40g planted

[Big C]

New tank - old plants

Hi Guys,

I just got my new 75 g started and i will be transferring the plants from my 30 g to it once it is fully cycled and the fish are moved in.

I used 1/2 of the gravel from the 30 g (that made for a very dirty 30 g for a few hours!!!) 2 bags of Eco Complete in the middle and 2 bags of Fluorite on top. In total I must have a good 1 1/2 inches of substrate. I have a new light of 110W and the one that came with the tank of 40W.

My old plants were not looking really good lately but i will transfer them anyway and try to get them going again.

But to do that I need advise and lots of it. What do you recommend for fertilizing? I would prefer to stay away from CO2 for the time being, after buying the tank and all the gear I'm slightly broke!

Thanks!

 

[severum mama]

Try a pool supply store. That's where I found mine.

 

[Jchillin]

If you keep your lighting under 2 wpg, you won't have to worry about CO2. As long as your NO3 stays above 10-20 ppm, you won't need to dose nitrogen. I keep a bottle handy just in case. A nice bio-load usually keeps the NO3 up.

Since you're using Eco-Complete, you shouldn't need root tabs either. I use them since I have regular pea-sized gravel.

All I can suggest is to do the transfer as quickly as possible. I know java ferns do not like being uprooted for any length of time.

 

[travis simonson]

You don't need to wait until the tank cycles to transfer your plants to the new tank. They will do just fine in a cycling tank. They may absorb some of the ammonia and nitrite spikes for you, possibly slowing the cycle slightly, but not considerably. I'm the impatient type who would want to move the plants right away so I could sit back and stare at my new tank and dream about what it will look like

 

[gheitman]

I second Travis' recommendation to move the plants right away. As he said, the plants will help reduce any spikes in ammonia or nitrite levels. As far as liquid fertilizers go, I would recommend the Flourish line from Seachem. There may be better fertilizers available but I haven't seen them yet.

 

[Toirtis]

Bolbitis.

 

[Big C]

I have not moved the plants yet because they are the hiding place for my fish and until the tank is cycled I don't want to move the fish.

I guess I'll have to visit the lfs and get a few new plants, you know, to get the NH3 and NO2 spikes in line, . Besides, I do need some ore plants anyway!!!!! This tank is soooo much bigger!

Thank you guys!

 

[drjimmy124]

Well - I'm not using pH Down. Instead, as I noted in my first post I am using Seachem Acid buffer which is not phosphate based. It is sulfate based, and when combined with Seachem Alkaline buffer, is in fact a very good buffer solution. Trust me on this, I have a minor in Chemistry, a major in Biochemistry, and a PhD in molecular biology. I avoided using a phosphate based buffer in my planted tank for a variety of reasons that I won't go into here. If you would like more information, I would encourage you to visit the San Francisco Bay Area Aquatic Plant Society website http://www.sfbaaps.com/ The "Reference" tab leads you to a very helpful discussion of water treatment in general and for San Francisco in particular, which is where I am located. I used this site extensively when setting up my tank. I would also disagree with the assessment that pH altering solutions are not long term solutions or are not cost effective. While I cannot speak to the use of phosphate buffers or pH down etc., as I have not used them, for a planted tank I would wholeheartedly encourage the use of the Seachem combination listed above based on ease of use, reliability, and cost.

In any event, I greatly appreciate your help with the Java fern.
JH

 

[malkore]

Your buffer mix may indeed be the ticket for San Francisco water, but around here, the tap water is perfect for planted tanks which don't contain extreme softwater plants or fish.

The biggest issue, is that people get convinced that "My tetra need a perfect pH of 6.8 so I'm gonna use liquid pH products to dial it in". That's not true at all, and monkeying around with pH adjusters will stress the fish 100 times more than having tetra at stable pH of 7.8.

But again, in your area, the dual use of both buffers might be what you need. I'll defer to any other San Fran. plant keepers for that.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, everyone! Another update:

The small Azoo diffuser has been discontinued by the manufacturer. The medium one will not work with DIY. The Eheim diffuser will not work with DIY... and the glass one won't either! I didn't want to use glass in my tank. In your 125, Travis, you have a little more room to work around it! In my little tank, I'd bump it right away!

