First planted tank! Help!

[lzw814]

Hi, all the pros here. I'm new to planted tank and relatively new to fish keeping. Have only been keeping bare tank with guppies for a few months until I got poisoned by the beautiful scapes here, and decided to dive in and set up a iwagumi style planted tank.

Below is the tank I just set up few days ago.

tank spec: 60 x 30 x 36
Soil: ada amazonia
Light: t5ho 24w x 2
Plants: glosso and hairgrass

no co2, but planning to set up a diy co2 soon.


Can pros advised me is there anything I'm doing wrong or am i on the right track?

[torque6]

Your tank currently more suitable for growing algae.

[lzw814]

I have added a few oto inside. I have been dosing seachem flourish excel as well. Will that help?

[Urban Aquaria]

Maybe i can provide some suggestions... i've started up 3 planted tanks over the past few months, so i've also gone through all the initialization problems and issues too.

For your tank size and planting density, it seems to be quite sparsely planted at the moment, so it would take a much longer time for the plants to establish roots and start spreading, in the meantime algae will have the advantage (as it is already filled with water)... so i would suggest you get more plants and plant them heavily and densely from the start. Maybe also add fast growing plants temporarily to soak up the excess nutrients and nitrates, later you can remove them once the tank parameters stabilize.

That's one of the reasons why people do dry start method (DSM) for carpet plants, no need to worry about Co2 or algae issues.

I notice you only started up the tank a few days ago and already introduced Otos into it, did you use mature media from another established tank to seed the beneficial bacteria to accelerate the nitrogen cycle? 'Cos if not, those fishes will be undergoing massive ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes during the normal cycling process and as you are using ADA Aqua Soil, the pH and ammonia will be off the charts during the first few weeks (if the tank was started from scratch).

Btw, Otos can only help to eat some early algae growth, but they will not be able to eat all algae, they are only "helpers" as part of a tank cleaning crew. An unbalanced tank will still be overrun by algae even with them.

For the health and well-being of the Otos, it'll be better to house them in another tank until this tank's parameters are fully stabilized. In the meantime, you can feed them algae wafers or blanched zucchini to keep them full.

As for fertilization, ADA Aqua Soil already releases alot of nutrients initially, so you don't necessarily need to add more. Additional fertilization is usually done along with high lighting and calibrated Co2 injection, 'cos without the right combination, the tank conditions will also end up going haywire.

Dosing Excel is okay, but also have to be in moderation too.

Hope some of it helps.

[Shadow]

Since you do not have CO2, cut your light to half, I mean just turn on 1 tube. Also since you sparely plant, do frequent water changes that will help combating algae.

[lzw814]

Maybe i can provide some suggestions... i've started up 3 planted tanks over the past few months, so i've also gone through all the initialization problems and issues too.

For your tank size and planting density, it seems to be quite sparsely planted at the moment, so it would take a much longer time for the plants to establish roots and start spreading, in the meantime algae will have the advantage (as it is already filled with water)... so i would suggest you get more plants and plant them heavily and densely from the start. Maybe also add fast growing plants temporarily to soak up the excess nutrients and nitrates, later you can remove them once the tank parameters stabilize.

That's one of the reasons why people do dry start method (DSM) for carpet plants, no need to worry about Co2 or algae issues.

I notice you only started up the tank a few days ago and already introduced Otos into it, did you use mature media from another established tank to seed the beneficial bacteria to accelerate the nitrogen cycle? 'Cos if not, those fishes will be undergoing massive ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes during the normal cycling process and as you are using ADA Aqua Soil, the pH and ammonia will be off the charts during the first few weeks (if the tank was started from scratch).

Btw, Otos can only help to eat some early algae growth, but they will not be able to eat all algae, they are only "helpers" as part of a tank cleaning crew. An unbalanced tank will still be overrun by algae even with them.

For the health and well-being of the Otos, it'll be better to house them in another tank until this tank's parameters are fully stabilized. In the meantime, you can feed them algae wafers or blanched zucchini to keep them full.

As for fertilization, ADA Aqua Soil already releases alot of nutrients initially, so you don't necessarily need to add more. Additional fertilization is usually done along with high lighting and calibrated Co2 injection, 'cos without the right combination, the tank conditions will also end up going haywire.

Dosing Excel is okay, but also have to be in moderation too.

Hope some of it helps.

Thanks for your valuable advise! The HOF I'm using was previously from my guppy tank which I believe was fairly stable. But I guess it will be better to remove the otos when I get home later. Will be heading to Y618 to get some plants.

Does anyone know of any fast growing plants that I should get?

