Noob Wants a Planted Pico..!

[Big Tex]

Well my first post was a bomb so here it goes again,

if its possible i want to do a planted tank in my 4g cube and I want to make it a planted tank with shrimp that's it, how hard is it? What do I need? I have about 4lbs of dry reef sand will it work for plants? I need answers people this will be in my master bathroom so it needs to be awesome looking and stay super clean because i have a mean case of clean tank syndrome lol all suggestions and advice is appreciated, this will be my first freshwater tank in a while so be gentle lol

this is what im aiming for guys, remember i have no experience with planted tanks so i dont know what plants these are or if this is the expert level stuff idk but its simple and looks elegant enough for my master bath lol can shrimp live in a tank like this? any tiny fish? neon tetras? help me out!

 

[Jev12]

I don't think you would want to to use reef sand if it is specifically for reef aquariums...but you could easily go out and get some black sand from petco or white sand if you want...then you would need some fairly good lighting depending on the plants...I can only positively Id the anubia attached to the drift wood and I would guess that it is anubias nana petite...but other than that this should be a fairly easy and manageable tank

 

[Big Tex]

wel it was live sand at one point and now its dried and cured, its basically dry aragonite sand now, but ill use whatever i need to for the plants to grow in!

where can i get the plants? petco? pet smart? id hate to support chains but thats the only local place ive seen em at :/

on a side note how do i know theyre healthy plants?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Two things I would not do:

Have a tank, especially a pico, in a bathroom.
Use reef sand, even dead, in a fw tank that's not for fish that love a high PH.

 

[Big Tex]

Two things I would not do:

Have a tank, especially a pico, in a bathroom.
Use reef sand, even dead, in a fw tank that's not for fish that love a high PH.

ok so will sugar white pool filtration sand work? or rinsed play sand? i have both of those, and why not in a bathroom? i can have it on my night stand thats probably where it will go, but just curious as to why not

 

[Scottyhorse]

ok so will sugar white pool filtration sand work? or rinsed play sand? i have both of those, and why not in a bathroom? i can have it on my night stand thats probably where it will go, but just curious as to why not

Pool filter sand will work. I wouldn't keep a tank in the bathroom because:
Temp fluctuations
Hairspray, toilet spray, any contaminates that could get in there. Perfume. Ect.
Just stuff like that.

 

[Big Tex]

Pool filter sand will work. I wouldn't keep a tank in the bathroom because:
Temp fluctuations
Hairspray, toilet spray, any contaminates that could get in there. Perfume. Ect.
Just stuff like that.

night stand it is! lol i have a 3yr old so that might be a problem as well, but ill go home today and rerinse the pfs and what else do i need? is there a cycle? if there isnt then what?

 

[Jev12]

You can get plants from your lfs you can get them on line you can get quite a good selection from people who are selling them here as well...you would start by putting in some sand have it slope in back to give the tank more depth then do you hardscape such as driftwood and a couple nice rocks then add you plants and flood the tank...be sure to know the plant requirements such light requirement and wether or not they are heavy root feeders and let it cycle and get a nice biofilm before you add the shrimp...and I would just stick with shrimp for this tank but I guess you could add a few chili rasboras or celestial pearl danios...but I think a cool color variant of a neocaridina shrimp such as blue velvet or pumpkin or yellow or even cherry would be the best option for this tank

 

[Scottyhorse]

night stand it is! lol i have a 3yr old so that might be a problem as well, but ill go home today and rerinse the pfs and what else do i need? is there a cycle? if there isnt then what?

Yes you will still need to cycle the tank. Fishless, fish in, or using seeded media.

 

[Big Tex]

Alright guys what plants are those in the pic? Low light? High light?

 

[azmodan]

Looks like needle leaf java fern and an anubias, so low light. Lots of great ways to have a low tech nano tank!

Here's a good place to look for inspiration: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22&order=desc

 

[Big Tex]

Looks like needle leaf java fern and an anubias, so low light. Lots of great ways to have a low tech nano tank!

