The loach's 29 gallon tank journal

[lovemyguppies]

I think I'm buying this, it's 15 dollars, I need to put 3 mililliters every day if I'm correct, and it has 16 ounces, so that will last me about 169 days, which is ok, so is it good?
Also, in a pretty far future(maybe six or seven months) I'll be changing my gravel for plant fertilizer, the fertilizer won't harm my fish right?
Also, the co2 won't harm my fish or parameters right?, also, I am going to put root tablets in, so will this be good?

You can try that, it's not as effective as actual CO2. It won't harm your fish or change your parameters. You'll want to look into dosing some ferts though if you're not. I currently use api leaf zone and seachem flourish comp, but when those run out I'm switching to pps pro method.

 

[dragonfisher33]

I think I'm buying this, it's 15 dollars, I need to put 3 mililliters every day if I'm correct, and it has 16 ounces, so that will last me about 169 days, which is ok, so is it good?
Also, in a pretty far future(maybe six or seven months) I'll be changing my gravel for plant fertilizer, the fertilizer won't harm my fish right?
Also, the co2 won't harm my fish or parameters right?, also, I am going to put root tablets in, so will this be good?

loachboy, you've probably figured this out by now, the order in which you do your planted tank is flawed.
1) the most important item in a planted tank is the substrate itself. you need a good substrate to provide nutrients for the plants

2)lighting: the lighting you described isn't good for plants that are high demanding. i would just stick with amazon swords, anubias, java ferns and other low demanding lights for now to build up your experience and save some money for future investment.

3)CO2 injection: CO2 is necessary for plant growth. If you're looking to carpet the dwarf hairgrass you need a steady flow of CO2 in the tank. look on eBay and find a glass diffuser (a few bucks). mixing some yeast with sugar in warm water and put the mixture in a big bottle or so. Look online for "DIY CO2 reactor". The bubblers are nothing but to please the eyes. It doesn't add any CO2 into the tank.

4)The fertilizer and root tabs are good for plants. but if you couple that with CO2 injection then you would truly have a bloom in your planted tank. They don't harm your fish at all so you can dose them to your heart's content.

5)After you are done with the aqua-scaping, that's when you add fish. so no more fish please until you have step 1-4 down.

 

[Coursair]

I couldn't tell on my phone screen, did you "plant" the Java Ferns ? They have a rhizome ( the thick horizontal root). The rhizome needs to be ABOVE the substrate. Just tie them to a rock or wood or only plant the thin little roots.

There are several varieties of Java Fern, one of my tanks is just Ferns and Mosses.

You Sword plants will need root tabs, they last for months.

Sunlight hitting the tank can be an issue, growing unwanted algae.
I keep my lights on timers. I just use CFLs as mine are all under 10g.

Cheap plant substrate can be Black Diamond Blasting Sand with DIY root caps. Or you can do the Eco Complete route. I use sand and add Root Tabs. Plants can grow in gravel. But later you may want to switch it out. DHG will not anchor in gravel AFAIK. Give up on that plant for now.

Lighting ? I use screw in CFLs or any decent plant bulb. I try for around 6,500K I like the look and my plants like it too. 2 watts per gallon isn't accurate, but its a place to start. Currently I use ZooMed UltraSun bulbs. I buy on Amazon to save money, but stores often have them.

Seachem Flourish and Excel and root tabs will cover your bases as you learn. Don't worry about injecting CO2 till you learn more.

Slow down and get the plants right and then go from there.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

I'm keeping the gravel, but in a very far future when I have to restock, I'll add some sort of substrate, maybe sand
Im adding root tablets and switching them out every 2 months, I'll also add liquid co2, anything else I need?

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

I couldn't tell on my phone screen, did you "plant" the Java Ferns ? They have a rhizome ( the thick horizontal root). The rhizome needs to be ABOVE the substrate. Just tie them to a rock or wood or only plant the thin little roots.

There are several varieties of Java Fern, one of my tanks is just Ferns and Mosses.

You Sword plants will need root tabs, they last for months.

Sunlight hitting the tank can be an issue, growing unwanted algae.
I keep my lights on timers. I just use CFLs as mine are all under 10g.

Cheap plant substrate can be Black Diamond Blasting Sand with DIY root caps. Or you can do the Eco Complete route. I use sand and add Root Tabs. Plants can grow in gravel. But later you may want to switch it out. DHG will not anchor in gravel AFAIK. Give up on that plant for now.

