in a planted tank, there is no real need to cycle the tank at all. plants love ammonia and remove it before the bacteria can. (all in balance of course)

There is a sticky at the top of this forum regarding "good reading". There is a tonne of information there that is a very good start to a healthy tank.

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[David14259]

Thanks Wizzard. I currently have a 13 Watt light, and I'm looking to upgrade that. I edited my original post asking for any suggestions about that too.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I'm not familiar with the eclipse series of tanks. perhaps someone here has the same tank (filter is built into the canopy correct?) and can make a suggestion on how to improve the lighting.. tho the Anacharis and Anubias should do well. the water sprite and whisteria might make it, but the micro sword is going to require a bit more light then that to survive.

 

[SparKy697]

Hello David, and welcome to AA!

Lets start with some more information.

How much and what kind of light do you have?

When you say you added bacteria, what exactly did you use?

Also, what parameters were tested and at what levels were they?

What are you thinking about for fish?

You have quite a few plants in your tank which can be good, but there are some concerns. I believe you will need to consider a carbon source. Excel will work in your tank but some of the plants you have chosen don't traditionally do well with it.

One step at a time... More info please.

 

[David14259]

Light: Eclipse 13W 5000K Compact Fluorscent -- However, now that I look at it, its not a normal compact fluorescent socket on the bulb... could be a problem. I think it may be a "Mini compact fluorescent bulb".

Bacteria: I conditioned the water (tap water) with the chemical that came with the tank. The lfs gave me a sponge from their filter which I added to my tank for bacteria.

Water: NH3 was 1.5, KH=6, pH=7.5, and Nitrite levels were at zero, although this was before I added the bacteria.

For fish, I'm thinking of starting easy with some guppies, tetras, and swordtails. I've also seen a cobalt blue lobster (crayfish) that I've somewhat fallen in love with, so I might want to try one of these down the road.

Thanks for the help Sparky.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

The fish choices can get interesting.. While each person finds there own. Guppies and Mollies have a little bunny habit.. (They breed the same way.... All the time).. The cobalt Blue will snip up plants and also are carnivores. means no fish with them (and sometimes no plants). Although not really a beginner fish, German Blue rams are very beautiful. I stick mainly to tetras, but have 3 GBR's in the tank. If you decide on an Algae eater. make sure you read up on them first.. I received a Sailfin Pleco with my original 20Gal that was at the time, 11".. so keep in mind the fish will grow..

I hear bolivian rams are far more durable..

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!!!

I can't help you with the planting stuff, but...

With your NH3 that high, you're not ready for fish yet.
Have you considered a fishless cycle?

The bacteria you got from the LFS (called seed) will help you kickstart things, but doesn't make you instantly ready to go.

 

[David14259]

More Light Info The Eclipse hood uses the style bulb seen here: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11382&N=2004+113345 I'm having trouble finding higher wattages of this type.

NH3 That NH3 level was several days ago, and I'm sure with the bacteria and plants it has gone down. I will be sure to check it again before I add fish.

Blue Crayfish I've actually done a fair amount of research into these and a lot of people keep them successfully with fish. I've read they can dig up plants, so that might be a headache.[/b]

Oh, and I'll only be getting male guppies (I hope.)[/b]

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

The wattage of the bulb is controlled by the ballast. You can't get a higher wattage bulb, just a higher wattage fixture.

Also, If your NH3 and nitrAtes hit 0 before the fish go in, you'll probably have to dose nitrAte to keep from algae problems.

 

[David14259]

Just got my friend to test my NH3 and its down to 1.0.

I found a 13Watt 10,000K bulb for sale on eBay, is this enough for my plants?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

The one you have is fine. Temperature should be between 5000 and 10000 K. I prefer the bluer light from the 10000K bulbs. But it's all preference, Yellow or blue tints. Both are pretty much equal for growing plants.

 

[David14259]

Thanks again Wizard for your help.

Looks like I'm stuck with a 13W bulb then. I'll check out the 10,000K one though, its only $5.

I'll also give the Seachem Flourish Tabs a try in my gravel and see how they do.

Oh, newbie question, I'm supposed to take the plants out of the little pots/root bags they came in, right?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

yes, you are also supposed to remove the rockwool it comes in.

Keep us posted on how it turns out for you.

 

[David14259]

Sorry for the bad quality picture. I haven't quite figured out the best way to take a picture of an aquarium.

Still on the lookout for a piece of driftwood to fill in the empty spot.

 

[Lepomis]

You can add laterlite now with now problems. Dump into a strainer and rinse the loose stuff off. Then just use a plastic cup and scatter over your substrate. Then just take a paint stick, wooden spoone, etc... and work it into the gravel. My tank cleared up within a day.

 

[David14259]

Thanks for the info Lepomis, but I bought some of the seachem flourish tabs today that I'm going to try out. If they don't seem to be working though, I'll use your method for the Laterite.

 

[neilanh]

I'll be following this thread closely, as I have an eclipse 12 sitting dormant I'm thinking about setting up and planting.