Need advice on aquascaping plants

[FallingShadow]

Hello all!
I am fairly new to the aquarium hobby and extremely new to planted tanks.

I am mostly interested in aquascaping and I really like the styles of Takashi Amano and the over all biotope look.

I would really like to get some blue seiryu stone or some very dark variation of this stone for my main media of the scape.

I would very much appreciate advice on what kinds of plants would go well with this style along with any equipment I may need or even equipment I may want just to further the scape. (Recommended substrate, CO2 systems, plants, lighting needs, anything will help)

Right now I am working with a 55 gallon as my practice tank but soon will be custom building a 250 gallon long tank to be my main entertainment. As for my current light I am using a fluval sky color+led 48" 3000-25000k 35 watts.

Also! Is there any other stones you might suggest that share a similar look to seiryu as it has proven very hard to find in my area.

I look forward to hearing from all of you and I appreciate any advice!

 

[Bert2oo1]

Welcome! I have a few suggestions for you.
Pressurised co2 makes life a lot easier.
You want 10x tank turn over with your filters (I like canisters).
Co2 is best injected through a inline diffuser or reactor. Reactors can be made for a small price, Google Griggs or cerges reactor.

As for lighting, finnex fixtures are very popular on this forum!

Plants that may be hand for you are
Crypts, Java fern(both normal and needle leaf) dwarf hair grass, HC Cuba, willow moss, Java moss, pogo helfari. Just to name a few

Ferts you will want to dose to PPS pro or EI method. A quick Google search will give you a heap of info on these methods of dosing.

My advice would be don't rush your build and research everything! There is a lot to learn when it comes to planted tanks

 

[FallingShadow]

Welcome! I have a few suggestions for you.
Pressurised co2 makes life a lot easier.
You want 10x tank turn over with your filters (I like canisters).
Co2 is best injected through a inline diffuser or reactor. Reactors can be made for a small price, Google Griggs or cerges reactor.

As for lighting, finnex fixtures are very popular on this forum!

Plants that may be hand for you are
Crypts, Java fern(both normal and needle leaf) dwarf hair grass, HC Cuba, willow moss, Java moss, pogo helfari. Just to name a few

Ferts you will want to dose to PPS pro or EI method. A quick Google search will give you a heap of info on these methods of dosing.

My advice would be don't rush your build and research everything! There is a lot to learn when it comes to planted tanks

Thank you very much for your advice, I have a few questions for you though.

As for my light are you saying that the light you suggested would be better then my current light?

Will my current light do anything for growing plants?

Is there any CO2 system you would suggest for me?

Is there any canister filter you would suggest for me?

Is there a specific website/s that you could refer me to in terms of a good base for my research?

Also I am very interested in carpet plants and would like a plant that could mimic grass fields at an aquarium tank size? Along with plants that won't take away from the hard scape but rather merge with it. Such as my current plans are to make a sort of mountain like scape with a rather large cave (in comparison to the rest of the scape)

I really appreciate any input you would be willing to give me.

Thank you,

Chris.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Thank you very much for your advice, I have a few questions for you though.

As for my light are you saying that the light you suggested would be better then my current light?

Will my current light do anything for growing plants?

Is there any CO2 system you would suggest for me?

Is there any canister filter you would suggest for me?

Is there a specific website/s that you could refer me to in terms of a good base for my research?

Also I am very interested in carpet plants and would like a plant that could mimic grass fields at an aquarium tank size? Along with plants that won't take away from the hard scape but rather merge with it. Such as my current plans are to make a sort of mountain like scape with a rather large cave (in comparison to the rest of the scape)

I really appreciate any input you would be willing to give me.

Thank you,

Chris.

I've heard the fluval sky's are good. How deep is your tank? I'll look up your fixture.

Green leaf aquariums make really good co2 regulators. However if your budget is abit lower you can get an aquatek co2 regulator for pretty good prices off amazon or eBay.

Same goes for a canister filter. Depends on budget. If money isn't an issue then get a fluval g series. If your budget is Lower you can get a sun sun canister for cheap on eBay or Amazon.
Depending on tank size you can also run 2 canisters. I use 2 on my 60g. Ones for water polishing and the other is full on seachem matrix for filtration.

I'll message you the websites as I'm not allowed to recommend certain sites on here.

Dwarf hair grass will give you that field effect or liliaposis. Easiest way to make a carpet is to plant small portions (3-4 blades if you can) and plant them about half an inch apart in a grid pattern. Regular trimming helps them spread sideways aswell so expect to be trimming every 7-10 days.
Crypt wendtii are really good for the base of rock and mold nicely into a scape.
Bylxa japonica is also a more dense grass type plant that is good for the same thing (not the best for carpets).

