Adding Plants to New Tank

[LiQuiD]

Hey Guys,

Wanted to get your thoughts on adding plants to my new 55 gallon tank. Im looking to get a really nice natural look, and already have a sand base. (It was in the tank when I got it.) I have cleaned the sand and have begun the cycling. I just purchased a new T5 dual fixture, so I have the lights. I also added a few small fish, wood pieces and rocks but need advice on what to do next. Here are some questions.

Where are the best places to buy plants? Online or in stores?

Can you recommend some easy beginner plants?

Are snails inevitable if I add live plants? I hear they can be a huge pain in the arse.

Thanks!

Here is my tank now.

 

[nshepler]

I always go online, unless it's for basic plants such as swords and java fern. I would have suggested dirting your tank but since you have already started it's to late. As for the snails Malaysian trumpet snails are in my opinion a great addition to any tank. They have so many positives and the only negative I could think of is they reproduced like crazy and to me that's okay. Some plants I would recommend for you as a beginner are of coarse amazon swords and java fern, anubias. I'm sure some other people can suggest some. I think the biggest key is just good lighting, good nutrients and co2.


May the force be with you.

 

[nshepler]

Another thing I would suggest doing is looking at tanks online, maybe some contest winning tanks or someone on here and kind of get a basic idea of what you want.


May the force be with you.

 

[Coursair]

Do you know if it's Pool Filter Sand or Argonite Sand ?

Argonite is used in African tanks and makes PH go up.




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[LiQuiD]

Do you know if it's Pool Filter Sand or Argonite Sand ? Argonite is used in African tanks and makes PH go up.

Its pool filter sand. IT looks great, and Im glad it was in there, because I may have just used gravel.

As for syphoning and cleaning, I noticed the suction on my syphon doesn't seem to be that great. I have the Aqueon 25 ft syphon that hooks up to the sink. I hook it up, turn on the sink water, and the syphon has great suction until the water reaches the sink, then the strength seems to be weak. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[nshepler]

Mine normally does the same thing I use a python though. So if you are doing something wrong then I probably am too.


May the force be with you.

 

[Coursair]

Its pool filter sand. IT looks great, and Im glad it was in there, because I may have just used gravel.



As for syphoning and cleaning, I noticed the suction on my syphon doesn't seem to be that great. I have the Aqueon 25 ft syphon that hooks up to the sink. I hook it up, turn on the sink water, and the syphon has great suction until the water reaches the sink, then the strength seems to be weak. Am I doing something wrong?

That's great. PFS is good. Add root tabs if you plan to grow Swords or Crypts.

Siphon issues ? Not sure. Used one at work and typically we just had to check for kinks or make sure the hose wasn't too long for the job. Once air got out of the line it normally worked quite well.

With sand you usually just want to hover in a gentle circular motion above the sand so that you're only sucking up detritus, not the sand itself. Which you may already know.


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[Ryan87500]

Its pool filter sand. IT looks great, and Im glad it was in there, because I may have just used gravel.



As for syphoning and cleaning, I noticed the suction on my syphon doesn't seem to be that great. I have the Aqueon 25 ft syphon that hooks up to the sink. I hook it up, turn on the sink water, and the syphon has great suction until the water reaches the sink, then the strength seems to be weak. Am I doing something wrong?

I have noticed poor suction on my Python as well. I have stopped using the sink to create a suction and have the line running into my sewage sump in the basement and create the flow with a bulb and find I get much better suction then when hooked to a sink. I still hook it up to the sink to fill.


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[nshepler]

I feel like the elevation is how you get better suction.


May the force be with you.

 

[Ryan87500]

It is a water pressure issue I think. When I hook it to a sink it is in a sink in my basement and my tank is on the first floor. I have about 50 psi at my sink not sure what others have.

I am sure the 50 foot line doesn't help much.


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[crazy4fids]

Unless your sink is lower than your tank, you are not going to acheive good suction. What makes a siphon work is gravity! The water running through the hose will move along fine as it runs across your floor. But it has to flow 40 inches UP to get into the average kitchen sink. I run mine out the livingroom window and down to the ground. The greater the drop, the better the water pressure will be.

