Starting a Planted Tank

[Plantbie]

Hi all,

I am planning to start a new planted tank soon. probably start with a 2ft and progressively go into bigger tanks. I will be investing in all the neccessities like CO2 tank, PL Lights, Canister Filter......

As a newbie, i have a few questions to ask the experts here.

a. Where can i get reasonably price CO2 tank, PL Lights and Canister Filter?

b. What type of substrate/gravel is suitable and how high should i lay?

c. What brand of fertiliser should i get and where can i get , probably price also?

d. What will be needed for a full set of CO2 equipments? hear abt diffuser, surface skimmer...(dun really know all this).

e. Most importantly, what plants i should start with? I planned to start with 2 or 3 types first. Seem many threads about Ricca..

f. If i were to plant Riccia, where can i get this fishing nets to cover the Riccia in the Stainless Steel Mess.?

Thanks in advance to all.

Plantbie

[Simon]

a. Where can i get reasonably price CO2 tank, PL Lights and Canister Filter?
u can try Nature Aquarium opposite thomson medical center

b. What type of substrate/gravel is suitable and how high should i lay?
gravel shld be 2-3mm diameter, thickness dependent on the plants u wanna have, for rosette plants, suggest u go for thicker base fert

c. What brand of fertiliser should i get and where can i get , probably price also?
I recommend JBL ard $15 for 5kg.. if u want more branded stuff then try dennerle depoint mix... Nature, Keong seong at havelock

d. What will be needed for a full set of CO2 equipments? hear abt diffuser, surface skimmer...(dun really know all this).
CO2 cylinder, Regulator with or without solenoid (needle valve), Bubble counter, C02 diffusion unit (diffuser, reactor)

e. Most importantly, what plants i should start with? I planned to start with 2 or 3 types first. Seem many threads about Ricca..
for start, always heavily plant yr tank and remove those unwanted plants after the cycling period.. add fast growers like difformis, polysperma, hornwort. reason to this, is to reduce nitrate/ammonia levels

f. If i were to plant Riccia, where can i get this fishing nets to cover the Riccia in the Stainless Steel Mess.?
jus secure with the mesh.. dun need fishing net when using wire mesh... fishing net and tiles goes well

side suggestion when starting up... try to get the biggest tank u can afford, smaller tanks r so-called harder to maintain, as the volume of water is small

surface skimmer is use together with a cannister filter

lights - wat type of plants u intend to have? general guide (1.5 - 2watts per gal for low light plants, 3 & above watts for high light plants)

[Raving_KC]

If I've already got a tank (1.25ft) with gravels and fishes in it, and now want to introduce plants into the tank. Can I do without base fert? If I still do need base fert, are there alternatives other than having to get the gravels out from my tank and starting from scratch again?

[Simon]

KC,

other than redoing the whole thing, u can try insert root monsters, jobe sticks..

[vinz]

Errr... personally, for a planted tank, start with a 3 or 4 feet tank. Especially since you're willing to spend for a CO2 set. More stable ecology and more space to play with when it comes to layout. Anything bigger will require too much time and effort to maintain and layout until you're experienced enough to start a fairly stable tank. In your initial few months as a newbie, time will be spent battling algae and understanding tank ecology unless you are very very lucky.

b. Base fert - about an inch infront, slope to about 2 to 3 inches in the back. 1 inch of gravel on top of that. If you are not using rooted plants, then you can skip the base fert (but slope the gravel). Wouldn't suggest skipping rooted plants though.

c. Fertilisers - base, see Simon's reply. liquid - Search for the threads 'Which liquid fert?' and 'What nutrient should I get for the plants' in this forum.

d. Recommend solenoid if you willing to pay for it. Lets you turn on and off the valve using a automatic timer. Plants only need CO2 in the day. Too much CO2 at night might cause severe problems for your tank.

e. Agree Simon's reply. Plant catalogs and info in AQ Gallery (see topmost menu bar), Tropica and Dennerle.

Read the plants section in TheKrib.

