A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

[kidslikefish]

I bought a 46gal bowfront from Phelina early this week and got it up and going today. Emptied everything from my 20 gal into it. Not many fish, but I'll take care of that in the next week or so.

Now for the questions, I'm going to try my hand for the first time with a planted take with the 20 that I have.

Standard size: 2 ft long, 1 ft deep, 16 inches tall.

Bought 15.4 lb bag of Flourite at Mike's Tropic Fish this morning.   Is that enough for that size tank ?  Just looking at the bag, it doesn't look like it is enough.  Can I mix in a small size gravel with it to get some texture ?  Is there something else I can mix with it, or do I need to ?

It says I can rinse it, but not needed. Any benefits to either side of that ?

I know my lights that came with the 20 won't work, so I got a 24 inch Aqualight. 65 Watts. The bulb it says is a Coralife 50/50 flourescent lamp. True Actinic 03 Blue (50%) and 10,000K Daylight (50%) phosphors.  It says it can sit on top a glass top (which I don't have yet), or legs can be added to give it some distance from the aquarium.   Does it make any difference ? And I'm assume I'm in good shape for lighting now ?    

Since I'm new at the plated tank, I'd rather not start with needing to add CO2, am I okay with this setup ?

Tomorrow morning, I'm putting it all together.  Do I need to let the Flourite and water sit before I introduce plants, or do I need plants at the time I set it up and do it all at once ?

Where is a good place to get plants in Houston and what suggestions for some plants for a newbe, easy to maintain, and grow at a decent rate so I can actually see progress ? I was thinking some kind of short grass in the front and taller plants along the sides/back.  But I have no idea what plants to ask for, I could really use some help with this one !!

Once it's set up, how long before I start putting in fish ?   I was planning to just do small guys, guppies (enders if I can find some insted of guppies), a Beta, mollies, a few neons maybe.  I'd like 4-5 of the cherry red shrimp I've seen talked about on the board, but that will have to wait until my plants are providing good cover.
Is an algie eater a good idea for a planted tank, or will they eat the plants ?  

Sorry of the lenght of the note and all the questions, but this is my first try at this, and I'd like to do a half-way decent job at it. Any suggestions on anything would be greatly appreciated !

[eklikewhoa]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

I bought a 46gal bowfront from Phelina early this week and got it up and going today. Emptied everything from my 20 gal into it. Not many fish, but I'll take care of that in the next week or so.

Now for the questions, I'm going to try my hand for the first time with a planted take with the 20 that I have.

Standard size: 2 ft long, 1 ft deep, 16 inches tall.

Bought 15.4 lb bag of Flourite at Mike's Tropic Fish this morning.   Is that enough for that size tank ?  Just looking at the bag, it doesn't look like it is enough.  Can I mix in a small size gravel with it to get some texture ?  Is there something else I can mix with it, or do I need to ? I would get another bag of  flourite and not mix the gravel..IMO it's really tacky looking and if they are different sized then the smaller of the two will make it's way to the bottom eventually.

It says I can rinse it, but not needed. Any benefits to either side of that ? You can rinse it but you would be rinsing away some good nutrients with it...if it looks really dusting I would probably give it a quick rinse or dip in water to get the dust off but other then that just drop it in...it helps to fill the substrate into the tank with no water and carefully fill the tank not to disturb much of the substrate.

I know my lights that came with the 20 won't work, so I got a 24 inch Aqualight. 65 Watts. The bulb it says is a Coralife 50/50 flourescent lamp. True Actinic 03 Blue (50%) and 10,000K Daylight (50%) phosphors.  It says it can sit on top a glass top (which I don't have yet), or legs can be added to give it some distance from the aquarium.   Does it make any difference ? And I'm assume I'm in good shape for lighting now ?     the light will be ok as long as you keep with low light requirement plants and change the bulb since actinics are of no to little  use in the planted aquarium. Look for something like 10,000k if you like the bluish tinted look or 6700k to make the planted tank really glow 9325k will enhance the colors of most red/yellow. I personally have used the PC lights over glass fixture and it works but sometimes it can get hot enough to break the glass so I would use the legs. If the light fixture is long as the tank then you could just use the legs to keep it propped up and go with an open tank if you don't have anything that can get in or out, I run most of my planted tanks open top. Also look into getting a timer as well unless you are able to control the lighting/photo period manually, try and keep the lighting between 8-10hrs on your tan with this fixture and in a few weeks see how the plants are responding to it and tailor from there.

