Planted tank ?

[Anonymous]

While on the FW kick again I have some questions.

I made a weak attempt at making a planted tank out of my 46G.

I put down Laterite and then Flourite on top. I bought some basic plants at the LFS that never made it. I had a 110W PC for a light with 10K bulbs in it. I even dosed a little Flourish.

The only thing that happened was a hard green algae on the glass.

What is really needed for a 46G tank to make it thrive as a planted tank? Or maybe I should use my 58G Reef tank as a planted tank?

I do have a CO2 tank from my CA reactor.

A FW planted tank looks like it can be ALLOT easier to maintain than a reef - is this true? What are some good fish for a planted tank?

 

[Anonymous]

Depends on how you do the planted tank. Or the reef tank for that matter.

With co2, high lighting, filtration and so on it can be almost as time consuming.

But with just plants and lower lighting it can be basically self substaining. Which actually can be true of a reef system also.

So it just depends on how hard you want to make it.

.02

 

[Anonymous]

I want easy and I figure if I sell the reef equipment I can do this tank basically free.

 

[Anonymous]

If you stay away from fish that eat plants like chiclids or goldfish it can be extremely easy.

Just to get things going here is what I have done for years.

use common play sand 2" deep.

(for a 10g tank)

add 4-6 bunched of anacharis
4 vals
4 small potted swords
a single amazon sword centerpeice.

Fill with water.

wait 1 week.

add a single male platty

wait 1 week with no food added

add female and start feeding 1 flake per day.

lights 15w tube or 2 10w (or so) 5500k-6500k pigtails in round spot reflectors. If the latter they can be set on egg crate that forms the cover.

no filter, no water changes, straight untreated tap water.

in 6 months you have a tank full of platys with no algae and clear water.

For neon tetras I use a thin layer of peat moss under the sand.

have done this in 1/2 dozen cites in the US and about a dozen tanks since the late 70's. Always the same results. And always lost the first male cycle fish if I added food the first week.

my .02

 

[Anonymous]

Why peat moss for the neon tetras?

 

[Anonymous]

Why peat moss for the neon tetras?

Because it works? 8O

I have heard it softens the water.

Provides some extra nutrients also.

the pH was initially much lower before the pH rose to levels comparable to my tanks with no peat.

But for neons with "my" leiden system, peat does seem to allow neons to live. Whereas with just sand they lasted only a week or so. And people who have converted existing tanks to planted with no peat have lost their neons.

.02

 

[Anonymous]

Still debating. May just add some more rainbows and other peaceful fish and call it a day. The tank is upstairs in a dining room now and I just may move it downstairs.

 

[Anonymous]

Why peat moss for the neon tetras?

Acidifies (drops Ph) of the water. I've used it for different species, like some Apistos which like that lower Ph, and have it in their natural habitats.

 

[Anonymous]

Law

Just out of curiosity why are all my tank testing purple (8.4-8.8) with the API high range test kit. All of them. 55g mixed reef, 29g mixed reef, 5 year old 10g planted with sand and 30 fish, 1 year old 20g planted with 20 fish and gravel, 1 g with Soil master select and peat moss with 5 neon tetras. 2-1 quart with sand and a baby guppy, 1 quart with sand/peat 1 neon tetra.

I'm sure the peat adds acid. So why is the ph measureing the same as all the other tanks?


Makes no difference to me. The important things is the neon tetras live with the peat.

The only thing that makes any sense to me is simply the live plants are consuming the carbon dioxide raising the pH. Kh on the peat tank is lower --like 5 dkh vrs 10-15dkh for all the other tanks. (with baking soda dosing for the reef tanks only. FW no dosing)

So I took pH and kh measurements from the FW and marine tanks. When I hosted a local reef club a few months ago. More the a few were amazed the values were the same.

But then they were really amazed that my 10g had not have the glass touched in 6 months. :lol:

.02

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: whatever you say bob, but IME the following is correct.

