Amazon biotope

TFish · 09-02-2010, 05:10 PM

I'm probably going to keep the driftwood (in my shopping cart that is). These are the plants I want and I believe they are fine with my water parameters, but want to make sure:

Echinodorus Bleheri (Amazon Sword)
Anubias barteri Var. Nana
Echinodorus Tenellus (Narrow Leaf Chain Sword)
Alternanthera reineckii Var. Roseafolia
Bacopa Australis
Amazon Frogbit

As for lighting, would medium be good for all plants or can I do high light and just plant the Anubias in the shade of the frognit?

Would EcoComplete be a good source of iron for the Amazon Sword and others? What other fertililzers would I need?

Here is my planting plan:

Amazon Sword in the back corners with the Alternanthera in the middle of them.

Driftwood making a /\ like shape but not at as sharp of an angle at the middle left.

Narrow Leaf Sword in front of the driftwood.

Anubias on the driftwood on the right.

Bacopa in front of the Amazon Sword in the right corner.

About 2" of just gravel/substrate with no plants in the front.

(I don't know if this sounds too confusing or not, but I thought it was better than nothing).

TFish · 09-02-2010, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fish1983

i go down by the river and collect my own driftwood. now this means driftwood, not fallen branches and pieces of trees. its pretty easy to tell the difference between tree pieces and wood that has been in the river for who knows how long. i take it home and scrub the hell out of it with bristle pads and tooth brushes in the tub under hot hot water. then i let it dry and cook it in the oven at about 350 to 400 for about 20 min. this kills everything then i tie or silicone (with aquarium silicone) rocks to the pieces to make sure it stays on the bottom. after being under water for awhile it will stay on its own. it will release tannins into the water making your aquarium a tea color. this is perfect for an amazon biotope beings that native species of fish and plants are blackwater species anyhow. it will also help lower the ph and soften it up a bit. total cost $0

I would do that, but I'm not going to a river anytime soon and I doubt my mom would like to take me, so considering I'm already ordering stuff from SA, I might as well get driftwood there (it's a lot cheaper than Petco anyways ;))

fish1983 · 09-02-2010, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

I would do that, but I'm not going to a river anytime soon and I doubt my mom would like to take me, so considering I'm already ordering stuff from SA, I might as well get driftwood there (it's a lot cheaper than Petco anyways ;))

this is true. well now at least you know for future reference

Byron · 09-02-2010, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

I'm probably going to keep the driftwood (in my shopping cart that is). These are the plants I want and I believe they are fine with my water parameters, but want to make sure:

Echinodorus Bleheri (Amazon Sword)
Anubias barteri Var. Nana
Echinodorus Tenellus (Narrow Leaf Chain Sword)
Alternanthera reineckii Var. Roseafolia
Bacopa Australis
Amazon Frogbit

As for lighting, would medium be good for all plants or can I do high light and just plant the Anubias in the shade of the frognit?

Would EcoComplete be a good source of iron for the Amazon Sword and others? What other fertililzers would I need?

Here is my planting plan:

Amazon Sword in the back corners with the Alternanthera in the middle of them.

Driftwood making a /\ like shape but not at as sharp of an angle at the middle left.

Narrow Leaf Sword in front of the driftwood.

Anubias on the driftwood on the right.

Bacopa in front of the Amazon Sword in the right corner.

About 2" of just gravel/substrate with no plants in the front.

(I don't know if this sounds too confusing or not, but I thought it was better than nothing).

Those plants are fine in your water parameters.

On light, what do you have/are you getting? Medium is more than enough, but I may have more when I know the light type.

TFish · 09-02-2010, 06:09 PM

I don't know what I'll be getting yet, but my choices are probably 2 10, 15, 20, or 25 watt 6500k bulbs, but I don't have a hood yet, so I really don't know...

Byron · 09-02-2010, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

I don't know what I'll be getting yet, but my choices are probably 2 10, 15, 20, or 25 watt 6500k bulbs, but I don't have a hood yet, so I really don't know...

Over a 20g I would get an incandescent hood; they are considerably less expensive, and with the Compact Fluorescent bulbs now available provide excellent light. I recently got this type of hood for my "spare" 20g, and I have two 10w Daylight bulbs 6500K by GE which you can get in hardware stores. The light over this tank is to my eyes the same as my large tanks, and the plants grow superbly. Here's a photo; it's is not "aquascaped" or anything, just a mish-mash of plants from the main tanks, and a few new ones awaiting planting.

TFish · 09-02-2010, 06:59 PM

I like your tank, it looks nice whether its aquascaped or not. I forgot to mention my tank is right next to a window (which I know will cause algae and temperature changes, but I have no oother place). Would I need less light (as in light bulbs)?

Byron · 09-02-2010, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

I like your tank, it looks nice whether its aquascaped or not. I forgot to mention my tank is right next to a window (which I know will cause algae and temperature changes, but I have no oother place). Would I need less light (as in light bulbs)?

I hope the window has a blind or drapes. My experimental 10g sand tank is in front of a window for its source of light, no artificial light, and algae is very fast to appear. I am now encouraging that, as I have Farlowella fry that need a good source of fresh tender algae and they are in there for that reason. But before that, I closed the blinds quite a bit.

I would still get the two 10w bulbs; they will be your main light source.

TFish · 09-02-2010, 07:37 PM

The window does have drapes, but my mom won't let me keep them down all the time... Maybe I can make some sort of thing and put it on the back of the aquarium like a background using suction cups.

Any suggestion on what that "thing" should be made of (fabric,etc.)?

fish1983 · 09-02-2010, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFish

The window does have drapes, but my mom won't let me keep them down all the time... Maybe I can make some sort of thing and put it on the back of the aquarium like a background using suction cups.

Any suggestion on what that "thing" should be made of (fabric,etc.)?

You can purchase aquarium backdrops at your lfs. I just use tape to hang em up or you can paint the back of the aquarium as well. A spray paint that works on glass works well. If you purchase a backdrop just make sure it has a natural scene rather than something overly colorful. They're just made of plastic
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