Since I'm new at the plated tank, I'd rather not start with needing to add CO2, am I okay with this setup ? Regardless of setup any planted tank will benefit from having co2 injected or dosed....Seachem makes Excel which is a liquid carbon supplement and works really good for those who don't want to deal wit making mixes or purchasing pressurized. but you could get away with not using any.

Tomorrow morning, I'm putting it all together.  Do I need to let the Flourite and water sit before I introduce plants, or do I need plants at the time I set it up and do it all at once ? When I plant a tank I usually fill with substrate...then add water to be about an inch or so above the substrate and plant from there. After that I fill with water an let it sit

Where is a good place to get plants in Houston and what suggestions for some plants for a newbe, easy to maintain, and grow at a decent rate so I can actually see progress ? I was thinking some kind of short grass in the front and taller plants along the sides/back.  But I have no idea what plants to ask for, I could really use some help with this one !! With your low light and no co2/ferts you will be limited on the plants you can get or how they will actually grow. ..... for front grass I would look into dwarf sag, laeliopsis braesilinis, Hemianthus Micranthemoids(pearlweed). Taller plants look into vals or Rotalas but the latter might want higher lighting or it will just get leggy....some good starter plants or low light plants to work with.....Java ferns, anubias, moss, crypts etc.... as for a good place to go it would probably have to be City Pets and Fish Gallery if you get there when they recently received the plants and Fish Ranch but since some of the guys left it has been going down hill.  

Once it's set up, how long before I start putting in fish ?   I was planning to just do small guys, guppies (enders if I can find some insted of guppies), a Beta, mollies, a few neons maybe.  I'd like 4-5 of the cherry red shrimp I've seen talked about on the board, but that will have to wait until my plants are providing good cover. If you plant heavily enough you could go through a planted cycle which you could add fish right off the bat but I am thinking you should wait a week or two. I usually plant heavily and even throw in a few fast growing plants like wisteria to soak up any ammonia that starts. Look into rexgrigg.com. With the list of fish you are wanting RCS might not last too long in your tank.

Is an algie eater a good idea for a planted tank, or will they eat the plants ?   If you get the right algae eaters they will do what they are suppose to but most places put the label "algae eater" on anything that has a sucker mouth.....Otocinclus, bristlenose plecos, Nerites, amano shrimp are probably the best algae eaters out there.

[screename]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

^^^ yeah what he said  

[PhishPhreek]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

EK covered all the bases - but you don't have to do it all at once.
Watch the BOX ans see what is doing well for others - attend the auctions and pickup some of the offerings.  If you see something at the LPS that you like, go home and research it on the net.  Then if it will fit with what you want, go back an purchase some.  A planted tank is not a goal, it's an adventure.

[kidslikefish]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

Wow, EK, thanks for the great information !  Looks like I'll hit the road this morning and get a few more supplies before I start putting everything together.  I'll post up later as I start putting it all in on how it's going !

[ponyrandy]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

If you go with a glass top, buy the twin tube top. It has more room on the back half to accomodate your Coralife. It also has thicker glass so you don't have to worry about heat breakage. I was not happy with the legs on my Coralife, it sent too much stray light out for my liking, I just wound up setting it on the glass top.
Brian

[kidslikefish]

Update : Questions before my first try at a planted tank

Okay, got the 2nd bag of Flourite, the glass top, the legs for the light fixture and a few plants.  Found a few of the plants that EK recommended at City Pets.   Put a bag-and-a-half of Flourite in (it's about 3 1/2 to 4 inches deep, so I stopped at that), slowly added water until about an inch of water was above the Flourite. Added a piece of drift wood and the plants.  Added the rest of the water. Used the bowl on the bottom of the tank to keep from disturbing the floor too much.  Finished about 4:30, water was very cloudy, couldn't really see through the tank with the lights off at that point.  It's 10:30 now, and it's clearing, seems to be right on the 18-24 hour schedule to clear up that I've seen mentioned.  