[lzw814]

Since you do not have CO2, cut your light to half, I mean just turn on 1 tube. Also since you sparely plant, do frequent water changes that will help combating algae.

Thanks! Will do just that until I get my DIY CO2 going.

[lzw814]

By the way, does anyone know if it is ok for me to plant glosso in a bunch like what I did in the picture. I was planting them separately until I saw a youtube video showing someone planting them like that, and achieving a nice carpet weeks later. So I decided to take the easy way out and just stuff it into the soil.

And I also noticed the glosso seem to be growing upwards, would trimming them encourage horizontal growth? Or is it because of insufficient lighting.

Thanks in advance!!

[wongce]

Eh, either by bunch or by individual is similar to me. The main issue is control of light + photoperiod, co2 & future algae fighting...don't worry, if there is no issue do not change your routine...

Glosso might be trying to get more light/co2. Trimming might help a bit but i suggest you to get proper co2 system for proper growth. No harm trying out diy co2 first, a lot of us poison ourselves from diy co2 initially...hehe

Iwagumi might not be suitable for newbie as there are a lot of stuffs to consider... However, welcome to the hobby!!!

[milk_vanilla]

not mean to demoralising, but glosso grows a bit tough without co2. Excel might help.

Spread & Plant more glosso & the hair grass to all over area.

Don't turn on the light into longer period if you didn't familiar what would be the perfect balance of your tank. Or else algae will take control over

You may do yourown experiment, biggest knowledge & experience are achieved from trial & error.

Good luck !

[lzw814]

Thanks guys! Just set up my DIY CO2 system today. Using a airstone as the diffusor now.

I remember reading somewhere that with a CO2 system, surface agitation should be kept to minimal. But I'm using a HOF which causes quite abit of surface agitation. Will this cause the co2 to evaporate fast?

Afraid that this will be as good as not having CO2 then my effort go to waste

[milk_vanilla]

I heard people saying that too, but my small low tank 40 cm, use hof filter too. It doesnt really bad at all, make sure you're not breaking the water surface.
Kick your co2 a bit higher

[felix_fx2]

lzw814, the exchange rate which co2 enters & exits water is limited by temperature and water surface to air ratio.
That is why we use diffuser for co2, to increase that for co2 so it gets absorbed more and faster. (easier to digest phase, less surface movement & more finer co2 bubbles.)

Plant the glosso individually will be better, no need to rush it all in one day & break your back.

Your tank can lower lighting until you have co2 higher. Else you can farm some algae hehe.

[5stars]

If want your glosso to carpet the tank fast, the best method would be to plant them individually. I've done that for both my non-CO2 and CO2 tanks, and they have carpeted very fast. Don't worry about the glosso growing up. Just poke them back into the soil or leave them, and they will eventually carpet nicely, provided you have sufficient lighting.

Although CO2 is highly recommended for glosso, I've done a glosso carpet in a non CO2 tank, so don't panic even if your DIY CO2 doesn't work properly.

If you haven't introduced fishes into the tank, here's a tip that I've found helped keep algae in check: Add in a bit of daphnia (not too much or they will 'crash' the tank), make sure they don't get sucked up by the filter, and they really do keep the tank algae free (at least that's what happened in my tank).

[lzw814]

My DIY CO2 so far is producing 0.5bps of co2(one 1.5litre bottle). Don't know whether if that is enough. I tried using 2 bottles but failed to see any bubbles coming out. After separating the two bottles, it miraculously work. Too lazy to troubleshoot so I just stick to 1 bottle already.

I'm starting to see the glosso growing horizontally, the whole bunch also growing out some runners. I guess I want to just leave it for the time being(excuse for being lazy ).

Regarding the algae, hope my 3 oto can do a good job, I've already introduced fishes into the tank. Should I add in yamato shrimps as well?
Actually, I am quite unclear about the effects of algae in the tank except that it competes for nutrients with plants.

And thanks to all the bros for helping out a total newbie in fishkeeping, a really helpful and informative local forum! HAPPY CNY!!! Gong Xi Fa Da Cai!!

[wongce]

Bro, is there any algae in the tank? If don't have them yet,don't worry too early.

Dose excel regularly as a carbon source and algae-control.

Oto may be a bit sensitive to new tank...but you already bought then no choice have to keep them.

Yamato shrimp are plant diggers... Lol,i prefer malayan shrimps...

Diy co2 are known to be unstable,thats normal...haha maybe you can consider getting a simple co2 setup after getting your "angpows"

[Jay91]

Hi guys! So may I know how do you remove the algae or to keep it under control? I've 4 ottos and a few snail. But algae seems to be booming. Any suggestions?