what's next

[cherchye]

Guys, need ur help here...
I have patiently waited for my 3 ft aquarium tank to "settle down" for 1 month.....[complete with substrate, fine sand, limited variety of plants, a large external filter (JEBO) and a single tube light (JEBO 15W)]....as recommended by my neighbourhood LFS.

yesterday i just put in some small fishes like guramie, green tetra, some snails and some common prawns.

My question is what else could i do now?
1. Should i start investing in CO2 system? or
2. Start investing in moses
3. Buy more fishes or other aquatic creatures?
4. Change the fine sand into something nicer?

would appreciate some kind advice...

[equidorz]

hi there, actually i am also very new to this hobby, if you need help please do give us more specifications of your tank. from yr description i guess you are going into planted tanks. first of all it all depends on what plants you want in your tank, some need co2 injection while some dont. if you wana get mosses i suggest that you buy those co2 cyclinder with solenoid, plus if you are really into planted get yourself a chiler that will make your mosses lush and thick with vibrant green. good lightings will also be a plus point to your planted. as for fishes keep the bioload low, its better that way. You can also go down to Na aka natural aquarium which is located at thomson. u can ask the shop owner(mr chan if i'm not wrong) for help and advices.
just my 2 cents worth. correct me if i am wrong, i am also very new!!

[hebi]

hi cherchye, im also rather new to aquascaping as i started only around june but learn alot of stuff from this forum and through experience from my 3ft planted and 1ft moss-only shrimp tank. if u are going for planted tanks, i will suggest you find out what plants you are going to use and check their requirements. for moss and other low requirement plants, they mostly do not require CO2 to grow well and only need low-light. but of course with CO2 its a plus and cold water will definitely make moss grow well as mention by equidorz. maybe you can DIY a yeast CO2 generator to test the effect first. i tried it on my 1ft moss tank and spiky moss growing very well.

first thing you must change will be your light. 15W is far too low for a 3ft . im not very sure about moss cause my moss use natural sunlight and also pearls only downside is algae growing on the tank's surface. maybe someone else can advise on what is the suitable amount of light for moss?

for substrate, i think any sand that look natural and nice is good for scaping since you will be growing moss and not any root plants. if you plan to grow plants that have root(e.g glossostigma,hemianthus callitrichiodes or hairgrass), you will need base fert or use GEX or ADA substrate that many people use and seems good. currently using gex for my 10cmx10cm tank planting HC. see how it goes.

for fauna, i usually do not put in any until the plants are planted and positioned nicely and growing well so fishes or shrimps wont uproot the plants and also without fishes and shrimps swimming around, it will be easier to plant and scape.

hope this helps

[|squee|]

Welcome to AQ cherchye

A picture of your tank will help loads, because from there we can immediately tell what you can do with your tank.

For investing in a CO2 system, do that only if you are serious about growing plants and aquascaping as a hobby, and are prepared for lots of meddling around your tank, buying fertilisers, adjusting stuff and so on in the first month. Having CO2 will cause lots of changes to your tank, which can be demoralising for the unprepared.

For investing in mossees, or any kind of plant, think about what you want your aquascape to look like first. Do you want a moss dominant scape, or a mixture of everything, or are you just looking to see how well plants grow under your hands?

In aquascaping, the plant mass is often much larger than the fish mass. In tanks where there are a lot of fish with plants, the view becomes cluttered, messy, and often not nice to look at. If you want more fish, use less plants and those that are hardy and don't need much care. You probably won't need CO2 as well.

What is your substrate? Is your substrate covered by fine sand? I wouldn't change the sand unless it's necessary since the sand has already settled down and changing will involve large water changes and a big mess up of your tank.

[Shadow]

first of all need to find out which plant are you having because 15W for 3ft tank IMHO extremely low. photo would be great

[siansian]

Hi cherchye

1. Should i start investing in CO2 system?
DIY Co2 is only good for 2ft n below but every 2 to 3 week u need to change it. If can go for 5L CO2 cyclinder it cost about 80 to 130 only it can last 1 to 2year+ not ready exp save time somemore. diy c02 u need to mix yeast n suger for every 2 to 3 week so do take note do u had e time for it

2. Start investing in moses
If u wan moss i do had it can give u foc to try

3. Buy more fishes or other aquatic creatures?
Normal when i just starter a new planted tank first three week i will not add any fish untill e 4 week i slower add shrimp den fish

lighting
ur lighting 15W abit too low if can go for min 72W to 177W brighter of e light 6500k to 8000k not more den 10000k

by e way if u only wan to plant moss alone ur lighting 72W is more den enough