# First Tank: Easy Plants and Fish Choice Questions



## RalphM (Nov 17, 2007)

A while back I got the inspiration to set up my first fish tank to provide a spot of beauty in my home. I was going to have a small shoal of geophagus pindare (a really neat looking fish). I purchased a 75 gal tank and stand, got a Eheim Pro II filter and a standard two 40w florescent light strip. I set the tank up with sand (for the geos), got some African bog wood and then put mats of java fern on the wood and put small salvinia on the top of the water. Then my health took a “challenging” turn and I realized I could never care properly for fish with the normal maintenance required. So for the last six months my tank has had only sand and bog wood (actually looks like a pretty good Zen garden).
Then I read about Diana Walstad’s method and I began to have hope that I could actually keep fish properly. So here I am, asking your help about the practicality of the following plan.

Tank: Keep my 75 gal
Filter: Keep my Eheim Pro II but just use the mechanical filters
Lighting: Replace the regular strip with a T-5 4x59w (about 2.9 wpg) (no sunlight).
UV Sterilizer: Get a Turbo Twist
Subtrate: 1-1 ½ inches of top soil, 1 inch Carib Sea Peace River (1-2 mm) gravel
Plants: foreground--dwarf sag with spots of A. bar. nana; 
background and some middle--C. Balansae (maybe mixed with C. spiralis); 
A. bar.angustifolia;
On bogwood--Needle java fern and Singapore Moss
Fish: 12 (or so) White Skirt Tetras
Snails: MTS

Okay. Here are my questions:

Plants: I would like to keep a fairly low number of species. Is the above number enough? Is C. Balansae the best choice—Plant Geek says it is “moderate” in difficulty. Is there a tall, narrow leaf , slow growing plant that would be easier? Does dwarf sag really jump to 12” after some years and has to be replaced? If so, what would be the easiest foreground?

Fish: I like the look, size, and hardiness of the White Skirt. My only concern is that some have said they are “snippy”. I have also read that this doesn’t happen with a planted tank, lots of room and a larger school. I need a “peaceful” tank. That’s really its whole purpose. Would White Skirts be a poor choice? If so, what fish would work? I love the look of Congo tetras but I think they are too large.

Thanks for any advice.

Ralph Murphy


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## RalphM (Nov 17, 2007)

Oops. Forgot to add that I plan to float water lettuce on the the top.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Looks like you've got a good list. I have found that C spiralis is much easier to grow than C balansae. It doesn't grow faster, it just seems less prone to melting. Another slow growing flowing grass-like plant is Cyperus helferi. It does take some time to adjust to a new tank and the leaves are prone to attracting algae, but it is a lovely plant.

I have some taller (about 6") and shorter (3") dwarf sag in the same tank. The taller ones seem to be in areas that are more crowded and/or have lower light. I pull tall plants that I don't want and leave the short ones to fill in. Another option is E tenellus; it does well in NPT tanks and stays short, it also has finer leaves. I've recently tried Lilaeopsis mauritius which has very fine leaves and only gets about 1.5" tall. It started out rather slow and then filled in nicely and has a vibrant shade of green. 

I don't know about white skirts, but my 9 black skirt tetras get along quite well. There is some posturing and a bit of dominance displays to determine and enforce the hierarchy, but nothing major. They live with an adult angel and male betta and show no interest in either one. They are not to good about schooling unless they feel threatened. They hang around in the same general location with about 2-4 inches between fish which spreads them out in a 33 gallon tank, but it would probably look fine in a 75 gallon.


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## Jeff.:P:. (Nov 20, 2007)

> UV Sterilizer: Get a Turbo Twist


 I only used mine when I had a bad case of green water algae. Put it back in its box and back on the shelf since then. All my fish and plants are very healthy with out it. IMO only need it when green water happens or acclimating new fish.


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## newbie314 (Mar 2, 2007)

I used my standard over the hang filter from the 2nd to the 5th week. And then took it off.
Algae issue and ammonia, nitrite.

20g just has light and a heater.
Biggest maintance is the pruning every two weeks.


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## RalphM (Nov 17, 2007)

Thank you Catherine, Jeff and Newbie. I really appreciate your taking the time to give me advice.

Ralph


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Unless you're interested in a pressurized CO2 system, I'd limit lighting to 2WPG.
I'd skip the UV.

Substrate & plant choices look reasonable - the dwarf sag is the only plant on the list that *might* not thrive under 2WPG, but I think it should be OK.

I think Congos would look great in a 75 (as would Rummys, Red Eyes, Emporers, Black Neons...). Any tetra w/ the White Skirt body shape tends to nip a bit, especially if not in a large enough group of the same species (not similar species - same species, ask my red, black & serpae tetras  they're constantly having little skirmishes). If you like skirts, pick a color & buy in groups of 6 until you're stocked (I'd recommend a few Otocinclus cats or one or two sm. Plecos too).

Marselia may be a better choice for foreground as it tolerates low light and puts out short single or double leaflets in deep water and spreads by runners (M. minuta etc. - see http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_search.php?search=marsilea for details, though I've read elsewhere that M. quadrifolia is also a good foreground plant).


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## RalphM (Nov 17, 2007)

Thanks for the heads up on the wpg, Squawkbert. I think I can remove one bulb from the T-5 4x59w and have about 4.36 wpg. Would that be low enough? Would that be enough for Dwarf Sag? I talked with the plant guy at the LFS and he thought Marsilea needed more light. So I think I will stay with Dwarf Sag. 

I also think I will stay with the White Skirts. (Thanks Catherine for giving me your experience). They don't need to be totally peaceful, just not constantly nipping at each other. What would be the minimum number I need to meet the requirements of a Walstad tank? I was thinking 9 but a 75 gal could hold a lot more. I thought I would start with one species of fish with my first attempt at fish keeping. Later, if all goes well, I may add some small loaches (if the snalls get overwhelming) or small catfish.

Thanks again, all, for your help.

Ralph


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## RalphM (Nov 17, 2007)

Oops. That should read 2.36 wpg in the first sentence.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

I've read in numerous places that Dwarf Sag requires a little more light than most Marsilea species do, but they're both among the least demanding ground covers in this regard.

2.36 is a bit high, but may work w/ some floaters... it may be a balancing act to keep ground cover plants happy w/o getting significant algae growth. Try it & see how it goes. You can always put a little more space between the fixture & tank, add more floaters or pull another bulb if lighting promotes too much algae.


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## RalphM (Nov 17, 2007)

Well, I do like the look of Marsilea. Can I quote you if I incur the wrath of the LFS plant guy?


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## Gilraen Took (Apr 19, 2007)

You can quote me! I've got it growing in a tank that is 18" deep and has 2 watts per gallon and in really bad substrate and last night when I was taking out plants(switching tanks around. . .) I had around 4x what I had before. It wasn't growing in any sort of pretty form mind you, just single leafs and in randomly directioned runners, but if you put some effort into keeping it where you want it it'd probably make a nice thick mat


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## RalphM (Nov 17, 2007)

Thanks, Gilraen. That's reassuring. What species did you use--minuta or ? 

Ralph


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