Lighting ? I use screw in CFLs or any decent plant bulb. I try for around 6,500K I like the look and my plants like it too. 2 watts per gallon isn't accurate, but its a place to start. Currently I use ZooMed UltraSun bulbs. I buy on Amazon to save money, but stores often have them.

Seachem Flourish and Excel and root tabs will cover your bases as you learn. Don't worry about injecting CO2 till you learn more.

Slow down and get the plants right and then go from there.

The java fern I bought had no rhizome what so ever, my anubius do, but not my java fern

 

[dragonfisher33]

I'm keeping the gravel, but in a very far future when I have to restock, I'll add some sort of substrate, maybe sand
Im adding root tablets and switching them out every 2 months, I'll also add liquid co2, anything else I need?

let us know later down the road when you change your substrate, especially sand, because it needs special care otherwise your plants might die as sand is an inert substance.

save up some money for light

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Yes, I'll definitely change the light and later on the substrate
Am giving the dwarf hair grass a shot, I read that they release these runners, what is that?

 

[dragonfisher33]

Yes, I'll definitely change the light and later on the substrate
Am giving the dwarf hair grass a shot, I read that they release these runners, what is that?

i don't think you will get the effect you're looking for if you do the hair grass without proper lighting and stable amount of co2. plus it's not cost effective if you plan to buy alot of hairgrass just so that you can cover up most of the tank. runners are like roots that each individual plants give rise to and then new plants will grow from these new roots. picture roots under the substrate running away from the parent plants by extending the existing roots.

 

[Zimmanski]

Yes, I'll definitely change the light and later on the substrate
Am giving the dwarf hair grass a shot, I read that they release these runners, what is that?

Runners are how they spread, the send a root under the surface of the substrate and then send up a new leaf from it. I really doubt you'll see runners though, you'll probably just have to do your best to keep it alive but if you want to try it you should, at the very least it would be a good learning experience. Also, things like APIs co2 boost, and seachem's excel are not liquid co2. They are a liquid carbon supplement.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

So the liquid co2 just would not work, a guy at the LFS told my dad yesterday that it's good

 

[Zimmanski]

So the liquid co2 just would not work, a guy at the LFS told my dad yesterday that it's good

I didn't say that it wouldn't work, it won't match what you need to make DHG carpet or thrive, but it works for what it's intended to do. It helps a good deal and you can have a very good looking tank with the combination of good lights and liquid carbon supplements or Glutaraldehyde, but it isn't liquid co2 and doesn't quite match co2. Co2 is a gas, the only way to get it into a liquid form is to put it under pressure, that's why we have pressurized co2 tanks.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok, if I add the liquid carbon, and then I blow a bit of co2 into the water, will it help?

 

[Glow light tetra]

The java fern I bought had no rhizome what so ever, my anubius do, but not my java fern[/QUOTE]

You ferns have ribosomes they are just coated in roots, due to having not been planted properly at the nursery. I suggest you float of let them sit on top of the gravel for a while.

 

[Zimmanski]

Ok, if I add the liquid carbon, and then I blow a bit of co2 into the water, will it help?

Like through a straw?? No, that would only make you pass out if you did that all day. The liquid carbon supplements will help, but again won't give you the results you looking for and especially not with gravel and without the proper lighting. Again, you're obviously welcome to try it, none of us are fortune tellers, but Don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out for ya.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Really, it has rhizomes! Ok, I'll let it float, thanks

 

[dragonfisher33]

Ok, if I add the liquid carbon, and then I blow a bit of co2 into the water, will it help?

if you can blow 8hrs a day and make sure the bubbles are as fine as grain of sand, then you can.

 

[bthomas]

Loach I've got to give you credit for trying and getting advice and help in the right place. At 15 I wouldve mixed tons of fish that are incompatible with each other and the tank,made every mistake and not even bothered to research the correct way!!! Youre all over the place with stocking but I dont blame you-- it is exciting building a tank and making it your own!! Youre way ahead of the game in my book. Im 32 & just now learning. just thought I'd let you know :sorry everybody ,off topic, back to the plants

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Hah, thank you very much

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

if you can blow 8hrs a day and make sure the bubbles are as fine as grain of sand, then you can.

Yay, I think I'm good

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Like through a straw?? No, that would only make you pass out if you did that all day. The liquid carbon supplements will help, but again won't give you the results you looking for and especially not with gravel and without the proper lighting. Again, you're obviously welcome to try it, none of us are fortune tellers, but Don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out for ya.

Hmmm, ok, I guess that I'll add the liquid carbon and the root tabs, let's see of that will help out my plants