 

[LiQuiD]

I have noticed poor suction on my Python as well. I have stopped using the sink to create a suction and have the line running into my sewage sump in the basement and create the flow with a bulb and find I get much better suction then when hooked to a sink. I still hook it up to the sink to fill.

I feel like the elevation is how you get better suction.

Unless your sink is lower than your tank, you are not going to acheive good suction. What makes a siphon work is gravity! The water running through the hose will move along fine as it runs across your floor. But it has to flow 40 inches UP to get into the average kitchen sink. I run mine out the livingroom window and down to the ground. The greater the drop, the better the water pressure will be.

Thank you Crazy, that is exactly the problem Im finding. Thank you for the advice.

It is a water pressure issue I think. When I hook it to a sink it is in a sink in my basement and my tank is on the first floor. I have about 50 psi at my sink not sure what others have.

With your sink being lower than your tank, you're getting perfect suction. Wish I had that long of a drop off to my tank.


Here is where Im at now. Took me 2 hours to lay out the scape the way I wanted. I put the 2 pieces of wood together, and they made a sort of volcanic shape. Got the idea to run a rubber hose and micro air stone up the middle to make the volcanic effect. Was stoked on this cause I got the idea from watching Finding Nemo. My daughter says we have our own Mt. Wannahockaloogie! I think I will add come carpeting plants to the wood-cano to give it more color.

Tank has 2 Angels, 3 German Blue Rams, 2 Electric Blue Rams, 1 Golden Ram, 1 Pearl Gourami, 1 Rainbow Shark, 5 Rummy Nose, 5 Harlequin Rasboro, 1 Bosemani Rainbow, and 2 Fancy Guppies.

Filtration is a Aquaclear 70 and an Aquaclear 110.

 

[Coursair]

6 Rams in a 55g ? Wow. Seems like a lot. Tanks looking good. More plants ?


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[LiQuiD]

6 Rams in a 55g ? Wow. Seems like a lot. Tanks looking good. More plants

Thanks! The rams all get along really well so far, but if it starts to be a problem, I will move some to my 20 gallon. I definitely want to add more plants, especially some more carpeting style plants. Also looking into a 3D background as well.

How long should I run my lights? I really want it on as long as possible, but dont want to start a nasty algae bloom. I hear 6-10 hours is normal? I have been running it 12 hours.

 

[ppo8820]

Ive been lucky in that we have a lot of very good fish places here in Minnesota that carry plants. I also have had many give me plants or sell them for WAY cheap due to them being small or whatever. Id start with these species as they are known to be hardy, can adapt to an array of ph levels, and most lighting situations.

-Water Wisteria (mine got huge and you can cut off parts and plant to multiply them. Do well with bright light, but can live in lower lighting conditions)

-Crypts (love these, they are hardy and make great plants for the front of the tank. Tons of variety with these from green, to brown)

-Amazon Swords (Very Hardy, Root feeders so you want plant tabs)

-Anacharis (can grow in anything and is very pretty,easily propagated).

-Hornwort (is a weed and can grow in soup if you let it. Does drop needles like a pine tree so you will have to clean more)

Those are nice starters along with the traditional Java Fern and anubias everyone starts with........just dont bury the Rhizome.

 

[LiQuiD]

-Water Wisteria (mine got huge and you can cut off parts and plant to multiply them. Do well with bright light, but can live in lower lighting conditions)

-Crypts (love these, they are hardy and make great plants for the front of the tank. Tons of variety with these from green, to brown)

-Amazon Swords (Very Hardy, Root feeders so you want plant tabs)

-Anacharis (can grow in anything and is very pretty,easily propagated).

-Hornwort (is a weed and can grow in soup if you let it. Does drop needles like a pine tree so you will have to clean more)

Great list, thank you! What are some good carpeting plants or ones I could attach to my driftwood? Thanks again!

 

[Coursair]

You can glue Mosses or Java Ferns or Anubias to wood.


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