Plant help

[Sarasein]

Hi. I am just getting started. My [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit[/SIZE][/FONT] will be hear tomorrow and I am getting the Ammonia on the way home today. I have a 29 G tank. I want to do a low light setting with easy to care for plants. My friend said to get cryptocoryne, java fern, and java moss. I was thinking about letting the moss grow on some drift wood. Also, maybe some rock. How much of the plants do I need? Any other plants I can put in a low light tank? What supplies do I need for my plants? Will a fish less cycle hurt the plants? I have the water temp currently at 84. And it has been running since Sun, so there should be no chlorine in the water. We did use the hose to fill the tank and I did not add any of the stuff to take out the chlorine. But giving the amount of time, it should be fine.

Oh, can I add Rocks I find or do they need to come from LFS? It will be a community tank with 6-tetras, 6-guppies, 1-bristlenose, 6-juli peppered or bonze cories, and 1-bolivian ram. Or at least that is the plan for now. I hold the right to change that list at will and nothing is permanent till I put it in the tank.

 

[Sarasein]

Anyone know? Please???

 

[jcolon]

Hi. I am just getting started. My [FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit[/SIZE][/FONT] will be hear tomorrow and I am getting the Ammonia on the way home today. I have a 29 G tank. I want to do a low light setting with easy to care for plants. My friend said to get cryptocoryne, java fern, and java moss. I was thinking about letting the moss grow on some drift wood. Also, maybe some rock. How much of the plants do I need? Any other plants I can put in a low light tank? What supplies do I need for my plants? Will a fish less cycle hurt the plants? I have the water temp currently at 84. And it has been running since Sun, so there should be no chlorine in the water. We did use the hose to fill the tank and I did not add any of the stuff to take out the chlorine. But giving the amount of time, it should be fine.

Oh, can I add Rocks I find or do they need to come from LFS? It will be a community tank with 6-tetras, 6-guppies, 1-bristlenose, 6-juli peppered or bonze cories, and 1-bolivian ram. Or at least that is the plan for now. I hold the right to change that list at will and nothing is permanent till I put it in the tank.

Welcome to AA ... I'd suggest going to the link below for information.

Sounds like your on the right track in terms of plant type for low-light / low maintenance. You could also consider Amazon Sword and anacharis (not sure on spelling Having your plants while your cycling is fine, I've not heard of anyone saying otherwise. If you go with an Amazon Sword ... consider root tabs for additional nutrients. You should get a bottle of dechlorinator ... we recommend seachem prime. By now most of the chlorine should be gone if not all.

In regards to rocks .... if you want to avoid hard water .. stay away from limestones / marbles. Break a small piece off, then pour some vinegar on the inside of the rock ... if it bubbles / reacts no good. Granites, Quartz and Slate I've found work fine in aquariums.

i'll let someone else comment on temps as I do not have either of those fish you mentioned, but I imagine you could lower it to 76 -78.

PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Prime to cure you're tap water is more a necessity than an option, but while you're cycling you should be OK. Plants will help in your cycle IMO and it gives you something to do while you wait for it complete the cycle . Google the fish you want and find the mean temp for them and you should be good IMO.

Anacharis (+1 jcolon)

The Java's are good and yes if you tie the fern to a piece of DW with thread it'll spread on it's own. I just take my moss and jam it into cracks in the DW and it grows well.

Anubias
Onions
Vals

Plantgeek.net is my goto link for plants (+1 again jcolon).

Welcome Aboard!

Happy cycling and here's a link you might want to check out.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html

 

[Sarasein]

Thanks. I am running it hot, cause that is what I read to do in the fish less cycle. I will turn it down when I get stuff in there.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Thanks. I am running it hot, cause that is what I read to do in the fish less cycle. I will turn it down when I get stuff in there.

Yep, great idea.

The plants should be able to tolerate the temp, but I'd keep an eye on them if it were my tank. If you put plants straight in from the LFS (no rinse), they'll add to the bacteria count and help speed up the cycle IME.

 

[BigJim]

Crypts, vals, anubias, java ferns, and most mosses work in low-light tanks. I recently redid my 29g with a ton of crypts and I'm liking the look. It should be a low-light jungle when they fill in.

Plants will love the ammonia from the fishless cycle. My plants never grew better than they did during the fishless cycle.

Rocks can be a bit tricky. If you're not getting them from the LFS, I would stay away from porous rocks and things like limestone, granite, and marble. The porous rock has a better chance of being contaminated and limestone, etc. will raise your pH. Other than that, you can get rocks from lots of places if you clean them well.

 

[Sarasein]

Yep, great idea.

The plants should be able to tolerate the temp, but I'd keep an eye on them if it were my tank. If you put plants straight in from the LFS (no rinse), they'll add to the bacteria count and help speed up the cycle IME.

See, I hate snails. I do not want them. Also, not sure I can get what I want from a LFS. So I am looking at other options. But If I get some of the snail free ones, I will do that.

 

[Sarasein]

Crypts, vals, anubias, java ferns, and most mosses work in low-light tanks. I recently redid my 29g with a ton of crypts and I'm liking the look. It should be a low-light jungle when they fill in.

Plants will love the ammonia from the fishless cycle. My plants never grew better than they did during the fishless cycle.

Rocks can be a bit tricky. If you're not getting them from the LFS, I would stay away from porous rocks and things like limestone, granite, and marble. The porous rock has a better chance of being contaminated and limestone, etc. will raise your pH. Other than that, you can get rocks from lots of places if you clean them well.

How much is a ton? I have seen some packages offering 12 to 15 plants. Would that be enough? I am trying to get some drift wood from a friend. So, we will see about that