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for gravel, i would suggest using auqasoil with powersand for good & easy plant growth
easy plants?
hello
honestly I think you will all get tired of my continued questions but here I go again. I have just purchased three new tanks and am starting the cycling process. My smaller tank of two and a half feet long by three feet high is still empty but is intended for my dwarf gouramis new home I would like to plant it with some low maintennce plants of varying hieghts and hope that some one would be able to offer some suggestions of what types are low maintenece before i buy
thankyou
kalinda
p.s and what gravel sand or both I will need (please remember I am an absolute beginner with dreams of granduer hehehe
)
for gravel, i would suggest using auqasoil with powersand for good & easy plant growth
furry plant grower
For a really low maintenance aquarium, lay down 1 inch of topsoil from your garden (or any loamy soil that has not been fertilised) as the base layer. Slope the soil from back to just shy of the front pane so that you do not see an ugly black layer of soil below the gravel in front. Cover that with 2 inches of an inert gravel like Lonestar or Lapis.
For plants, use a variety of cryptocorynes. They do not need CO2 nor bright lights to grow nicely, and some have red foilage even under low light conditions too. For a list of crypts and their sizes, check out http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Cry...yne/index.html
Use the big or tall crypts for the back, the medium sized crypts in the middle and small ones (I love the C. parva) in front.
Now the hardest part: Find a nice branchy piece of driftwood to suit the dimensions of your tank. Tie some pieces of a java fern onto the forks the driftwood, set in place and verrrrrrry slowly fill up with water taking care not to disturb the substrate.
In the beginning, drop in some floating plants such as frogbits, duckweed or even water millfoils to shelter the bottom plants from excessive lights till they are established. You can remove them without disturbing the substrate later. I prefer frogbits and duckweed as they can draw CO2 from the air so they multiply quickly, helping the tank cycle.
Turn on your filter, and if you have planted densely, add the fish. Feed generously and regularly top up for evaporated water, making water changes once every 6 months once the tank is established.
How's that for a Gouramy biotope that's low maintenance?
Warm regards,
Lawrence Lee
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
The juggling apprentice fish
Probably good if you can let us know what is available at your side.
Also, what you intend to buy... Pictures would be good.Then we can help suggest something not just hardy, but do best for you...
Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/
I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted!), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted!
Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...
thank you I have absolutly no idea but no my dwarfs are to be added but i like the sound or mental picture of the crypts and might just order a heap of them and pant and move if u first dont succseed replant replant replant. So if i plant alot of crypts it will then be a good idea to add my fish immediatley what about cycling or do plants make this unnecassary. Or would the better choice once planted be to add say my feeder fish ie fish i have no attachment to. I am extremly fond of my dwarfs and dont want any harm to come to them.
thankyou
furry plant grower
Ammonia and nitrites, which is what you wait for the "cycling" to remove, is to the plants, what bread and potatoes are to man.
So if you plant densely, you don't need to cycle as the plants will be taking these all up before they have a chance to affect the fish. In other words, the tank's already cycled.
You can use feeder fish if you want to be cautious, likewise, test your soil first to make sure no nasties will leach out. You should read Diana Walstad's book "Ecology of the planted aquarium" first for indepth detail of setting up such a tank.
Warm regards,
Lawrence Lee
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
Thankyou very much. I will visit local library and do some in depth reading.
As the more I look at aquascaped tanks the more my own tanks look mmm lacking. I am now feeling sorry for all my fish with their bare tanks.
I think I might be biting off more than I can chew but hopefully that the fun of it
unfortunatley I have to look further abroad maybee the mainland for plants.
After checking out the local fish shops ect the best I could find in plants were tagged
"5 *** crypts"
after enquiring at the counter to what types of crypts they were the young man said Quote " Is there more than one type"
Makes me wonder what he thought his sign ment. I am now looking into importing plants from the mainland.
Has anybody here had to resort to air freighting live plants. If so how successfull is this how long is safe for flora to travel?
