Fishbitz Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Hi I've just set up a two foot planted aquarium starting small to see if I can handle it I wished I knew how to post pics so I could show you tell me what you think! I was wondering what water perameters should I keep my tank for optimum growth and should I have a heater in there is it beneficial to the plants? And I have different types of plants mosses anubius hc hm and other types that I can't remember there names Lol how much light a day should my tank receive? And I'm not using co2 on them a of yet! Please forgive my amateur questions as this is my first one I've done a fair bit of reading but there's so much to take in and would prefer help from people with first hand experience thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebelle Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 A heater is not required for plants, nor is co2 (IMO), but you will need to fertilise. If your tank gets daylight for some hours (not direct sun), you won't need a light if you keep low light plants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smicko Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 The moss and anubias will be fine with low light and no c02 but the hc will need high light and either c02 or liquid carbon to thrive. I have a heater but it it's mainly for the fish. The best way is to decide whether you want a high tech or low tech setup and pick plants that suit. Cheers mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbitz Posted November 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 I've used dinosaur dung in the substrate and liquid ferts the flourish equivilant from aoa so would four hours of good lighting be enough for the hc to thrive and what about water like ph and the such? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbitz Posted November 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Also do fish help a planted Eco system or is it more of a personal preference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnhawk Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 (edited) Fantastic advice so far. I was wondering what water perameters should I keep my tank for optimum growth and should I have a heater in there is it beneficial to the plants? - It really depends on the plants that you have and what type of set up you are going for. A low tech set up is low lighting with weekly or fortnightly water changes with little dosing (Macro, Micro, Excel) if at all. You will need undemanding plants for this and it does limit what you can grow. As stated HC will melt away under these conditions. Anubias and Java Fern are fantastic starter plants as is the moss however they don't particularly like Excel. Medium tech is some sort of CO2 with medium lighting (2 watts per gallon) and regular dosing. High tech is 3 watts per gallon+ with heavy CO2 injection and heavy fert dosing. Honestly I would recommend low tech as you get an understanding of the planted tank hobby and its less expensive if you change your mind. Results are slower but so is the money being drained from your wallet how much light a day should my tank receive? - Also depends on your plants but generally 8 - 10 hours a day. I currently have a timer for my lights, they are on from 9am - 2pm then a 5 hour break until 7pm - 12pm. The 5 hour break in the middle reduces algae and replenishes CO2 in the tank for the next 5 hour block as I don't use injected CO2. A planted aquirum is all about balance, if your lights are powerful but you aren't dosing/using CO2 algae will thrive and vice versa. Ask any questions there is ALOT to take in with the planted hobby Are you planning on dosing ferts? What CO2 were you expecting to do? What tech type of tank do you want? What substrate will you be using? EDIT: Fish help for sure, they produce ammonia which plants love! Edited November 10, 2015 by Barnhawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishbitz Posted November 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Thanks everyone for the tips and info @ barnhawk I'm going for a medium tech tank to start I've kept aquarium plants before in fish aquariums but only just getting into plant dedicated tanks now! The tank I just set up a few days ago I'm using iron sand as my substrate I've used a product called dinosaur dung for the roots if my plants and a product called continuum flora viv growth and that's all I've used so far and my plants get filtered light during the day and four hours of light from my LEDs at night and as for fish thinking if putting endlers in this aquarium but not many! Co2 I haven't looked that far into just yet but definately something I'll be looking into do you know of any cheap ways of co2 for a tank as this is only a two footer and I don't want to spend hundreds until I get bigger planted tanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnhawk Posted November 10, 2015 Report Share Posted November 10, 2015 Ahh nice I see, mine is a medium tech as well What elements does the flora viv have? Is it micro or macro elements? I bought a heap of raw ingredients (Nitrate (KNO3), Monopotassium Phosphate (KH2PO4) and Magnesium Sulphate (MgS04)) and mixed them together for my own macro mix. I have over a years supply of ferts for about $30! I am also using flourish until it runs out. Im not to sure on the CO2 side of things as I just dose "liquid C02" (Excel). Remember that once you add CO2 especially canisters there will be a large increase of your plant growth so they may need more light and ferts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
