# My tank plans...



## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

I have decided to set up a 29g planted tank. I am going to be setting it up next week. So far I have bought a aqua-glo 20w light for my hood. I know this is low lighting, but it is all I have to start out with. I plan to upgrade it later. I have a 50lb bag of small natural looking gravel. I plan to use driftwood. I have a hang-on-back filter.
A few plants I plan on getting:
Petite nana
Cyperus Helferi
Brazilian microsword
Vesicularia ferriei
Java moss
Anubias barteri

I used the plant finder to find some easy to take care of plants that use low to moderate-low lighting. Correct me if I am making a bad decision on any of these plants? 

I plan to make a CO2 diffuser. What brand/type of fertilizers should I be using? Also, I thought I saw a post where someone said to add plants to the tank right after setting up? Am I suppose to let the tank cycle first or just add plants? Do I need to add carbon to my filter? Any help would be great! I am sure I forgot a few questions also.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

According to the plant finder both the Cyperus helferi and Lilaeopsis brasiliensis need medium lighting and you have low lighting at least for the time being. If you haven't already purchased these two I would hold off until you get the lighting increased. As for your plant selection, try searching the plant finder but look under the lighting category and select low. You will have much better luck with these plants when starting off.

You mention making a diffusor (reactor) are you planning on using DIY or pressurized CO2. If you are short money for a pressurized system and lights, go for the CO2 first. The plants you listed will do well with CO2 and low lighting and you can add more lights later.

For fertilizers, Greg Watson has the cheapest fertilizers. You would be looking for Potassium Nitrate (KNO3), Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4) and you can use Plantex CSM+B for micros. IF you don't mind paying more money, Seachem has a good line of fertilizers also. You could use Seachem's Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Flourish for your tank. I prefer to stay away from all in one fertilizers. They work about as well as "one size fits all" clothing.

Definately add the plants as soon as you set the tank up. There is no need to cycle a planted tank. The plants will use the ammonium/ammonia that the fish produce if you add enough plants to begin with. You can use carbon for the first couple of weeks but generally folks do not use carbon in planted tanks.

Here is a good link for you to read on setting up a tank: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/new-to-aquarium-plants/8790-the-basics.html


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Welcome to APC Tslabaugh!

I'll add that for your substrate consider putting in some Seachem Root-tabs to supplement your gravel bed. It'll help root things when you get more stem plants in there.

-John N.


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

I went to the river today and found some neat looking pieces of driftwood. From what I have read, anything but cedar will work, right? I had some cedar driftwood at home that I had on using but I figured I would read a lil about it and discovered it wasn't so great! So far I have got java fern, java moss, and some taiwan moss going in to it this weekend! Still looking for plants though. I was planning on buying some plants from aquariumplants.com. Has anyone dealt with them before? How were the plants you received? Would I be better off waiting and seeing what the local pet stores have? I'll get some pics up as soon as I get it set up!


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## azfishguy (Jul 1, 2005)

tslabaugh said:


> I have decided to set up a 29g planted tank. I am going to be setting it up next week. So far I have bought a aqua-glo 20w light for my hood. I know this is low lighting, but it is all I have to start out with.


Unfortunatelly 1/ 20W fluorescent bulb is not going to cut it. That's less "low light" and more like "no light". With this amount of light I wouldn't even bother with CO2 as it is not going to do anything other than lower the ph. Java moss will be sitting there, anubias will barely struggle (if you lucky) and the rest will die in a month or less. I hate to tell mean things like that but unless a miracle happens, plants need more light to live.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

azfishguy said:


> Unfortunatelly 1/ 20W fluorescent bulb is not going to cut it. That's less "low light" and more like "no light". With this amount of light I wouldn't even bother with CO2 as it is not going to do anything other than lower the ph. Java moss will be sitting there, anubias will barely struggle (if you lucky) and the rest will die in a month or less. I hate to tell mean things like that but unless a miracle happens, plants need more light to live.


I would have to disagree with these statements. I successfully grew Anubias barteri and A. barteri. v. 'Nana' with 40w of flourescent lighting on a 75g tank. They did grow but it was painfully slow.

I successfully grew some of the nicest Pogostemon stellata and Rotala macrandra I have ever had with only 136w of normal output flourescent lighting on my 75g. These are supposed to be difficult plants that require high light but yet they grew well in my less than 2wpg tank with CO2! CO2 will help in most, if not all situations. I would still go for the CO2 first and add more light later. It should be fairly easy and inexpensive to find another 20w fixture you can put on top of the tank.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Another plant which you can throw in there with your lighting is Cryptocoryne wendtii. I know someone who is growing it under the identical conditions which you describe. I would strongly recommend that when you scrape up a little extra $$ to try and get the 55W ahs retrofit for your light strip if at all possible (it will run you around $70 with shipping). It will go a long ways towards allowing you to grow plants much better. At the least, try and get a second 20W strip to go with the other 20. 

Good luck and welcome to the 'planted side'.


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

I found another strip light! At least now I will be over 1 wpg. lol Thanks for the help guys! I am sure I will be back soon with new questions!


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

I am looking into ordering some KNO3 and KH2PO4 from Greg Watson. How much do I need to add and how often? Do I just pour it in dry or do I mix it with water or something? This fertilizer stuff is kind of confusing to me... I am guessing buying this stuff by the pound means I will have a supply of it for awhile?