Although aquarists have used peat in filters for years, primarily as a tool for acidifying and softening water, but its use as an aquarium substrate is relatively uncommon. This is a shame, because in some situations it can be an excellent choice, lending a very distinctive ‘jungle stream’ look to an aquarium. It looks especially good with species that naturally inhabit deep and dark forest streams and pools, in particular tetras, dwarf cichlids such as Apistogramma, labyrinth fish, and some types of killifish. These fish not only appreciate the acidity that the peat lends to the water, but they also show off their colours most brilliantly when kept in tanks with a dark brown or black substrate. The blackwater tint that the peat gives to the water also helps. Whereas neon, cardinal, and glowlight tetras can look a bit subdued in the average tank, kept in dimly lit tanks with a dark substrate and tea-coloured water their natural colours really show through in a most amazing way, especially when kept in large groups. The popular killifish from the general Aphyosemion and Nothobranchus also shine more brightly in dark tanks, and will also use the peat as a place to lay their eggs, mimicking their use of leaf litter and mud in the wild. But be careful with these fish, because they do not like very acidic pH levels, so a buffering agent may need to be used to stabilise the pH around 6 or 7, depending on the species.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebInde ... ottoms.htm

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Law and the does agree with my experience. Except that my pH has risen to the purple in the api test kits.

here is a pic of the neon nano after 34 days of setup and immediately after I added some plants:

So there should be at least a little of what they referred too there. :lol:

And this is the tank (jar?) two days later:

And parameters
day____am____ni____na___ph____dkh_____dgh

35______0_____0_____5___8.6_____6_______9
36______0_____0_____5___7.4_____6_______9
38______0_____0_____5___7.6_____6_______9
39______0_____0_____5___7.8_____5_______9
42______0_____0_____5___8.6_____6_______9
43______0_____0_____0___8.6_____5_______8
44______0_____0_____0___8.6_____5_______8
45______0_____0_____0___8.6_____5_______8
46______0_____0_____0___8.6_____4_______8

And phosphates have dropped from 1-3 ppm initially to around .25-.5ppm

5 neons have lived for 60 days in there and here is the most recent picture.

And kh is still 5 dkh with gh still inthe 7-8 range.

No buffers added, straight untreated tap water no water changes, no circulation, no filter. Initial pH was 6.5 then rose to 7.5 in a day. After a adding a fish pH rose to the 8.4-8.8 range.

The only thing that makes any sense (to me anyway) is the plants have created an environment where in a 24 hour period the jar is a net consumer of carbon dioxide and producer of oxygen. Resulting in co2 levels less then the surrounding air and oxygen levels higher then the surrounding air. So in effect the fish are living in kinda an oxygen tent.

Perhaps that is why I have extremely low (to no) incidents of ich, fin rot, fungus and other problems.

.02

 

[Anonymous]

The only thing that makes any sense (to me anyway) is the plants have created an environment where in a 24 hour period the jar is a net consumer of carbon dioxide and producer of oxygen. Resulting in co2 levels less then the surrounding air and oxygen levels higher then the surrounding air. So in effect the fish are living in kinda an oxygen tent.

er- doubtful, and pH tests don't indicate dissolved O2 levels, or dissolved CO2 levels-those are hardly the only things that affect pH

without actively forcing O2, or CO2 into that jar, you'd be very hard pressed to overpower the O2/CO2 equilibrium that every body of water tries to reach WITH THE SURROUNDING AIR-you'd pretty much need to seal the bottle to beat it one direction of the other

aph (aq. pharmaceuticals?) isn't considered by experienced hobbyists to be either accurate or reliable-unless you're using a properly calibrated pH meter and are testing at the same time of day for each system, (ph rises and falls naturally over a 24 hour period) your 'results' mean absolutely nothing

No buffers added, straight untreated tap water no water changes, no circulation, no filter. Initial pH was 6.5 then rose to 7.5 in a day. After a adding a fish pH rose to the 8.4-8.8 range.

how do you know your tap doesn't have buffers in it ? did the kH or Gh also change when the pH rose (highly unlikely it rose at all, much less due to ADDING an O2 consuming waste producer)?

both of you hardness parameters are showing a lowering trend-i'll wager that your pH will eventually drop, or you aren't being truthful with your info posted

 

[Anonymous]

So in effect the fish are living in kinda an oxygen tent.

Perhaps that is why I have extremely low (to no) incidents of ich, fin rot, fungus and other problems.

no connection whatsoever, and simply not true (the 'tent' part)