# My First Every Planted Tank, Need Help



## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

Hi, im planning to setup my First Planted Tank, will be getting my aquarium in about 1 week, and need help before i do something wrong. heres my setup. im gonna be using eco complete substrate about
2" layer of it, and then on top of that put 2" layer of gravel. then plants , and wait for cycle and add fish.is this a correct setup? i have also purchased a Co2 system called "Turbo CO2 Bio System". my other items purchased are:
1) SeaClear Bowfront 36 Gallon Aquarium
2) Aquatic Fundamentals 46 Gallon Bowfront Aquarium Stand (fits my aquarium)
3)Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit
4)Marineland Penguin 150GPH BIO-Wheel Power Filter
5)PETCO Dark Blue Aquarium Gravel 50LBS
6) Seachem Prime
7) Various Decorations
8) thermometer
and about lighting, my aquarium already comes with a "UL listed fluorescent light fixture "
, i will put plants after receiving all items and setting up tank. any recommendations?


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## greentin (Jul 25, 2009)

Its a good start, but that wont be enough lights. Look for the wattage of the fluorescent and try to be atleast 3 or 4 times the numbers of gallon of the aquarium. To keep almost all kind of plants you need at least 100+ watts of lights over that 36 gallon(36x3=108watts). You should do some research on plants light requirement and determine what you want to keep, some plants tolerate low light just fine. Others will need more. A compact fluorescent lamp or even better a T5 light set up will be excellent and efficient. Another thing I would advise is invest in pressurize CO2 system it is expensive at first but cheaper in the long run.


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## Avi (Apr 7, 2004)

There are different ways of keeping a planted tank and, personally, I prefer the method that uses more lighting, along the lines of what greentin recommends. But, that doesn't mean you have to have 3 or 4 times...in wattage...than the 36-gallons in your tank. You could manage with less...2-watts per gallon or more, I,d say...but it's a matter of balance between the CO2 level in your tank, the amount of fertilization, and the amount of lighting. If they aren't in balance, you'd get excesses of unwanted algaes, so read up on that. 

I think you'd be all right at first with the CO2 rig you bought, but I also agree with greentin that if you really want more reliable growth, pressurized CO2 is vastly preferable. I think you ought to get some experience with a planted tank using what you have and as you see that you really like keeping one and you're up for trying more kinds of plants, then get yourself a pressurized setup.

But, do some research on the balance between the CO2, lighting and ferts because that's really critical to success and the beauty of your planted tank.

And, you should ask any questions that you're curious about because that's the key to success.


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## Vadimshevchuk (Jul 5, 2009)

why dont you just use only ec complete? 2 inches of eco adn then blue gravel? the eco will compact and it wont be as useful when its down to only .5 of an inch. with eco i would use 2 lbs per gallon. on my 29 i used 2 20lbs bag and its need 1 more for sure. Other then that your okay so far.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

Well, the reason im using blue gravel on top of the eco complete is because it will match my blue background, and it helps good bacteria grow. Anyway, Another question, how can i safely turn off my c20 system at night, because i heard i wont be needing it at night because plants take in oxygen and release c02 at night, so theres no use. so can i safely turn it off without blowing the can up(it has yeast and sugar, so its pressurized). thnx


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## Vadimshevchuk (Jul 5, 2009)

well what i do is i just put a jar at night and then i put the co2 tube into the jar. usually the co2 at night wont affect the fish since its not producing co2 sufficently. Btw they usually use blue back grounds for sw tanks. In my opion black substrate either ada or eco would look good with black background but its ur tank and not mine. good luck on it. Any pics?op2:


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## mythin (Sep 2, 2007)

I'd just run a timer on an airstone for the night time, and let the co2 run all night, it shouldnt be a problem as long as you have an airstone come on when the lights go out. The only other thing I would really recommend is an external canister filter over the biowheel, it may cost a little more, but in the long run you wont regret it. Its better, more reliable and efficient compared to a biowheel hob. I recommend the eheim classic series, solid and lasts for years.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

hey, for cycling my tank (aka nitrogen cycle), do i need to add ammonia to the water, because i dont want to cycle it using a real fish, so would it be wise to cycle it using ammonia drops ,or will it just happen naturally.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

mythin said:


> I'd just run a timer on an airstone for the night time, and let the co2 run all night, it shouldnt be a problem as long as you have an airstone come on when the lights go out. The only other thing I would really recommend is an external canister filter over the biowheel, it may cost a little more, but in the long run you wont regret it. Its better, more reliable and efficient compared to a biowheel hob. I recommend the eheim classic series, solid and lasts for years.


hey, whats a good airstone you recommend for a beginner, that comes with the whole kit. thanks


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

WELL, i got my aquarium, and the lighting hole is 24" by 6.5". anyone know where i can find a good lighting fixture for this?the one that came with it is only 40watts, but i need about 2-3 wpg. so atleast minimum 80watts i need. thanks

HERES A PICTURE "


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

ok, nevermind, i found a fixture its 24-1/2" x 7-1/4" . its here , its 130 watts for my 36 gallon planted aquarium. what do you guys think.