[juggler]

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On 8/8/2002 11:27:06 AM

If I've already got a tank (1.25ft) with gravels and fishes in it, and now want to introduce plants into the tank. Can I do without base fert? If I still do need base fert, are there alternatives other than having to get the gravels out from my tank and starting from scratch again?
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It depends on how much planted you want it to be. If you want lush growth, suggest redo again with base fert. For a 40cm tank, should be not much trouble to remove everything and start again.

BTW - is your gravel usuable for planted? Like 2mm-3mm size and non-coral type? Is you lighthing sufficient for what you intend to plant?

Just my personal suggestion: If you plan to re-do, theres no need to wash the gravel so as to keep some of the beneficial bacteria and "nutrients" accumulated in the gravel.

[Plantbie]

Thanks for all the replies.

I will be going down to Nature Aquarium to see see look look.

[Raving_KC]

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[/quote]
It depends on how much planted you want it to be. If you want lush growth, suggest redo again with base fert. For a 40cm tank, should be not much trouble to remove everything and start again.

BTW - is your gravel usuable for planted? Like 2mm-3mm size and non-coral type? Is you lighthing sufficient for what you intend to plant?

Just my personal suggestion: If you plan to re-do, theres no need to wash the gravel so as to keep some of the beneficial bacteria and "nutrients" accumulated in the gravel.
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[/quote]

My gravels' suitable, I got it from ah pek at Lor Halus early this year. I have two 11W PL tubes. Tank's dimension's about 38cm x 24 cm x 25cm. Not sure how to convert that info. into gallons though. Hopefully the lights are sufficient?

I have no idea what I wanna plant, all those latin-ish sounding names of the plants are making me dizzy. But I do want a lush looking tank

[Simon]

KC, yr wattage per gal is 3.5 watts.. good enuff, but at times, other factors like in shaded areas will have a diff effect on plants.. so make sure, high light plants shld be placed under direct light...

[vinz]

KC,

Go browse browse AGA competition showcase and My Tanks on AQ. AGA entries have to indicate what plants where and My Tanks, you can just ask the owner.

[Plantbie]

Just drop by Nature to talk to the boss.

Nice person. And the price is okie for me too. Probably i will get all my equipments from him and get some plants from Lor Halus.

Any shop to recommend?

[hwchoy]

if you have wheels go to Teo at LCK, Lor Halus where got fight.

[Plantbie]

btw, saw the use of fishing net and string together with stainlss steel mess to plant this Riccia.

Anyone know where can i get this fishing net and stainless steel mess?

[spilopterus]

What you do is go down to kelantan lane and you'll see this shop that sells a lot of meshes of all sizes. If you ask me, I think two pieces of very fine steel mesh which they sell is much easier. Sandwich in between the two and sink it in.

Planting riccia... easy as 1...2...3..

[Plantbie]

Can someone tell me where to get Riccia and other aquatic plants at a cheaper rate? I planned to DIY the Riccia myself rather than buy those ready planted on the steel mess.

Thanks,

PlantBie

[David Loh]

On and off there will be people here that give riccia for free. Alternatively, you can get a handful for $5 at Nature or Keong Seong

[Plantbie]

Sorry, may i know where is Keong Seong.

Thanks

[Plantbie]

Questions

Read from somewhere that we should landscape a gentle slope in out tanks? Anyone out there knows why? Or i maybe have read wrongly...

Thanks

[Simon]

Plantbie, Keong seong is at blk 22, Havelock road

reason to sloping is for u to scaping easier.. it makes viewing better too, compared to a 2D flat surface..

[David Loh]

Keong Seong is at Havelock Road, Block 22. A LFS below the HDB flat. The nearest MRT is Tiong Bahru. Walk towards the Coffee Bean to Bukit Ho Swee and cut across the flats. When you see the neighbourhood police post and maybank that's the place. It sells a wide variety of plants.

Yes, most books recommended to have the sand slope upwards. I guess it's meant for the background plants which tends to have longer roots to establish and also a sloping landscape is more pleasing to the eye that a flat one, right ?