One question at this point, there's an oily sheen on top of the water, do I need to try to take that out with paper towels/sponge or will it eventually clear up ?

Another question I thought about, do I need a heater ?  The tank is an a room that pretty much stays around 76 degrees, do plants need warmer water ?

Any help on those two items would be appreciated, I'll update tomorrow what the water is looking like.  I'm pretty excited the way it's going at this point.  My daughter (10 year-old) and Son (6) picked out plenty of fish to fill the 46 while we were out today and are already planning on what they want to put in the 20 planted next week !

[eklikewhoa]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

If you can find a surface skimmer then that would be the best option but it's probably the dust from the flourite so just siphon it up or the paper towel will work.

With the heater I would get one just in case the temp decides to drop for whatever reason to keep it stable but at 76deg it is good since cooler temps keep algae away too. Some fish that you might put in the tank might want a bit warmer though and that keeps disease away too.

[Mzungu]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

Which plants did you end up getting? And has the stuff on the surface cleared up?

[kidslikefish]

Update #2: Questions before my first try at a planted tank

I cleared the oily look stuff off the top by dabbing it with a paper towel, and it hasn't come back, so that's good.  

The water is still a little cloudy, maybe I should have gone with the rinsing the Flourite route, but I didn't.  Should I give it some more time, or can I hook up an "over the back" filter for a few hours.  I'm a little concerned about doing that thinking that the water flow might end up kicking up more dust from the bottom ?   Any suggestions on that one ?   And should I worry about the layer of dust that has settled onto the bottom, you can see a distinctive layer on top the Flourite and plants.

Mzungu, the plants I got were: Pearlweed in two places along the front, a Java Fern in the middle, two Anubias along the back, a Water Hyssop (I think) in a back corner in front of some drift wood.  I wanted some HC (Hemianthus Callitrichoides) ?  I think it's called, City Pets had a large display tank with it carpeting the bottom, but were out of it for sale.     I'm going to try to take a picture if it this evening and post it up.

I think I have the first inhabitants that will live in there already.  My 10-year old daughter and I spend 2 hours fishing 16 baby guppies out of the 46 gallon last night.  Didn't think Mom was that close, or I'd have put her into the little floating breader net. Saw two more this morning, but didn't have time to go after them. They'll have to fend for themselves until this evening.  I'll get a pic of that tank tonight also.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

Put the HOB filter on the tank and stuff it with filter floss if you have it and that should help some but other then that it's just a waiting game.

HC needs co2 and good penetrating light in order for it to survive moreless spread and the stuff CityPets has in their 90g planted is actually Marsiela Minuta which is a type of fern so it is more forgivable with lighting and such.

Can't wait to see some pictures!

[Mzungu]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

I agree. If you don't have a filter on there, it will definitely help to add one.

Make sure you haven't planted the java fern and anubias in the substrate - their roots should be exposed in order for them to be happy.  :)

[eklikewhoa]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

Well the main thing about the fern and anubias is that the Rhizome is not buried...

[Tiapan]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

im gonna try that minuta in my 29 when i move, gonna try a little more high tech style with that tank, (as in adding co2 and gonna use a canister so i cut down on over airation)

[Tiapan]

Re: A few Questions before my first try at a planted tank

the best part about planted tanks is that they all work differently for everyone. a good site to check out is aquaticplantcentral.com as well as here of course but Ek has been pretty serious about plants for a while. always a good sorce of info, if not a little bit of a techno-hound (as in he loves his high end lights and tech gear, admit it you know you do)