Back to square one

[Kbiff]

Hey everyone! So I bought a 150 gallon tank. I also purchased a fluval fx6 to go with it. I'm was originally going to do just freshwater community tank with plastic plants. But after doing much research and reading and talking to the wife we have decided to do a planted tank. I'm looking for any insight on how to achieve this. I have never had a planted tank before. Also since iv decided to go to a planted aqaurium I don't think all the fish I wanted are compatible. The fish I originally wanted to use are the angelfish, silver hatch fish, cardinal tetras, rainbow shark, Cory cat,kuhli loach, silver dollar, and dwarf gourami. Now that I'm going to use plants I also would like to use ghost shrimp but once again I don't think my fish are compatible. Once again any advice would be much appreciated, like what's the best substrate or if a co2 injector is needed.

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[Richardwm]

Welcome to the dark side you have a long passionate journey ahead. First we will address the fish the Cory cats might uproot small plants so allow tank to establish before adding also the rainbow shark will eat shrimp so thy might be an issue. There are many substrates you can use. Research into flourite ecosubstrate and sorted tanks these all are good choices I use a flourite base with Tahitian moon sand cap. Now a general rule in planted tanks is decideing what plants you want to have. This will determine your light level.
Low light = anubius java fern, ect... These do not require frets or co2
Med light= a liquid carbon such as flourish excel is recommended as well as a base fert such as reg flourish.

High light = this is we're it gets serious. You will need co2 injection and fertilizer regiment. Dry frets are most economical and recommended. You are going to wAnt to have a solid planned out hard scape before you start planting this will make life easier. Best advice I could give you is research it then research it again to be sure.

Get in contact with rivercats our resident expert helped me out so much during my algae riot.

Just wanted to add it is best to take it one step at a time and pick our brain start with plants you want from there we can recommend what light levels you want and the fixture then look into substrate.

 

[Kbiff]

So I want to try to stick with low light plants jsut for the fact that i want to avoid getting a Co2 system right away. I have some up with a list of some plants that i like, Please tell me what you think and if they would work well together. Dwarf hairgrass, Anacharis, Anubias Nana, Cabomba, Java Fern, Water Spirte, and Cryptocoryne. I plan on doing a fishless cycle and i heard mixed reviews on this but what do you guys think about having plants in during that time?

 

[Richardwm]

I'm not sure if it will affect the plants. But as far as your readout on plants there are a few issues. First dwarf hair grass is defiantly high light and requires co2 and frets if you want a carpet try moss to start you can always tear it out later when you get upgrad and plant dhg. Your Cobomba will thrive better in med light. Those are the only two that pose potential problems. I will say you will need root tabs for the crypts. What is the depth of your aquarium and do you know what type of substrate you want.

 

[Kbiff]

My tank is 24 Inches tall. I orignally wanted black sand becasue I think it would look good with lava rocks and driftwood. But now that Iv decided i want plants I doubt thats a good decision. So i want very easy and hardy plants since this is my first time and after i get more aquainted I will try more complicated plants at that point. However I know that plants need lowlight conditions but does that mean I cant have a really well lit tank?

 

[Richardwm]

Why not do a flourite or Eco complet base with black sand cap. I have flourite and black sand and it works great.

And no I dosent mean you can't have a well lit tank but keep in mind as you increase light you increase chances for algae . You can probly get away with using a single dual lamp t5ho fixture.

 

[Kbiff]

When you do dual substrates do you mix them or lay one and then lay the other on top?

 

[Richardwm]

Layer one atop the other overtime you may get some of the base on the cap but you can add a little more sand to get that clean look if you do sand think of getting Cory catfish they sift through the sand and keep it clean

 

[Kbiff]

So im thinking a 3inch base of substrate. Would you do 2 inches of the eco and 1 inch of sand? Also I took a look at the T5 aquarium light fixtures. They have a led varient There a little more pricey but do you think that there overall worth the extra price?

 

[Richardwm]

You ratio for substrate is spot on. If you have the budget led are worth it less expensive in the long run.

 

[Kbiff]

Awesome I will do some research on substrates for underneath the sand, You mention you used flourite, have you had a lot of luck with it? I have only ever used the basic lighting for my aquariums, Does the blue/purple Leds add a greater viewing experience that is greatly noticable?

 

[Richardwm]

Flourite is good but requires a lot of cleaning before you put it in Eco-complete seems to work well to and is a little cleaner . Blue light will give the light a cool look instead of a warm glow more aesthetically pleaseing the plants can't use I tho so be sure there is light in the 6000k to 10000k range.

 

[Kbiff]

How would you go about cleaning that kind of substrate. Iv read that by cleaning it, its removes a lot of the beneficial nutrients and other properties. Now what would be the proper light range for high plants so that if i ever decide to venture that direction I wont need to buy a new light fixture.

 

[Sk3lly]

The blue lights are completely useless to the plants. Plants use light from the red end of the light spectrum. You need to do research on PAR. Photosynthetically Active Radiation. This is the amount of useable light at a certain water depth. It should be in the tech specs of a lighting fixture. Think of the ocean and the sun. The sun is the most powerful light imaginable but even so towards the bottom of the ocean it is permanently pitch black. The light simply cannot penetrate through all the water. Dwarf hairgrass grows low to the substrate. So it needs a more powerful light source to reach it. Hope this makes sense

 

[Kbiff]

So before I researh this even if I get a bright light won't dwarf hair grass still need a co2 regulator

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[Sk3lly]

So before I researh this even if I get a bright light won't dwarf hair grass still need a co2 regulator

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No you'll get it to grow without co2. It will just grow better with it. Get yourself either seachem excel which is a liquid co2 (expensive per ml) or metricide 14/glut. This is the same thing effectively but is a lot lot lot cheaper. Im in the uk and am struggling to get it. I use pressurised co2 and dose 10ml excel daily in a 29gallon tank

 

[Kbiff]

So maybe I'm looking at the wrong stuff but the only metricide that I could find was a disinfectant. Is that what you are referring to?

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[Sk3lly]

Yep. 14 day steralising solution. Its got glutahaldryhide in it. Check spelling lol. Thts the magic ingredient. Its double strength so dilute it 50:50 witj distilled water and then store in a non see through container. Light will break up the co2 compounds in the liquid rendering it useless

 

[Kbiff]

Alright so I am looking at the right thing. Have you ever used this? I'm just a little cautious.

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[Sk3lly]

No as its not readily available in the uk. Take a look at seachem excel. Thats what i use. Same stuff essentially. Just not as strong and more expensive. Search for a user on this called Old Scales. He uses metricide (glut) and swears by the stuff. Ask him anything. Hes very helpful!