# [Wet Thumb Forum]-New Guy doesnt know what to do now PLEASE! HELP!



## Mat.S (Jul 13, 2003)

Hey people
I've started a planted tank. I've basically placed all the plants in the aquarium and filled it up with water. I have six types of plants and three or four only need minimum light requirements. I think I have a 20W light bulb. AND I ALSO HAVE UNDER GRAVEL FILTER! (Some one in a diffrent forum told me that this was a bad thing to have in a planted aquarium and he or she said that I should remove it know but that means I have to re-arrange everthing which is some thing I dont want to do right know. But! if you people think I should take the under gravel filter out then I will.) My tank has been set for almost a week now. No ammonia and my nitrite is 0.5. I was planing to buy ammonia but the person in the other forum said I shouldnt put any .

PLEASE ! PLEASE! SOME CLARIFY THIS FOR ME!


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## Mat.S (Jul 13, 2003)

Hey people
I've started a planted tank. I've basically placed all the plants in the aquarium and filled it up with water. I have six types of plants and three or four only need minimum light requirements. I think I have a 20W light bulb. AND I ALSO HAVE UNDER GRAVEL FILTER! (Some one in a diffrent forum told me that this was a bad thing to have in a planted aquarium and he or she said that I should remove it know but that means I have to re-arrange everthing which is some thing I dont want to do right know. But! if you people think I should take the under gravel filter out then I will.) My tank has been set for almost a week now. No ammonia and my nitrite is 0.5. I was planing to buy ammonia but the person in the other forum said I shouldnt put any .

PLEASE ! PLEASE! SOME CLARIFY THIS FOR ME!


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

To start with we need some more info about your tank. How large is the tank? And we need to know for sure how much light you have over the tank. Minimum light requirements are normally in the 2 watt per gallon range. And many standard aquarium setups come with much less light than this.

In general most planted tank people avoid under gravel filters. But since you already have one and the tank is planted don't worry about it.

Also don't add any ammonia. The whole ammonia idea is for fish only tanks.

Go to this thread http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/groupee/forums?a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=6606090712&m=4006016463&r=4626032073#4626032073 scroll down to the bottom and read about the "Silent Cycle". But don't forget that this type of cycle works best with fast growing plants. And most low light plants are not fast growing.

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## JamesHoftiezer (Feb 2, 2003)

If you just added the plants they haven't really rooted yet. I tear up my tank on a regular basis. UGFs are not ideal but they will work. Most complaints revolve around the much higher maintenance with the fitler getting clogged. It can also cause problems with some plants. It also requires the substrate to be rather thin where plants prefer thicker substrates.

If you're going to change it, now is a good time. Get yourself a good cansiter.

*James Hoftiezer
Hoftiezer.Net - Journals and Libraries
Tank Journal - Aquascape ( Latest / Archive )
Tank Journal - Parts and Construction ( Latest / Archive )*


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## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

Hi Mat, welcome to AB, one of the very best places to visit to learn about planted aquaria. 

Hey, let's be fair, I said that the undergravel filter will work but that eventually you'd want to take it out and that it is easier now than later. But, that it is OK to use it for now. 

It is important to learn that there is NO "one right answer", many things work, some better than others, and some things are proper in one format but not workable in another. Many people have great success using quite different methods. If you ask specifically how to set up a slow growing low tech tank, there are many people here who know how that is done. Most of the folks here tend to be fans of the super lush, higher light sort of tank, and that gets talked about more often, although most of us have other tanks that are low maintenance and lower light levels. If you ask "how should I set up a planted tank?", you are likely to hear how the ideal tank would be set up (see James's journal). 

However, most of us are limited by money and so make varous choices along the way that may or may not work out as well as we hope. I've got a huge box of stuff that I thought I needed that now I don't. Don't panic. If you want to keep the filtration that you just put in, go on, it will work. Later on you will probably want to take it out. Later on taking it out may be part of a big reorganization that you are doing anyhow and so maybe it won't be a big deal at all. 

If you want to keep that, ask "how can I keep this undergravel filter in a planted tank?" and someone will tell you the things that you need to avoid and when you'll know that touble is brewing beneath that plate. If you do the right things, you may be able to run it forever with no problems. Ask, and ye shall receive -- but then it is up to you to sift through all the information you get to make a decison.


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

just to let you know, the biggest issue i have with UG filters is that the plants drop roots into the plates and then you can't move the plants without completely destroying the root system of the plants. i had a lot of crypts and swords, and i kept moving them around, and i kept destroying the roots. i finally got pissed and ripped all my UGFs out and i haven't looked back. so much happier with just the canister filter. removing the UGF is a PAIN later, that's why people are recommending you do it now. just giving you our experience









JP


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## Mat.S (Jul 13, 2003)

I have a 20g tank

Length= 23"
Width= 12"
Height= 16" 

I have an Tetra Tec power filter. (GPH - 150) 
I just bought a heater that doesnt work properly. I placed the temp marker so that it goes up to 70F but ends up going to 79F.

I have 2 rocks and a drift wood 

I have 6 diffrent TYPES of plants. 
I have 3 pots of Vallisneria Spirals
I have the Giant Anubias.
I have 3 pots of Green Cambomba. 
I have Java moss
I have 2 pots of Hemigraphis colorata 
and the last one I cant identify

I think I haave a 20W light bulb.

I have no clue what canister you people are talking about. Dont you use canister filters for bigger tanks?

Do you think my tetra tec filter is enough?


I HAVE! taken the UGF out and added abit more gravel. 
My PH is 7.8
ammonia is 0
nitrite is 0
Kh took 6 drops
Gh took 11 drops

I added a Freshwater plant supplement called KENT.

I added CYCLE 

I think thats about it.


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

You are going to need to at least double your light to get almost all those plants to survive.

And your heater could be working. What was the temperature of your house? Remember the heater can't cool the water. If it was 80F in the house then I would expect the water to get to 79F.

And you can use a small canister filter on a 20 gallon tank. A Rena XP-1 or a Fluval 104 would work fine. But first you really need to get your lighting upgraded.

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## Mat.S (Jul 13, 2003)

I don't know where i can get a 40W or 30W bulb that will fit in my hood.


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## McKee (Feb 7, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Mat.S:
> I don't know where i can get a 40W or 30W bulb that will fit in my hood.


You could buy another 20 watt strip light, the cheap and easy way to double the light. For more serious stuff, check what Aqua Botanic has: http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/index.html

Robert can give you more/better info than the blurbs on the site, but I'm sure he'd be delighted to make some suggestions as to improving the lighting considerably.

Ambient temp can make a difference too, as Rex pointed out. However, don't trust that your heater's thermostat is all that accurate. It's better to run the heater and note what the temperature does according to the setting as opposed to setting it and assuming it's right. That goes for your oven too, but that's an entirely different subject.

------------------------
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## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

This the double tube light fixture that I added to my hood on the 20 gallon.

Perfecto double strip light fixture - DrsFosterSmith.com

I prefer the AHSupply compact retrofit though. But this double strip was near half of the cost of the retrofit kit. It is a good start for a beginner. A bit on the dim side but that makes some things easier.


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## Mat.S (Jul 13, 2003)

THANKS! people 
I just hooked up my home made Co2 injector.
I still have to buy the root(tab) fertilizers. Do you think its still ok to un root the plants or should i just place the tabs beside the roots?
I'll try and get the double bulb strip lights soon.
I forgot where I saw that Light cycling. Can some please give me the site?

Thnz again
I'll post up any problems I get.


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