Here's a good place to look for inspiration: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22&order=desc

Thanks for the link bud, helped me out a lot, what about shrimp plants, I've heard of plants that cherry shrimp and so on particularly love, do I need one if im going to have shrimp in it?

 

[Big Tex]

how this for substrate guys? im thinking maybe 2-3" bed of this, should i mix with sand? use a top layer of sand?

CaribSea - Flora Max?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I would recommend just using the sand you have. I tried 2 different "plant substrates" and it didn't do anything special, just over priced sand. You will need a good light fixture, a t5 high output would be ideal. That will give you a good clear bright light. Stick with anubias, Java fern, swords, wisteria, and anacharis. They are easy and hardy plants. You should load the tank up with all the plants first, then add some fish/shrimp. That will help keep the water clean. Also, make sure you have a liquid test kit to keep an eye on your water parameters, that is very important for such a small tank. A Sparkling gourami and 5-8 cherry shrimp would be nice.

 

[Big Tex]

I would recommend just using the sand you have. I tried 2 different "plant substrates" and it didn't do anything special, just over priced sand. You will need a good light fixture, a t5 high output would be ideal. That will give you a good clear bright light. Stick with anubias, Java fern, swords, wisteria, and anacharis. They are easy and hardy plants. You should load the tank up with all the plants first, then add some fish/shrimp. That will help keep the water clean. Also, make sure you have a liquid test kit to keep an eye on your water parameters, that is very important for such a small tank. A Sparkling gourami and 5-8 cherry shrimp would be nice.

where would i get a 8" t5 fixture? lol i have an led fixture i hope it goes the plants, and how long should i cycle before i add plants? so i just use the dried and treated aragonite? do i use ro/di water? regular tap? dechlorinated tap?

 

[Sk3lly]

where would i get a 8" t5 fixture? lol i have an led fixture i hope it goes the plants, and how long should i cycle before i add plants? so i just use the dried and treated aragonite? do i use ro/di water? regular tap? dechlorinated tap?

Plants can go in whilst tank cycles. If you add fish mid cycle then pay close attention to water parameters and be prepared for daily 50% water changes if and when needed. Dont bother with that sand. If you want your plants to grow nicely then id suggest some type of substrate designed specifically for plants. If you use ro/di water then youll need to supplement the plants as trace elements will have been removed from the water. I use ro/di as i think my water looks clearer. Personal opinion though. If you use tap water then you will need a dechlorinator before you add fish. Rivercats is the person to speak to on plants, although there are plenty of knowledgable people on here

 

[Scottyhorse]

I would recommend just using the sand you have. I tried 2 different "plant substrates" and it didn't do anything special, just over priced sand. You will need a good light fixture, a t5 high output would be ideal. That will give you a good clear bright light. Stick with anubias, Java fern, swords, wisteria, and anacharis. They are easy and hardy plants. You should load the tank up with all the plants first, then add some fish/shrimp. That will help keep the water clean. Also, make sure you have a liquid test kit to keep an eye on your water parameters, that is very important for such a small tank. A Sparkling gourami and 5-8 cherry shrimp would be nice.

A t5HO would be waaay to much light over a pico. And the plant substrates do have different things about them.... OP - floramax is good.

 

[azmodan]

On a pico tank you could always just use a desk lamp or a clamp on lamp.

 

[Sk3lly]

On a pico tank you could always just use a desk lamp or a clamp on lamp.

Yes i think so but light levels wont be great

 

[Big Tex]

Well I retrofit a cree led unit into the existing light so im not worried about lighting.

I dont have substrate yet and after reading the reviews and write-ups on floramax I think ill go with it.

I think im gonna shop around and as much as I hate chains I think ill start there, I have a whisper internal filter ill be running with just polyfil and I've already attached a sponge on the intake so im set there.

Would regular tetra water dechlorinator work fine? I might have some leftover from my calculus days.