Plantslayer stalks again!

[TomK2]

Yes, I am finally going to plant a tank again. Dont ask how many previous failures there have been. I am going to follow the plan laid out on Plantgeek.com -

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=17

Low light, low tech, in a 10 gal tank. Aquaclear 20 filter, 50W heater, 15 watt 8500K bulb, small gravel substrate, a few pieces of driftwood. The drift wood is soaking now. Will it stop floating after it soaks for a while?

I have scoped out some java ferns and some anachris, and a couple of anubias species. I will seed the filter or run it on an established tank for a few weeks, let some danios live in the tank for a while, then switch to neon tetras, some shrimp, and the plants.

What do you think?

 

[zacdl]

Will it stop floating after it soaks for a while?

It should. Some wood hardly sinks, some wood will sink after soaking a while. You might have to attach weights to it to get it to sink down, thats what I had to do with my last FW tank.

 

[travis simonson]

Happy hunting Plantslayer

When trying to sink driftwood all bets are off. Some recommend boiling it until it sinks. Others will tell you to soak it for weeks. I'm the impatient type who breaks out the DeWalt and screws it to objects much denser than water. All approaches have proven successful to one degree or another.

Your plant choices are all good for a low-light tank. You might consider laterite or a very thin layer of peat beneath your gravel substrate to jump start things. Of course DIY CO2 would make things even better

 

[TomK2]

You might consider laterite or a very thin layer of peat beneath your gravel substrate to jump start things. Of course DIY CO2 would make things even better

If there is any degree of sucess with the simplest approach possible, I might expand to more complicated designs. Bur first, I have to break a long losing streak.If I can make the low light tank work, who knows what next!

 

[greenmaji]

steve hampton has a page on his website about his take on low light low tech tanks..
http://www.aquariaplants.com/lowlighttank.htm

 

[TomK2]

A nice article. It differs from the one on plantgeek.com only in the recomendation of plant specific substrate.

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=17

So, what do you think? I was worried that using a plant substrate and peat would just add to algae problems. On the small scale I am using, I can do anything without too much trouble.

 

[greenmaji]

Since your going to do this with a 10 gallon a plant substrate shouldnt be too hard.. Id go for it..

 

[TankGirl]

With the plants that you have scoped out so far, the substrate is not such an issue as they are essentially epiphytic, but I would hope that you would consider adding some Cryptocoryne sp. to your tank and they are root feeders, so I'd also recommend setting it up with a plant substrate so you will have more flexibilty later when you are a pro.

I also like the dwarf lily for a 10gal, and the bulbs are cheap and easily had from Walmart. They do well in low light.

 

[TomK2]

TG-
If there is a benefit to using the plant substrate, and If I can try a wider variety of plants, then that seals it. The Amano articles from TFH a few months back do a good job showing how to set up a substrate.

Epiphytic? You've caught me without my dictionary! Gotta mean something that lives or feeds through its "skin." Ie- plants that don't need roots to absorb? Whats the term for rooted plants, rhizophytic? Podophytes?

 

[Jchillin]

Yes, caught me as well. I went to my favorite source for the explanation.


Check it out

Good to know these botanical terms.

Kudos to you TG (remember, it's kudos appreciation week)

 

[TomK2]

JC-
I will have to remember the online encyclopedias from now on!

 

[Jchillin]

They do come in handy, especially when a term comes up that totally floors ya.

 

[TankGirl]

Sorry! I did not mean to frustrate anyone It is just an easy way to refer to those-plants-that-don't-use-roots-but-get-nutrients-from-the-water-column.

Kudos to you two, tho, for hitting the (cyber) books!

 

[TomK2]

Well, the plants are in! I used a white gravel foreground, a horshoe shaped piece of driftwood siloconed to some slate, flourite substrate for the rear of the tank that slopes from 2 inches to 3 inches front to rear. Aquaclear 20 with floss right now to help clear the water, which is quite cloudy since I am the worlds worst gravel cleaner, and a 15 W flourescent bulb.

Went plant shopping, and all I could find was some anubias, a potted crypt, and some anachris. I am using the anachris as a background along the rear of the tank, the potted crypt to one side, and the anubias on the other. I need some low growing epiphytes (TG!) to attach to the dirftwood, but I could not find any java moss or similar plant.

Pics when it clears up!

 

[An t-iasg]

Congrats on the new plants! Take the crypt out of the pot and throw away the wool, if you haven't already. Put a root tab under the crypt if it isn't in the flourite.

 

[Jchillin]

Good going! Get the pics up as soon as possible.

 

[TankGirl]

The anubias is epiphytic ( ) and does great on driftwood - that is where I keep mine.

Great suggestion for the root tabs, Deb, and I'd probably go ahead and pop one in there even in the fluorite, especially since this is a new tank and has not accumulated anything in the substrate yet.

I second the motion for pics Sounds like a great looking tank.

 

[TomK2]

Ok, here are some pics. About the potted crypt, nope, I stuck the pot and all in the Flourite gravel, as you can see. I went with a white gravel foreground (a la Amano, though his are MUCH nicer) and a dark background. Guess I will have to take the crypt out of its pot. I still need some low growing stuff for around the driftwood, and the middle background. Was thinking of only having the white gravel inside the"u" shape of the driftwood, which was the original plan, but I I decided to experiment at the last minute.

 

[TankGirl]

It looks very nice!

Also, the anubias needs to have its crown/rhizome out of the substrate if you are going to grow it in the gravel, and the same for java fern. Leave the woody stem where the roots and leaf stems meet out of the substrate or the plant will do very poorly.

I really like the neat and tidy, 'scaped appearance with the white gravel contrasting with the fluorite. Great job

 

[rich311k]

Looks great. Good luck with it. I am sure it will be great.