Planted aquarium (Starter)

[johntjh]

Hi all,
I consider myself a newbie to the aquarium. I have started off with a 14" tank. It is currently in the midst of cycling. I intend to keep a planted aquarium. Below are the data for my tank:

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 36x22x26 cm
Tank Volume : 15 litres
Lighting intensity : 4 W
No. of hours light is on : Irregular, (Approx 6 - 8 hrs)
Type of Lighting : FL (Ikea Spotlight)
Substrate : Gravel (medium coarse sand)
Gravel Thickness : Approx 1"
Filter Type: Oceanfree Hangon filter.
Filter Media : Cartrige consisting bio-foam and activated carbon. (came with the filter)
Age of tank : Approx 1 month old
Other equipment : one stone aerator and couple of plastic plants.

pH: 6.0
NH4 (mg/l): 0
NO2 (mg/l): 16.5
NO3 (mg/l): 12.5

Bioload
Neon Tetras : 3
guppies : 5
2 other unknown

I have the following queries:
1. I have had comments that the way to start a planted aquarium is to begin with plants and no fishes. I was told that it would be difficult to convert my current setup to a planted aquarium? How can I go about it?
2. What would be a suitable aquatic plant to begin with?
3. Do I add in plant in stages?
4. Would PL lighting of 11 W be sufficient for my tank size?
5. Should I be using a different filter?
6. Will I need to add in more gravel?

I'll appreciate all comments/criticism. Thanks all!

[limsteel]

Hi there.. I have 14 inch tank too! there are several thread on mini tank.. do a search.

Converting to a planted is not a big problem as your fish load is low... Buy all necessary items likes plants and ferts. then using the existing water in your tank, fill up a small pail and transfer your fishes. use your air stone.

Then you can top up some more gravel (those 2mm grain will be nice, and since tank is small you can consider branded stuff like ADA, JBL plant soil, gravel). If gravel are not compatible then tear down the tank. Collect some dirt/poo from old gravel and add to new setup to jump start the BB for Nitro-Cycle. Filter don't wash, BB already established there.

Since you got only 4W... you might wanna up the wattage, else you limit to low light requirement plants like Nana, Fern, Microsorum pteropus 'Windeløv', to name a few...

As to whether you wanna planting in stages or all at one go, it is up to you. But trust me, once you started, you will never stop! []

An internal Filter will be nice but current hangon should be OK.

criticism??? how to do that?

[chua]

I think your lighting is not enough.
It is about 1w per gal at your present tank.
You should increase it to around 2 to 3w per gal.
For my last 14 inches tank, i used 2 x 9W pl lighting.
(Think from Boyu at $24 each)

You must also has a DIY CO2 set cause this is important for plant growth.

The two i had stated is only the basic needs for plant survival. For healty plant growth, you should do more research and maybe test out with easier plant first.

GL.

[CT]

The basic things you have to give to the plants is CO2 and lighting. Just give your tank those and you are set to go.

What type of plants to add will depend on the condition you can give them.

At low lighting, you can add plants that limsteel suggest. But if you decided increased your lighting to 2-3 wpg, there will be much more choice. Together with the lighting will be CO2, you can start with DIY CO2.

[bttay]

Just like you. I have just recently converted my 14" fish tank to planted tank. I am a newbie but based on some personal advice and info from the net and books, this is what I did to convert the tank:

Lighting: 1 x 11w Aquatic light + 1 x 11w Cool White light
Gravel: 2 inches of 2-3mm size sand
CO2: about 1 bubble per second with a glass diffuser
Fert: JBL fert stick and Sera Florena. I am trying some Iron supplement too.
Fish: 2 neon tetra, 5 Glow Light tetra, 2 SAE, 1 otto.

I selected all the fast growing plants. (If you need a list of my plants, please let me know) Those that fight with algae for nutrients and give me better feel of acheivement when I have to prune them very often

One problem I have is algae. I am trying some measures to rid them.

[johntjh]

Hey guys, thanks for all the comments and suggestions. Will definitely look into them.
Since this post, I've gotten myself a 11 W PL light (6500K) so now everything has got a nicer hue to it. Will be getting some plants and additional gravel soon.

Bttay, would like to have the list of your plants, I don't see any algae yet but I sure would like them contained.

Cheers all

[sherchoo]

Since you don't have base fert, might I suggest you get some Root monsters (loose form) and lay them below you new layer of gravel. You can easily get the root monsters from lfs namely NA Nature which I got mine from. Check the listing at the top right corner.

[Goondoo]

----------------
On 7/26/2003 2:20:05 PM

Hi all,
I consider myself a newbie to the aquarium. I have started off with a 14" tank. It is currently in the midst of cycling. I intend to keep a planted aquarium. Below are the data for my tank:


I have the following queries:
1. I have had comments that the way to start a planted aquarium is to begin with plants and no fishes. I was told that it would be difficult to convert my current setup to a planted aquarium? How can I go about it?
2. What would be a suitable aquatic plant to begin with?
3. Do I add in plant in stages?
4. Would PL lighting of 11 W be sufficient for my tank size?
5. Should I be using a different filter?
6. Will I need to add in more gravel?

I'll appreciate all comments/criticism. Thanks all!

----------------

I beg to differ from most of the advise about lights and CO2 here. I would recommend you to start with low requirement plants. For tank of such size, it would be relative tough to control the PH and temperature as the swings are crazy.

I would propose you controling your temperature and a relevant sufficient lights enough for Christmas moss background and Java Moss carpet, back by plants like a couple of E.tenullus and Blxya Japonica. Java ferns and nanas could be used on some deco rocks or driftwood.

I would recommend:
DIY 18w PL lights
running 2 separated DIY fan 12/hrs each for 24hrs
DIY CO2 (or those Co2 sets like NutraFin etc)
Small amount of ferts sticks for plants like Blyxa japonica or E. Tennulus

What you could do now is purchasing various mesh (be it plastic/stainless) and starts the background and fore carpet first.

The main reason being you are new and you are unable to predict what challenges you will be facing having high requirement tanks, and most high requirement plants grows faster then your tank would be able to handle them. Faster growth also means more requirements for nutrients and soon you will be confused with all those fertilizers issue again.

However, thats just me, do consider other options posted by others.

[bttay]

Hi John,

One thing common in fast growing and easy plants is that they are always relatively cheap. So when you are shopping for easy plants, the price should give you some ideas.

Below are the fast growing plants I keep:
Hygrophila corymbosa: This one is my favourite. It grows really fast and have a bit of pinkish color on some leaves.

Bacopa monnieri: This one grow out of water surface. You have to keep cutting to prevent it from growing out of the water surface.

Vallisneria spiralis: I believe this one is the toughest plant you can have. Easy and undemanding. Leave it alone and it will just grow under any conditions.

Glossostigma elatinoides: Popular "carpet" plant. Grow fast but need strong light and CO2.

Echinodorus tenellus: Propagate very fast by runner. You need to pull out new plants from time to time to prevent it from occupying your whole tank.

I hope the above is helpful to you.