So...half of my ambulia has died again. Two days ago I did set up the Hagen ladder until I figure out what to do. The other tank with the sunset hygro is doing so well. I'm hopeful that the addition of CO2, even through the ladder, will save the remaining ambulia.

The other plants in both tanks are crypts and they have not changed for better or worse with the addition of CO2.

Filtration is a sponge filter, and those bubbles come out too fast to route the CO2 through it. I have it on a gang valve to slow the flow a little for the bettas, but it's still too fast to put CO2 through it.

I have decided to order the Red Sea diffuser again. Other than the ladder, it's my only choice. The one in the hygro tank is working very well (it's the second one for that tank!) So all I need is one more good diffuser! I noticed that the website where I ordered the Red Sea was out of stock, and now it's back in stock. So hopefully that means a brand-new batch, so I ordered one. In the meantime, the ladder is running. It's not attractive, especially in a small tank. I'm kind of afraid the betta will hurt himself on it. Every time a bubble pops out, he tries to chase it. The bubbles are still rather slow for now. But it will hold me over until the Red Sea comes, and then hopefully, I will have 2 functioning CO2 systems!

 

[kimo]

If it's greenish - hair algae - cut the lighting by a few hrs a day.
If it's whitish - planaria -usually caused by excessive feeding.

 

[czcz]

Your layers will probably work but be aware they'll mix, and depending on your color choices, it may look weird. I've attached a pic of my substrate, which is ~2" Schultz topped with ~3/8" black decorative gravel. The carpeted areas have not been touched for a while and you can see how the Schultz works it way under the larger gravel with time. The parts where with Schultz on top have been messed with recently. I think the sand will work it's way under SAPS because of grain size. If you want the sand layer you should try it, but you can grow whatever you want with Schultz and stubbornness

I've not tried pond substrate tablets. I would guess that they're potent and meant to be used with the saftey of large volume, and encourage you to use Floruish or some other root tab meant for aquarium use. When non aquarium root tabs leech into the water column it can quickly lead to algae (I've used Jobe's Fern sticks and stopped for this reason).

 

[czcz]

Attachment doesn't work, so:

 

[manoosie]

One plant is all I need...

So I decided tonight I want to buy one or two plants for my cichlid tank. I know they dig them up, but I think they might be ok. I have 1 wpg for my 55g tank and very fine white sand. Can I just buy a low light plant and stick it in my tank? What plants would you suggest for 1 wpg?

 

[Fishingdood]

well 1 wpg is very little light..and sand it not a good substrant to use for plants... If you have somthing to attach it to try Java Fern attach it to a rock or drift wood.. it does well in low light..also hit up Plantedtank.net ..good site about planted tanks

 

[manoosie]

can I just stick the java fern or Anubias in my tank and it will grow fine?

 

[travis simonson]

They will probably do fairly well under 1 wpg but will grow very slowly. Just make sure not to bury the rhizome of the plants if you put them in the sand - just bury the roots. But, like Fishingdood said, attaching them to rocks or wood would work just as well and prevent your fish from digging them up.

 

[DugOut]

Is anyone using Hagen GLO bulbs?

Right now I am using 2-25watt regular standerd fluorescent bulbs in my tank. I want to change them with aquarium fluorescent bulbs. 2 reasons; 1) My bass cant stand it when the light has been on for more than 30sec. He never had this problem before. 2) These standerd bulbs just dont do anything to brighten the colors in the tank. My (artificial) plants look so dull, actually everything looks bright but dull in color. When I had the regular aquarium bulbs in my tank, it looked like paradise. I accidently dropped my lid and broke them. My wife said that she would pick me up a set and ended up buying standerd bulbs due to the price difference. She ment well! She didn't know there was a differance. These GLO bulbs I want to buy has a varity of choices for different effects in bringing out color warmth. I want to combine 2 different types for over all apperance. But what two?

 

[Tiffi]

Since you only have artificial plants I would probably go with only slightly red and one slightly blueish, that'll bring out the colors of the fish best. Or just the kind you had before if that was fine for you.

 

[DugOut]

The two I had before came with the tank, Lasted forever. I'm not sure what type they were. I really don't think half of these people working @ pet stores, really know what each light is capable of. I would hate to see what they would offer if I asked for two different types. :?