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## Avi (Apr 7, 2004)

I think that you'd be fine with it...only get rid of that "Dual Actinic 420 nanometer and 460 nanometer bulb" that it comes with and replace it with a four-pin bulb in the 6700K to 10,000K range.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

AFTER alot of reading and studying, i have finally managed to start my tank, 3" ecocomplete (mostly in the back area and side), and about 1" gravel, i added 2 plants (amazon sword, and Anacharis, and added my light fixture (CURRENT 65W florescent with lunar lights). i might updrade to 130W later and add co2. heres some pics


















not too powerful, but looks nice from the room

BTW, im adding a couple of fish flakes every 12 hours, and checking ammonia and nitrite everyday. when i start getting > 5ppm ammonia, and can read nitrites, ill lessen the fish flakes, and when i can read 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite, ill add fish, CANT WAIT.


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## Avi (Apr 7, 2004)

just don't add a lot of fish all at one time. Let the bio-filter that you're working on now grow with the fish that you put in or you'd "overtax" it with too many fish that it can't yet handle.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

Avi said:


> just don't add a lot of fish all at one time. Let the bio-filter that you're working on now grow with the fish that you put in or you'd "overtax" it with too many fish that it can't yet handle.


thanks for your help. but right now i am doing the fishless cycle, and after that i will add fish. my ammonia is at 4ppm, nitrite is at about .75ppm, and nitrate is 0, right now. just waiting for a spike in the nitrite and nitrate, then when ammonia and nitrite go to 0, i will do a water change and then add fish. thanks for the tip though.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Can you stick some fast growing plants in there? It will really speed up your cycle.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

Tex Gal said:


> Can you stick some fast growing plants in there? It will really speed up your cycle.


im actually almost done with the cycle , ammonia procceses from 4ppm to .50ppm within 24 hours, so i just added some more today, now ammonia is at 5ppm, nitrite is 4ppm, nitrate is at 40. im just waiting for the nitrite and nitrate spike. then my tank should be able to convert 4ppm-5ppm of ammonia and nitrite into nitrate. Then i will add more plants, and fish


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

well, i added a 4" Bubble Disk airstone with a whisper 40 airpump, but the current was so strong that it knocked up my Anacharis plant to the top and trashed my aquarium, so i took the bubble disk out and added a small airstone. and also managed to save some of my Anacharis plant, and planted it again. hope it grows. 









Today i added a Three-Arch Bridge in the middle for the fish to play with.


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## wi_blue (Apr 5, 2005)

Your tank is looking good though consider more plants with a faster growth rate. I've lost three tanks to algae and am convinced it was because they were under-planted with slow growing plants.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

wi_blue said:


> Your tank is looking good though consider more plants with a faster growth rate. I've lost three tanks to algae and am convinced it was because they were under-planted with slow growing plants.


More plants is the secret to it all. It will help your new tank cycle. Also they increase the surface area on which the nutrifying bacteria will colonize. There really is NO downside. What's the point in not putting plants in. Why not get them well established from the get go when they have all that ammonia to use. I understand about the fishless cycle but not the plantless cycle.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

Tex Gal said:


> More plants is the secret to it all. It will help your new tank cycle. Also they increase the surface area on which the nutrifying bacteria will colonize. There really is NO downside. What's the point in not putting plants in. Why not get them well established from the get go when they have all that ammonia to use. I understand about the fishless cycle but not the plantless cycle.


your so right, and i dont support the idea of having plastic plants, that is so unrealistic

but after thinking about it, i dont think "nitrifying bacteria" have a chance against plants. because if you have a well planted tank, and add ammonia,(or other wastes) the plants will always consume it first before it gets to the bacteria, hence you dont even need to cycle the tank if you have enough plants, because they will always take in the waste in the water.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

ok, finally a nitrite spike happened on nov 2 2009. i have an api test kit, and when i add the drops they immediately turn a purple indigo color on the bottom, but if i shake them and wait 5 mins. it turns a grayish silver color. i know its way off the charts. i tried mixing 80%tap 20%tank water, and then i get a reading of about 4ppm nitrites.










But here a problem, i started to see today, green algae on my gravel, a very light green color. i mixed the gravel around with a stick, got rid of the big spots, but i still see some algae on the rocks, and cant remove it. BTW im running 65w on a 36 gallon, so its not too much light. and i have the tank near a window, which is always blocked by a roller shade. and im not doing water changes yet, because i thought it might affect the cycle. Any reasons why this is happening, and how to get rid of it??? and what type is it??


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

That looks like blue-green algae. Squirt some peroxide on it beofre it gets worse, then get some plants in there to use up all the nutrients you have in the water. If you start off heavily planted, you don't need to cycle the tank because the plants filter out all the waste. You'll have the bacteria regardless.

-Dave


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

thanks, you wont believe it but it already went away, i think it was just green algae. i cut down on the lights, and turned on my airstone all day. and now its already gone.


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

ok, got the plants and planted them its 15 low low light plants from aquariumplants.com.










im dosing using EI.

Potassium:20/3=6.6ppm every 2.5 days
Iron .3/3=.1ppm every 2.5 days
Phosphate 1/3=3.3ppm every 2.5 days
and 50% WC every week. lets hope it works out.

now that i have started i might start a journal and let go of this beginner thread. its not needed anymore.


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## bratyboy2 (Feb 5, 2008)

u might want to breakup the grass u have up from and place it so it can spread right


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## sukhkawal (Sep 18, 2009)

bratyboy2 said:


> u might want to breakup the grass u have up from and place it so it can spread right


yes, someone else told me the same things, ill do it tonight. thanks


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