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  • #1

    Need Help Planting My Tank

    I have a new to me tank I'd like to get planted before stocking but need help what type of plants I should get and what if I need anything else to get ready for them.  I am looking at CO2

    So far:  
    55 gallon 48 x 13 x 21
    Odyssea 48in 4x64 lights stock bulbs
    Two bags of Flourite + 25 lbs of pea sized gravle
    Some driftwood and rocks
    Ehiem 2217

    Planned Fish:
    Red Minor Serpae Tetra 7
    Leopard Danio 7
    Marble Hatchet 7
    Glass Shrip 6
    Botia kubotai Loach 3
    Blue Dwarf Gouram 2
    Otocinclus Catfish 2
    Red Tail Shark 1
    Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Give a fish a man, and he'll eat for weeks!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Need Help Planting My Tank

    Is this your first planted tank? How often do you want to trim it?

    I like your fish list (especially the hatchets)... just curious about the red tail shark.

    I have never personally had much in the way of foreground plants because I don't use CO2, so I'll leave that to someone else. I like crypts anubius as midground plants and vals as background plants.
    Scarecrow : I haven't got a brain... only straw.
    Dorothy : How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
    Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?
    Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

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    • #3
      Re: Need Help Planting My Tank

      Are the stock bulbs on the Odyssea 12000K or something else? You'll get your best growth with anywhere from 5000K to 10000K. You might want to look into getting a couple replacement bulbs. But that's a great amount of light, and I would highly recommend you getting some kind of CO2 in there, otherwise you'll probably have to deal with a lot of algae. I'd also recommend getting some fertilizers, but I'm new to that area so I'll let someone else tell you all about it.

      Also, you might need a little more substrate. If I'm correct, a bag of Flourite is about 15lbs. So that is almost 1lb/gallon, and for a planted tank you would benefit from about 2lb/gallon of substrate, or just enough to make it 2-3" deep.

      Otherwise, it sounds wonderful! :emtthumbs:  I agree with arm, both about your fish selection and his question about how often you want to trim the plants. With your light, and if you get CO2, you can really choose any plant you want. Stem plants and the like are going to need more maintenance than lower light plants like crypts, anubias, some ferns, etc.

      I suggest looking around on the web a bit and finding some plants you are interested in, there's quite a few out there.  :)  Some people like a lot of red in their planted tanks, some like many different shades of green, some like only one or two types in there for a more uniform look...

      Check out www.aquaticplantcentral.com and www.plantedtank.net, which have galleries that you can glance over, just to get an idea of what you like. Then let us know!  
      "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

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      • #4
        Re: Need Help Planting My Tank

        This is my first planted tank.  I don't mind a weekly\every other week trim.  I had a couple of red tail sharks as a kid and really liked them.  I was wondering if the stock bulbs would do it.  Looks like I need to explain to my wife why I need a CO2 kit now.  I hope to get away with the gravle I have now... It is about two inches off the bottom I believe but will measure it when I get home.
        Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Give a fish a man, and he'll eat for weeks!

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        • #5
          Re: Need Help Planting My Tank

          First off the bulbs will need to be in the kelvin Mzungu stated to get the best growth...6500-10000k.

          Second I would probably look for a 2213 to add to your tank so increase the circulation in the tank so that algae doesn't forn in the deadspots.

          Third....find you a co2 setup! RexGrigg.com offers one of THE BEST regulators that I have seen!
          700g Mini-Monster tank

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          • #6
            Re: Need Help Planting My Tank

            Originally posted by eklikewhoa";p="
            Second I would probably look for a 2213 to add to your tank so increase the circulation in the tank so that algae doesn't forn in the deadspots.
            Could I just add a power head to the setup or do I need a full filter?  I was thinking I needed some more top of tank motion anyway for the hatchets.
            Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Give a fish a man, and he'll eat for weeks!

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            • #7
              Re: Need Help Planting My Tank

              A powerhead would work as well...probably use that to force the co2 to stay in the water column, also with Co2 injected planted tank you want the abosoulte minimal surface agitation.
              700g Mini-Monster tank

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              • #8
                Re: Need Help Planting My Tank

                Your botias may eat your shrimp.  Mine eat my amanos....

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