Last edited by kalindab; 27th Jun 2006 at 22:49.
Hey kalindab, why are you mentioning 'mainland' ? Are you refering to Mainland China? FYI most of the people here are from Singapore, not mainland China.Originally Posted by kalindab
Back to your question.. you can look at the 'merchant' section of this forum to look for people who will ship plants to you.
I am sorry should of been clearer,I am from a small island of the mainland of australia.
furry plant grower
No problems sending live plants by post. But perhaps you might want to warn your seller to pack in some insulation since your winters are reveresed from the northern hemisphere.
Green Chapter and Aquaspot world who are merchants in this forum may be able to help you further.
Warm regards,
Lawrence Lee
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Philippians 4:8
where about are you mate ??
tasmania I am from very cold here so chillers and cooling fans ect are foriegn things to me. Unfortunatley I have fallen in love with the planted tanks ect I have seen here. After many hours of searching it seems australians lfs do not take as much intrest in plants. Also we have here (in tassie) very strict import regulation because of our aqua marine cultivation i.e. salmon ,oysters ,trout and seahorses ect so my planted aquarium my stay a dream. Once again I am thwarted I started keeping tropical fish because Iguanas and oxcylotls are banned trust me to find another hobby that is just as hard
brainwave
If I buy what plants are available. Plant them photograph them (when budget allows better digital cam) Maybee someone could id them and then I could go from there
If at first you don't succsed grow grow grow again
Hey, didn't read your post earlier. G'day mate
Yeah, Tassie could be a hard place to get plants. Heck, even in Sydney good plant lfss are hard to come by. Many times they get their plants wrong too.
Easy plants that are common are the stem plants. Hygrophila difformis seems to be pretty common. Ask for water wisteria, they are called that. Good for new setups as they grow fast and a good starter plant to feel your way around dosing fertilisers. I find a lot of so called aquatic plants are more of a terrestrial, so try to stay away from those. Examples: rushes, alternanthera types(purple temple), mondo grass etc. They last well in water, but doesn't grow and melts away after a few months. People buy them much like 'cut flowers' for the tank
And yes, also try hairgrass and eelgrass(vallisneria nana). Hair grass needs a bit of persistence initially, but takes off after settling in. Eelgrass is really easy, prefers cooler temps than most tropical types though. They look like wild harvested. Get these plants settled in before trying the crypts. They tend to melt and might be a bit of a let down at first.
Try to use a proper substrate. Not just plain gravel. And another thing, can you bring plants into Tassie from mainland, ie through post or in person?
Regards
MIN
hi
a fellow aussie
g'day mate.
I have found a person from queensland I think that posts plants to tassie (wow) of on all places Ebay.
I have yet to try and purchase some but will soon. Hubby says to try just one plant preferably a "delicate one" to see how it looks after postage. The theory being I assume that If it looks ok when it arrives then posting plants of hardier variety will be a cinche.
We decided on a delicate variety I am now told as these seem to be the only type of single plants this particular seller sells 1 off.
I dont mind loosing a bit of money to start out with but most of the crypts ect are sold in packs that will cost with postage in the $100 range not easy for anybody to just throw away.
Hi Kalindab,
Greetings from Aquaspot World. Although we serve primarily the US market, we do have a few deals from Australia. Like you, a lot of Australians are very keen in importing live plants.
However, your customs are particularly strict and we sometimes face problem even when exporting with all the proper documents and phytosanitary certificates that ensures plants are healthy and free from pests. Guess it's your Government's way of protecting its trade there.
With regards to Crypts, they are easy to handle and they often survive any length of journey. Besides Anubias, they are one of the easiest plants to export.
Aquaspot World LLP - Your Aquatic Partner
http://www.aquaspotworld.com
Thankyou for your input. I guess I just have to keep hunting as tasmania is worse than mainland australia for imports. Due I believe to its high dependency on aqua farming mostly for the Japanesse market
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