My first planted tank. Seeking advice.. Thanks!

[Chronology]

Hello everyone,

I've just set up my first planted tank not too long ago and I would like to seek advice on where to move on from here to sustaining and growing plants in my tank.

First up, some statistics about my humble setup.

1.) 5 gallon tank
2.) Up Aqua Pro Z LED lighting (36cm)
3.) Fluval C2 (equipped with standard sponge, however, I've replaced the C nodes with seachem matrix and also replaced the carbon bag with even more seachem matrix.
4.) ADA Amazonia soil

The tank has been running for about a week now. Every day so far, I've been doing 50% water change. Am I safe to stop doing any water changes now and to let the tank settle in? I also do not know what type of plants I have bought (except for the anubias and java fern).. I'll really appreciate some help with them here. (:

Any advices on how to move on from here? I'm afraid if I would like to change plants in the tank, a huge cloud of dust would be kicked up again.. May I kindly ask what is the proper procedure to remove and replant?

Thank you so much with your help!
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[Urban Aquaria]

Since you already have a good density of plants in the tank, its actually not necessary to do so many water changes, as the plants should be actively using the released nutrients to grow.

Anyways, weekly water changes should be sufficient from now on.

For the plants, i can see java ferns, but can't see any anubias... if you are referring the the bunch on the left of the tank, that is probably some sort of ludwigia species (or some other stem plant).

A close up photo of the other plants can help.

As for replanting, just switch off the filter, then uproot and replant, let the soil dust settle for a while, then switch the filter back on.

[Chronology]

Thanks Urban Aquaria!

I really enjoyed reading your blog too!

I'm intending to get a wooden log and place it in the center as the center piece (probably will tie Java moss around it), would it be difficult to grow it? I just need to tie it loosely right?

What other beginner plants would you recommend besides anubias, java ferns and moss?

Oh, here are the close ups of the other plants..

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[Urban Aquaria]

I'm intending to get a wooden log and place it in the center as the center piece (probably will tie Java moss around it), would it be difficult to grow it? I just need to tie it loosely right?

What other beginner plants would you recommend besides anubias, java ferns and moss?

Java moss is easy to grow and very hardy, just tie it on the wood and it will eventually attach to it. You can also try christmas moss too, it has a neater growth pattern.

For some reference on easier plants suitable for low-tech tanks, you can have a look though the plants list at the Tropica website, quite alot of useful info there. Here is the link to their "Easy" category of plants: http://tropica.com/en/plants/?tabIndex=1&alias=Easy

Oh, here are the close ups of the other plants..

366ACE33-B636-45D2-90C3-080B82142288.jpg

Yeah, that large clump of plants isn't anubias... its a stem plant species. I kept it before in my outdoor container water garden, it seemed to grow quite well half emersed and submersed: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...578#post753578

The smaller green stem plants in the front looks like an emersed form of rotata, maybe the "nanjenshan" variant.... can't really tell, i guess you'll have to watch how it grows to figure out its actual identification.

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The plants with long green blades looks like Sagittaria subulata (aka Dwarf Sagittaria), nice plants... they can eventually grow quite tall though.

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This looks like Maidenhair fern... apparently its a marginal plant which can be grown with roots underwater (or water logged) but the leaves are usually above water. Quite common in vivariums or paludariums. Not sure if its a true aquatic plant though.

[Chronology]

Java moss is easy to grow and very hardy, just tie it on the wood and it will eventually attach to it. You can also try christmas moss too, it has a neater growth pattern.

For some reference on easier plants suitable for low-tech tanks, you can have a look though the plants list at the Tropica website, quite alot of useful info there. Here is the link to their "Easy" category of plants: http://tropica.com/en/plants/?tabIndex=1&alias=Easy



Yeah, that large clump of plants isn't anubias... its a stem plant species. I kept it before in my outdoor container water garden, it seemed to grow quite well half emersed and submersed: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...578#post753578

The smaller green stem plants in the front looks like an emersed form of rotata, maybe the "nanjenshan" variant.... can't really tell, i guess you'll have to watch how it grows to figure out its actual identification.



The plants with long green blades looks like Sagittaria subulata (aka Dwarf Sagittaria), nice plants... they can eventually grow quite tall though.



This looks like Maidenhair fern... apparently its a marginal plant which can be grown with roots underwater (or water logged) but the leaves are usually above water. Quite common in vivariums or paludariums. Not sure if its a true aquatic plant though.

Thanks!

I shall observe and see whether that fern can grow healthily.. If it doesn't, I'll probably just uproot it and lay java moss on the substrate..

Oh by the way, with regards to making java moss as a carpet for our tank, we can simply tie them with a wire mesh (not too tight) and lay them on the substrate right? I'm concerned that after the moss has outgrown the mesh as a anchor.. It wouldn't be able to hold itself down?

Appreciate the replies! (Makes the hobby so much easier haha).

[Urban Aquaria]

Oh by the way, with regards to making java moss as a carpet for our tank, we can simply tie them with a wire mesh (not too tight) and lay them on the substrate right? I'm concerned that after the moss has outgrown the mesh as a anchor.. It wouldn't be able to hold itself down?

