Just another plant noob

[Piranhakeeper]

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units):48"X18"X23" *inches*

Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 4x54watt Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) :2X460nm Actinics 2X10000K Daylights
Age of light bulbs : <6 months
No. of hours your lights are on :10hrs

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : no CO2 yet
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) :
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) :

Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) :
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) :

Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : Seachem Flourish tab, 1 at the base of the Anubias Barteri

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) :

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) : filstar XP3, 2X powerheads with foam prefilters, Bio Wheel 350
When was the filter last washed :wash the filters ~ once a month
Filter media used : foam, activated carbon, mini bioballs/ceramic stars, seachem purigen, 100micron filterpad, 50micron filter pad
When was the media last changed : carbon changed every few months
What was changed :

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : 1.5 years

Water change frequency :weekly
Amount changed : ~10%

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) :gentle~turbulent

Tank Temperature : 80 farenheit

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH): 3
GH (dGH):
pH :6.6
NH4 (ppm):0
NO2 (ppm):0
NO3 (ppm): 20
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
4X 5inch red bellied piranha, 1X 9inch pleco, 1 4inch striped rafael catfish, 1X 10 inch Anubias barteri, 3 small banana plants
Describe your problem :
I have had the fish in the tank for several years now although it's only been a year and a half since I last moved. The plants are a recent addition, and I'm trying to make sure that they survive. I have had plants before but my fish tend to eat/destroy them. I'm hoping the larger anubias will put up with a little more harrassment than the smaller plants.
First, since adding plants I've started testing my dKH, it started at <1 in my tank so I tested the tap water I use for WC it only tested 2dKH. Also my pH tested low at around 6. I added some Seachem Neutral regulator and Alkaline buffer to bring the pH and dKH up to what was posted above but I was wondering if there was a better option.
Secondly since this was a fish only tank it has only natural gravel and some large pieces of bogwood, no flourite or other media in the bottom. do I need to supplement the tank more or will the excessive fish waste take care of some of that problem?
Finally, should I go ahead and get a CO2 injection system or will the plants be alright for a few weeks?

Thanks for reading this excessively long post, any help at all will be appreciated. If there is interest I can attempt to get a photo of the tank in the next couple of days.

[Wackytpt]

Hi,

Picture would definitely help. A co2 system can be implemented. Just a question, what type of plants do you intend to use?

[Piranhakeeper]

Just got back from vacation and set up my CO2 system so now I'm running 2bps CO2 during the light cycle only. I'm going to try to post a couple of pictures but they are from my cell phone so I'm not sure how they will turn out.
Anyhow I was wondering if anyone had a suggestion as to some kind of foreground plant that would do well in my tank. It needs to be fairly hardy as the piranha's tend to take bites out of anything new. Thanks!

[bryan]

Woah! How many filters are you running in there? Are you using an overhead filter as well? I also see alot of air bubbles in the water. In this case, I think your concept of using a CO2 system is not correct. All that water agitation is driving the co2 out of the water.

[FishFan]

Wow! Real piranhas! Don't they snack on your smaller fishes in the tank?

[Piranhakeeper]

Nah the water is all bubbly because I just did a major water change / rescape. The over the back filter only turns on at night which should be ok since the plants dont need CO2 during the dark cycle. But to answer your question yes I do have a ton of filtration on it hey what can I say piranha's are messy eaters. The only fish that I keep in there are a striped raphael catfish and a large plecostomus, the other fish you see are dinner. Thanks for the posts, hopefully I will be getting a real digital camera soon so that I can take some better pictures.

Still wondering if anyone has a good option for some kind of plant that would stay really short and spread around the bottom of the tank like grass. Thanks again for all the posts!

[bryan]

With that raphael & pleco hanging around, I don't think any of the foreground plants have a chance, besides they need a fairly rich substrate to grow nicely.