# Time for Plants?



## FreakyToaster (Aug 20, 2009)

Before anything here are my stats-
-29 gallon
-65 w or 130 w of PC 6700k ~~ Instead of running the second bulb the day can I have it come on by timer for just a few hours?
-Eco-complete
-Emperor HOB(The on that runs on Size E cartridges) 
-DIY Co2(ready but have not implemented)
-cycled with 4 Rummy Nose-tetras already in the tank

Okay, so the tank itself has been running since April? With no plants just the four tetras. Everything is cycled and I think it is time for plants. I just have a few questions.

This is what I was going to order all from Aquabotanics
2x Marselia Minuta
1X Crypt Wentii
1x Anubias nana
1x Bacopa Caroliniana
1x Tropica Sword
1x Wisteria - I added this guy because I wanted a faster growing plant to combat algae, But I have heard reports of it being a nutrient sucker and putting the other plants in the tank at risk? Is this true? - http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...teria-sunset-hygro-bullies-slower-plants.html -

How fast does the Bacopa grow?

When I first started up the tank I had a lot of trouble with Thread/Hair algae, I was able to remove all of it and stopped running the lights, and removed the two or three plants that were in there. But now I have a dusty looking thing on parts of the driftwood and glass. I'm not really sure what this is. It looks kinda like a cobweb. Are these Diatoms?

I also just wanted to say that this is a great community and I have learned tons form just lurking.


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## Veloth (Jun 25, 2008)

According to the Plantfinder Bacopa is a slow grower. Is the stuff on your driftwood white? When I first put some wood in my tank it got a white fungus on it that went away by itself.


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## FreakyToaster (Aug 20, 2009)

Veloth said:


> According to the Plantfinder Bacopa is a slow grower. Is the stuff on your driftwood white? When I first put some wood in my tank it got a white fungus on it that went away by itself.


Yup, White-Grey and semi-clear. Well the wood has been in there for 4-5 months. It doesn't seem to be destructive or changing any water parameters, so I'm not incredibly concerned. It probably is a fungus and will work itself out through time and manually removing. 
Thanks.


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## jmontee (Feb 7, 2008)

I would definitely order the plants. Usually I would recommend actually starting with plants only but it worked th opposite way for you so kudos. Anyway, those plants seem fine and they would all do just fine with only the 65w bulb for 8 hours a day. You can do a midday burst for a couple of hours if you like but I think you would be flirting with disaster.

First thing you need to do prior to getting the plants is to order ferts. 
You will need macros:
Potassium nitrate
Potassium Phosphate
and most get some Potassium sulfate

You will also need micros, IMO, the best is Plantex CSM+B. You can get these from Rex Grigg or any other sites on the web that sells them. These are powder forms which will last you a long time and save you a lot of money in the long run. 

You will also need a carbon source. You can do DIY CO2, pressurized CO2 or Fluorish Excel. Excel is a liquid that provides carbon for your plants without the need of CO2. It may get expensive also since you are running over 2 watts per gallon but will work IMO.

As far as the Wisteria, as long as you have a good fert regimen going and you have some type of carbon everything should be fine.


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## FreakyToaster (Aug 20, 2009)

Wow, Rex Grigg has a really nice site he has everything I would need fert-wise. I think I'm going to order that combo pack, Any idea how long something like that would last?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi FreakyToaster,

Rex Grigg is good, but he has been ill lately and sometimes his shipments are slow, like 1 - 2 weeks. I have purchased equipment and ferts from him in the past, always received what I ordered, but delivery can be slow.

Alternative sites that get very good reviews are: Green Leaf Aquariums (ferts and equipment and an APC Sponsor) and aquariumfertilizer.com which also carries all the ferts, but little of the equipment.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Most of the Bacopa's people have in their tanks grow fast. I don't know which one you have. Even most of the rare ones grow medium. Bacopa caroliniana is a fast grower.

Without any ferts and eco complete you aren't gonna get a lot of fast growth. Your plants will starve. With the ferts the swords, wisteria and Bacopa caroliniana will grow fast. The others are pretty slow growers.


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## jmontee (Feb 7, 2008)

I would say that in your tank and using EI (Estimative Index) dosing it would be more than a year. You can check out EI dosing and the PPS dosing regimens on the fertilization forum here. With PPS Pro dosing it could be longer. It's definitely a lot more bang for your buck than liquid dosing with Flourish or Pfertz products.

It all depends on how much work and time you want to put into your tank.


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## FreakyToaster (Aug 20, 2009)

Thanks eveyone, Just a few more questions.

So apparently carbon in the filter pads soak up nutrients? Do they sell pads that don't have the carbon? 
And now I'm just thinking that all of the agitation on the water surface is not going to help with the DIY co2 bottles... So I look into it and also the Bio-Wheel that is running is helping in taking out the Co2?
I really wish the employee at the LFS would have mentioned some of these things. Especially since he recommended the Emperor. I don't think they are going to get much of my business.

With the dry ferts, do I just dump in the dosage into the tank or premix it in liquid?

I was planning on doing this 
20-40 Gallon Aquariums 
+/- ¼ tsp KN03 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp KH2P04 3x a week
+/- 1/16 tsp (5ml) Trace Elements 3x a week
50% weekly water change

But what about someone who doesn't do a weekly 50 percent water Change.

Thanks in advance.


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## griffin7882 (Apr 26, 2006)

i don't know how "kosher" what i do is, but i know it works for me. 

i just use batting from walmart or a fabric store - much cheaper and versatile if you have varying filter sizes. just make sure you get the kind that doesn't have flame retardant.

for the ferts, i just dump them in the filter dry. only thing is to dose trace separately. i usually only wait a few minutes in between, but i have a lot of flow in my tanks. i only dose when i do a water change (every other week), and i only change a third of my tank water. i don't know if the amounts you dose are right, but it's more of a guess and check than hard rules to go by.


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## jmontee (Feb 7, 2008)

griffin,

The amounts that he is showing in the post are the recommended dosages for Estimative Index dosing, not necessarily right or wrong. I do agree that each tank is different and there is some leeway in dosing depending on plants, lighting and CO2. 

Freaky,

EI dosing calls for 50% water changes weekly because you are overdosing the ferts when using those recommended amounts. If you don't change water that often you could get a build up of nutrients that is detrimental to fish and great for algae growth. You could also look into PPS Pro dosing which means very little water changes and daily dosing of small amounts of ferts. I just dose right into the tank. 

Dose KNO3 and KHPO4 on the same day and the micros the following day. The PO4 and the micros can react to form unwanted stuff in the tank. Some say that carbon does pull nutrients out of the water and some say it doesn't. I don't use it because I allow my biological filter, two trays full of ceramic cylinders in my filter, to do all the work.

As far as the filter material, you can just use filter floss from any of the chain stores and cut it to fit your filter. You are right that HOB filters will gass off the CO2 but you could always use like a half dose of Excel until you know where your CO2 is. You would have to use a drop checker with 4dkH solution to do this. 

Hope this helps.


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