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Going in for a Planted tank!

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  fish_4_all 
#1 ·
Hey there,
I've aspired to be a keeper of a planted tank for a long while now and i've slowly worked to make my tank plant compatible..and now i think i'm ready to start planting...

I had ceramic large chunks of gravel which i replaced my quartz gravel (1mm-3mm)
I had a fluoroscent light bout 40W to which i've added 2 more 36W fluoroscent tubes for plants (Osram L fluoro 36W/77) even installed reflectors to make sure theres enough lumens

The only problem i might have is that i did not add laterite soil to the substrate...so i intend to tackle it by adding some fertilizer...

My tank size is 4*2*1 ft. (approx 60 gallons)

Now coming to the main questions...
1. With wot plants should i start my venture...i want to go for hardy cheap and easy growing plants initially..not sure wot species i should go for yet...
2. I have 4 dollars in my tank whom i'm concerned with...i dont wanna give them away because i just love these guys! But i dont want them to harm my plants by nibbling at them...i wouldnt mind giving them extra food to compensate the nibbling...also i'm feeding them peas and lettuce thinking they might get a little conditioned bout eating only these and not my plants!! :lol: rest of the fishes are mollies, angels and plecos...which i think wont bother my plants much..
3. I'm also planning to introduce Co2 (DIY)once i've planted all my plants...(ohh i forgot to mention that i'm planning to introduce plants in 2 phases...phase 1 i wanna introduce carpet plants and then later i'll add all other plants..ohh and please mention if this is a good strategy)

Hoping to recieve a reply soon..
Thanx

Mohit
 
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#2 ·
saxenamohitm said:
Now coming to the main questions...
1. With wot plants should i start my venture...i want to go for hardy cheap and easy growing plants initially..not sure wot species i should go for yet...
There are various plants worth trying.:) Hygrophila, Cabomba, Hornwort, Riccia, Elodea, Javan fern, Javan moss, Heternanthera, Alternanthera, Nymphaea, Ambulia, Water Milfoil, Anubias, Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus and many more.. Most of the plants I mentioned are often easy to grow although I must admit I never had success with Javan fern and Cabomba.:lol:
2. I have 4 dollars in my tank whom i'm concerned with...i dont wanna give them away because i just love these guys! But i dont want them to harm my plants by nibbling at them...i wouldnt mind giving them extra food to compensate the nibbling...also i'm feeding them peas and lettuce thinking they might get a little conditioned bout eating only these and not my plants!! :lol: rest of the fishes are mollies, angels and plecos...which i think wont bother my plants much..
The silver dollars will need to move out of the planted tank unfortunately. No matter how much greens you feed them, there is no way they can be prevented from eating your plants anytime or when you least expect it. I would be careful with the plecos you get. Most of them are quite voracious plant eaters if not fed enough greens. Angels, apistogrammas, cories, otos, rasboras, danios, discus and tetras, on the other hand, are indestructible so they are generally preferable.:)
3. I'm also planning to introduce Co2 (DIY)once i've planted all my plants...
DIY CO2 may not be sufficient for a heavily-planted 60 gallons. If your wallet permits, a pressurized CO2 would be the better option.:)

Good luck.:)

P.S. I'll leave the strategy phases to the others.:) I can't figure out how your phases are going to work out..lol
 
#3 ·
Wisteria! Even if the fish do decide to nip at it the plant should grow fast enough that it will survive and grow really well. Wisteria will take up a lot of nutrients so a root tab or fertilizing with nitrates, phosphates and iron will help it grow even faster. For a second plant, crypts. Very durable and should be able to compete just like the wisteria with a little nipping.

Just a heads up about Wisteria though, once it gets going well you will need to give your other plants root tabs or they could suffer. When my wisteria gets going good my crypts suffer without root tabs about every month.
 
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