Also non dwarf hair grass is good to create depth. (Plant the longer at the back and dwarf to the front)

That's abit to get u started

 

[FallingShadow]

I've heard the fluval sky's are good. How deep is your tank? I'll look up your fixture.

Green leaf aquariums make really good co2 regulators. However if your budget is abit lower you can get an aquatek co2 regulator for pretty good prices off amazon or eBay.

Same goes for a canister filter. Depends on budget. If money isn't an issue then get a fluval g series. If your budget is Lower you can get a sun sun canister for cheap on eBay or Amazon.
Depending on tank size you can also run 2 canisters. I use 2 on my 60g. Ones for water polishing and the other is full on seachem matrix for filtration.

I'll message you the websites as I'm not allowed to recommend certain sites on here.

Dwarf hair grass will give you that field effect or liliaposis. Easiest way to make a carpet is to plant small portions (3-4 blades if you can) and plant them about half an inch apart in a grid pattern. Regular trimming helps them spread sideways aswell so expect to be trimming every 7-10 days.
Crypt wendtii are really good for the base of rock and mold nicely into a scape.
Bylxa japonica is also a more dense grass type plant that is good for the same thing (not the best for carpets).

Also non dwarf hair grass is good to create depth. (Plant the longer at the back and dwarf to the front)

That's abit to get u started

Thank you so much! Just a few more questions if you don't mind!

Is running a CO2 system going to effect my fish in the tank in anyway? And how can I absolutely assure their safety?

Many people from this forum also recommend building my own CO2 system as a kit is a "rip off" in their opinions, would this be better than buying a kit? Or does it really matter which route I take at all?

And finally would it be sufficient to run a sump instead of a canister? When I had brought up that I was interested in the fluval canister filter to a friend of mine (who also happens to work at my LFS) he had said it would be better to go with a sump as I could get a 40g breeder tank and a small sheet of acrylic and the needed media for much cheaper than the fluval and get much more out of it? I am in no way a professional on these things and I do trust what he tells me but it's never bad to get a second opinion and where better then these forums [emoji3]

Also my tank is the standard 55g sold at petco, I am sorry I don't know the dimensions myself I was just told it would be a great starter tank for me.

I appreciate all the advice so far you have been an amazing help!

Chris.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Thank you so much! Just a few more questions if you don't mind!

Is running a CO2 system going to effect my fish in the tank in anyway? And how can I absolutely assure their safety?

Many people from this forum also recommend building my own CO2 system as a kit is a "rip off" in their opinions, would this be better than buying a kit? Or does it really matter which route I take at all?

And finally would it be sufficient to run a sump instead of a canister? When I had brought up that I was interested in the fluval canister filter to a friend of mine (who also happens to work at my LFS) he had said it would be better to go with a sump as I could get a 40g breeder tank and a small sheet of acrylic and the needed media for much cheaper than the fluval and get much more out of it? I am in no way a professional on these things and I do trust what he tells me but it's never bad to get a second opinion and where better then these forums [emoji3]

Also my tank is the standard 55g sold at petco, I am sorry I don't know the dimensions myself I was just told it would be a great starter tank for me.

I appreciate all the advice so far you have been an amazing help!

Chris.

Co2 has no harm on the fish if it's set properly. You want no more than 35ppm of co2 or you can gas your fish and kill them. A drop checker can be used to measure the amount of co2 in the water.

You can build your own regulator, however. These things are holding back 500-1000psi of pressure. If you trust yourself enough to build your own then go for it but personally I'll leave it to the experts.

Stay away from yeast and bicarb soda DIY co2 setups. They arnt worth the hassle of you ask me. A bottle of co2 and a good regulator is much better (you can set and forget)

I have no experience with sumps so can't offer any advice on that. However Tom Barr has a good write up about a wet and dry sump he designed for planted tanks. Just google Tom Barr sump for info on it.

I'd try your light to begin with. It should be fine. If it isn't and you have problems you can always add an additional light if needed.

 

[FallingShadow]

Co2 has no harm on the fish if it's set properly. You want no more than 35ppm of co2 or you can gas your fish and kill them. A drop checker can be used to measure the amount of co2 in the water.

You can build your own regulator, however. These things are holding back 500-1000psi of pressure. If you trust yourself enough to build your own then go for it but personally I'll leave it to the experts.

Stay away from yeast and bicarb soda DIY co2 setups. They arnt worth the hassle of you ask me. A bottle of co2 and a good regulator is much better (you can set and forget)

I have no experience with sumps so can't offer any advice on that. However Tom Barr has a good write up about a wet and dry sump he designed for planted tanks. Just google Tom Barr sump for info on it.

I'd try your light to begin with. It should be fine. If it isn't and you have problems you can always add an additional light if needed.

Awesome! Thank you again you have been an amazing amount of help!