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

You want to shoot for having NO3 around 10-15ppm, and PO4 around 2ppm. If you are not familiar with the 'fertilator' here on the forum, you might want to check it out. It will tell you how much you're adding depending on your tank volume and amount added. With your tank being lowlight, I doubt you would need to add it more than once a week for your macros. Remember you also need to provide micro nutrients to your tank as well - products like Flourish Excel or CSM+B.

As far as how to add them, I take the amount and mix it in some tank water to dissolve most of it. I don't like to add it solid to the tank because I don't like to see the fish go after it and try to eat it. But some folks do add it straight.

One last reminder is to do your 50% weekly water changes as well. That will keep any nutrient from building up too high.


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## azfishguy (Jul 1, 2005)

MatPat said:


> I would have to disagree with these statements. I successfully grew Anubias barteri and A. barteri. v. 'Nana' with 40w of flourescent lighting on a 75g tank. They did grow but it was painfully slow.


I didn't say the anubias wouldn't grow. I said they will struggle or as you re-state it - "grow painfully slow." I'm not sure where's the difference. Maybe the difference is in the fact that you call the painfully slow growth a success. Later on you're talking about a completely different setup and light levels close to 2wpg on a big size tank so I'm not sure how this is relevant. I never said plants will not grow in lower light setups. I myself prefer and grow plants with lower lights (which is actually easier), but there is a minimum level of light below which plants just don't grow. A painfully slow growing is not growing. I also have a 29g tank and I did try to illuminate it with the same one bulb installable in the fixture that comes with the tank. The effects were as I previously described - struggling (or growing painfully slow). Another problem with this one bulb is that it does not illuminate the entire tank so the plants need to be placed towards the back where the light fixture sits. I never said that adding another light bulb would be a problem. My post was to recommend it, MatPat. And CO2 is not, in anyway, more important than light.. It's like saying 'fertilise your tree first and worry about the sunlight later'. I started from no CO2 tanks which perhaps did not grow the showy flower gardens, but did grow pretty healthy plants. A tank without light with a CO2 running will naturally grow nothing. Investing in a CO2 system with .5wpg imo is a waste of money or time if it's DIY. CO2 can surely do wonders but in extremely low light tanks it does next to nothing.


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## azfishguy (Jul 1, 2005)

My 29g has 1 55w CF on it and I don't add any NO3 as it is provided by the fish (platies and guppies). I constantly have over 25ppm of NO3. I do add a few grains of KH2PO4 from time to time as it seems be on the lower end. So it depends how much live stock you have. With low lights you will only need very small amounts of macros to be added.


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

So I got it set up... I am running two 20w lights. I couldn't get my driftwood to sink so I ended up screwing it to a rubbermaid tub lid and cover the lid with the gravel and it worked out. 
So far I have:
Crypto Wendtii
Java fern
Java moss
amazon sword
dwarf hairgrass ( I know it needs moderate light but I figured I would give it a shot)
I do have some other plants coming in shortly,

Everything went together nicely, I plan on trying the DIY co2 as soon as I get an empty flat bottomed bottle. I will try to get a pic up shortly! Thanks for the advice!


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

I think I sent you one anubias nana petite. If it is so, I have included some egeria najas with it.

Cheers,
Pedro


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

Poor picture, but its still clearing up.










milalic: Thanks, I'll let you know when I get em!


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## azfishguy (Jul 1, 2005)

Just a planting tip; It's good to divide this big hairgrass clump into much smaller sections before planting. This way you can fill up a bigger area in a shorter time. Also your java moss looks a little thick. You only need a single layer of it when first tying. If you make it too thick, the bottom part may rot. Why not spread it a bit and cover more of the driftwood?


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

Just purchased some KN03, KH2PO4, and CSM+B! I have an eclipse catfish and a couple sunfish in there now also! I guess I really didn't need the NO3 since I have fish in it?  Oh well... I did split up the dwarf hairgrass and it looks ALOT better spread out. I plan on setting up the CO2 diffuser tomorrow. I plan on running it directly into the filter. I still have some anubias and a couple other plants coming. So far, I am very happy on how it is doing!


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## azfishguy (Jul 1, 2005)

Just keep an eye on your NO3 and PO4 levels. I personally would not add any macros until you get your CO2 going. Later you can play with it. Add some and see how things are going. I prefer not to advise on what your levels should be because the optimal levels vary from system to system depending on the type of plants, lights, fishload etc. It takes a little time to figure out where you "sweet spot" is. Have fun and have patience. In the begining things may go a little slow.


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

I just purchased a Coralife 1x65w PC light! It should be here Wednesday! I think I have decided to upgrade my HOB filter for the eheim classic 2213. I have a few things on ebay that hopefully will pay for it!  Now I just have to figure out what I want to stock it with!


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

I have a Ehiem 2213 and really do not like it. It does a good job filtering the water, but is hard to setup (poor directions), stiff hoses don't bend easily around tank, and to clean/maintain.

I much prefer the Rena Filstar canister filter. Very easy to clean/maintain, easy to setup due to easy to read clear directions, prime easily, adjustable flow (Ehiem does not). Also directions include a 800 number in case you have any setup issues.


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

Well it has been about a month since I set my tank up. I just got my new light put on and it lights it up ALOT better than the 2 strip lights I had, imagine that. lol I have been dosing the ferts once a week after a water change. Everything seems to be doing pretty good. I am getting a Filstar XP1 tomorrow to replace my cheap HOB filter that does nothing for tank circulation.

here is a pic of my tank now










My moss is even pearling!


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## tslabaugh (Mar 11, 2006)

Got the XP1 yesterday and got it installed and I love it! It is really quiet and I like all its neat features! Glad I decided to go with it!


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