# Some Beginners Questions



## GravitySmacked (Apr 16, 2012)

Hi folks,

First post so please be gentle.

I've recently set up my 1st aquarium for a long time and have added some plants. I used to keep aquariums when I was younger and, whilst my fish away did fine, the plants were not so lucky.

I fear I may have already made some mistakes to having a nice planted aquarium so I would appreciate any advice on how I can rectify them.

I've planted several plants (see photos) in only a gravel substrate (my first mistake). As the aquarium is almost cycled I'm a bit stuck to changing the substrate at this time.

I've added some King British Plant Care formula and I have the lights on for 8 hours a day, 3.00pm -11.00pm. The tank also gets daylight during the morning and early afternoon.

The light I'm using is a Sunglo 15w Fluorescent Bulb, from what I've read I feel this should be a least 30 watts to give enough light?

My plants did fine for the first couple of weeks and whilst they're still growing the leaves at the mid to bottom are turning a darker shade of green and getting some algae build up.

The plants in the middle are growing like crazy and dropping roots but again the leaves at the bottom are a darker shade of green and some have algae on - is this normal? The plant on the left doesn't look too happy either.

http://www.gravitysmacked.co.uk/ImagesNW/plant1.jpg
http://www.gravitysmacked.co.uk/ImagesNW/plant2.jpg
http://www.gravitysmacked.co.uk/ImagesNW/plant3.jpg

The water details are as follows:

PH 7.5
KH 10

Any tips on what I can do would be much appreciated 

edit: they actually look better in the images than they really are.


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## Basic (Feb 11, 2012)

Your not doing anything wrong per se. The leaves on the bottom are not getting enough light. The only way to fix it is go to a dual bulb set up or change reflector. For now I would just try to spread them out a little more, if you have the space. As far as your substrate you didn't make a mistake. I use just gravel. Now I use a little laterite and substrate fertilizer. You can still add a little and try to mix it in to the top couple of inches. Better yet just get some potters clay role up some little balls and insert them near the plants that would benefit from clay. Don't worry about your ph leave it alone!! Your kh and gh are more important. You did not say whether you had a co2 source?


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## napper727 (Apr 15, 2012)

I agree with the other member - the gravel is fine, the gravel appears to be the right size...the key to using gravel is so the roots can spread out in between the gravel to search for nutrients as well as for their growth - and sometimes plants will have runners)

sand is good...but it get quite compacted over time, and unless it is moved about either by certain fish or human hand, the compaction can make serious problems for plant leave - but you do not have this issue

as like the other member stated, laterite is an excellent source for plant leaves, the problem is, the laterite must be on the very bottom of the tank - laterite was the first substrate I put down when I started my tank back in May 2008 and I haven't touched it since then - if you did put the laterite under your gravel you'd disturb your entire tank, and this sudden change may wreck havoc on its inhabitants, so I would be very wary on doing this if I was you

again, I agree with the other member, you need to get a reflector fluorescent overhead plus you may want to raise the light of the wattage...depending on the type of plants you have, some need more light than others...you do not want to have too much light for it will give off heat which will not be good for oxygen production in the tank - warmer the water less oxygen cooler the water more oxygen - always good to get the temperature at a consistency, more in the parameter of 76 to 82, depending on the fishes needs - as well as the plants 

lighting is key to good plant growth...fish feces, in my opinion, provide better fertilizer for plant roots than any chemical you may add - but this is your choice

or like the other member said, you can supplement the tank with CO2

let us know how it goes


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## GravitySmacked (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

I'll try separating the plants a little so the lower leaves can get more light and see if this helps.

I haven't got a CO2 source and I take it this is something I could do with, do you have any recommendations?

I know Basic mentioned KH, well mine is 10 - is this OK?

Temps are left at 76 so that sounds OK.


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## napper727 (Apr 15, 2012)

General Hardness

0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard

10 ppm, as in your tank, is just about right...try not to let it go up higher than that

If you could, could you provide the ph results (either High or Low)?

As for C02, you can either purchase a cheap kit or an expensive one. I gave you two listed-below. When I did have a tank with all types of gadgets in it, I would purchase from Dr Fosters & Smith online:

Turbo CO2 Bio-System
Controlled CO2 diffusion without expensive components, $29.99 by Red Sea

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3747+14711&pcatid=14711&s=lh

or

CO2 Green NRG Advanced System
Disposable carbon dioxide cartridges simplify use , $144.99 by Hydor Company

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3747+15527&pcatid=15527&s=lh

unsure if the links will work, so you may want to copy & paste

the temperature is fine

good about moving the lower leaves to receive more of the light

let us know how it goes


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## GravitySmacked (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for the info, I'll take a look.

PH is 7.5

Thanks again.


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## napper727 (Apr 15, 2012)

7.5 is excellent


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## GravitySmacked (Apr 16, 2012)

That's good news then 

The plants seem to be doing better since I've spread them out; I'll add another pic in a couple of days.

Is something like this OK for adding CO2 as a short term measure?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Flora-Gro...plies_Fish&hash=item562fde6a82#ht_1436wt_1163

My tank is only 60 litres so I'm wondering if an expensive kit could be overkill?

Thanks again.


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## cory30 (Apr 22, 2012)

I am a beginner myself (just planted tank 2 weeks ago), but I did do alot of research through articles, forums, ect. I also talked in length and received much help from the owner of the site I ordered my plants from, a couple weeks before I went ahead with it. I was informed to use root tabs in the substrate (if you have plants that are heavy root feeders). I wouls go with a better light fixture if I were you. The T-5 HO fixtures are a very good fixture for plants. You could do a CO2 system to boost your carbon, but I personally just dose with Flourish Excel every other day. For extra fertilizer for plants that feed mainly through their foilage, you could dose with Flourish 1x a week. Also, I would be doing weekly water changes of 25-30%, at which time (once tank is refilled) you could dose with the Flourish. Hope all goes well for you and your plants take off.


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## GravitySmacked (Apr 16, 2012)

Thanks for the heads-up cory30, much appreciated. 

Since spreading the plants out and adding another hour to the lighting the plants are doing a lot better. I've been adding King British Plant Care formula which also seems to be helping. I'll take a look at the root tabs you mentioned.

The latest addition to my aquarium will be some Amazon Frogbit; I want to have some floating plants before I add my Gouramis and they look like decent candidates.


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## GravitySmacked (Apr 16, 2012)

Current picture of the tank:

http://www.gravitysmacked.co.uk/ImagesNW/phantom.jpg

Looking better although the plants still need some work. Can anyone identify the plants I have, especially the ones in the middle as they seem to nee more maintenance?

Next time I go plant shopping I'll make sure I know what I'm getting and what requirements they have.

Cheers


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