Yes, tying the moss to stainless steel or plastic mesh (or flat wood, rocks etc) and laying them on the substrate can be done to grow out a moss carpet... as with all carpet plants, you'll need to regularly trim the moss to maintain the desired shape as it grows.

Mesh will usually be heavy enough to hold java moss down (even if it grows densely, as java moss has a tendency to naturally sink when grown in larger clumps), though if it starts to float up, then either trim and reduce the volume of moss or tie them to a heavier object.

[Chronology]

Hello people,

I've recently added in a patch of monte carlo into my tank.. I have placed it on top of my substrate and weighed it down with small aquarium stones. Hopefully its roots would grow downwards and anchor itself after a few weeks.. I've been dosing excel too.

Anyone with experience in growing monte carlo, care to share whether it's doable this way?

Thanks!

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[Urban Aquaria]

Hello people,

I've recently added in a patch of monte carlo into my tank.. I have placed it on top of my substrate and weighed it down with small aquarium stones. Hopefully its roots would grow downwards and anchor itself after a few weeks.. I've been dosing excel too.

Anyone with experience in growing monte carlo, care to share whether it's doable this way?

Thanks!

1A22AFF7-A317-4128-9541-F74CF9CED615.jpg

Thats an okay method of planting too, you'll just need to give the plants more time to grow roots into the soil first... compared to if they were separated into small plantlets and individually planted into the substrate, whereby their roots can start getting nutrients immediately.

[14litre]

Hello people,

I've recently added in a patch of monte carlo into my tank.. I have placed it on top of my substrate and weighed it down with small aquarium stones. Hopefully its roots would grow downwards and anchor itself after a few weeks.. I've been dosing excel too.

Anyone with experience in growing monte carlo, care to share whether it's doable this way?

Thanks!

1A22AFF7-A317-4128-9541-F74CF9CED615.jpg

Subscribed to your thread.
Please provide an update if this method works. I would like to try it out too.

[Chronology]

Thats an okay method of planting too, you'll just need to give the plants more time to grow roots into the soil first... compared to if they were separated into small plantlets and individually planted into the substrate, whereby their roots can start getting nutrients immediately.

Thanks UA!

I really hope it would succeed and not yellow out (or melt?). Haha. Would it be safe to say that after one week of being in the tank, if the leaves of the MC doesn't die off.. It has transitioned properly from emerged form to submersed form?

Oh by the way, my dad bought the two long leave plants that could be seen at the background to plant it into the substrate. However, he didn't remove he ceramic ring that came with it as he wanted them to be the anchor to weigh them down. In the long run, would it affect growth? Given that it can take nutrients from the soil and I'm also dosing excel daily..

[Chronology]

Subscribed to your thread.
Please provide an update if this method works. I would like to try it out too.

Sure thing! (:

[Urban Aquaria]

Would it be safe to say that after one week of being in the tank, if the leaves of the MC doesn't die off.. It has transitioned properly from emerged form to submersed form?

1-2 weeks is usually sufficient time for most plants to transition from emersed to submersed growth (some quicker, some slower).

Along the way you may see some of the older emersed leaves yellow or melt away, its normal during the acclimation period so just manually trim and remove those parts to encourage new healthier submerged growth.

Oh by the way, my dad bought the two long leave plants that could be seen at the background to plant it into the substrate. However, he didn't remove he ceramic ring that came with it as he wanted them to be the anchor to weigh them down. In the long run, would it affect growth? Given that it can take nutrients from the soil and I'm also dosing excel daily..

The ceramic rings are mainly to weigh the plants down in trays and barebottom retail tanks for display, so they are meant as tempory holders.

As with all living things, if they are crowded together in one place, there will be increased competition for limited resources... its the same for plants, the efficiency of their roots to take up nutrients and overall growth will tend to be reduced if their stems are all stuffed and restricted in one location.

It would be best to remove the ceramic ring, separate the stems and wash them throughly (alot of pests like to hitchhike on them, especially amongst the roots), then plant each stem individually into the soil, space them apart so that each stem's roots gets maximum contact with the soil.

[Chronology]

1-2 weeks is usually sufficient time for most plants to transition from emersed to submersed growth (some quicker, some slower).

Along the way you may see some of the older emersed leaves yellow or melt away, its normal during the acclimation period so just manually trim and remove those parts to encourage new healthier submerged growth.



The ceramic rings are mainly to weigh the plants down in trays and barebottom retail tanks for display, so they are meant as tempory holders.

As with all living things, if they are crowded together in one place, there will be increased competition for limited resources... its the same for plants, the efficiency of their roots to take up nutrients and overall growth will tend to be reduced if their stems are all stuffed and restricted in one location.

It would be best to remove the ceramic ring, separate the stems and wash them throughly (alot of pests like to hitchhike on them, especially amongst the roots), then plant each stem individually into the soil, space them apart so that each stem's roots gets maximum contact with the soil.

Thanks UA!

Now the wait begins! Haha.