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Last Login: 1/17/2012 6:30:46 AM
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Okay so Im really considering a tank.Ive decided Its more about the plants and fish are going to complement the over all tank.So tiny fish are fine, just a few or something easy.I have several glass tanks available at the moment.
I have a ten gal or a 20 tall right now.
I will also have a 30 soon and 55(though the 55 needs to be restored before it will hold water).
I was thinking maybe starting with a ten gallon so I can learn how to grow plants in a tank with no fish.I have no idea where to start.I dont know if I need a filter for just plants or not. I dont know which plants need light or what kind of light.I was reading some plants need CO2,I guess Im pretty lost.Do plants need a heater?
Any suggestions on what I need to buy besides the tank to get started?
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| Finally someone who gets it. That's that best way to start any tank. I say get the biggest you can get, but you need sunlight or great aquarium light for plants, RIGHT! Use thick substrates for gravel 2-3 inches minimum. I like using grass (mini narrow leaf swords) of all kinds to filling the tank. They spread on the gravel quite nicely in good lighting. Avoid buying to many of the same plants, try different ones to find which work best in your setup. But the most important is having snails and shrimp to start the life cycle in the tank and to clean the algea off the leaves. Check out picture of my 10 gal beta sanctuary picture in the photography section, I suggest you save it and look at it with detail.
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Last Login: 12/25/2011 11:59:19 PM
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I have recently purchase a new house an would to purchase a quite big fish thank containing nearly 20 - 25 fish of different variate ,
can anyone would to help me out As i am fresher.
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Thanks for the reply AquariumGuy...I actually have a betta I was thinking of eventually putting in the planted tank if it worked out right.
So I think the ten would work great.
So can I pick your brain?? Do you have a filter for your planted betta tank?
How often do you do a partial water change?
Could I use sand instead of gravel as thats what I was hoping to use?
What kind of snails do you have in there.My friend offered me some of hers, they are big though, with orangish shells,I have no idea what kind they are?
Also what do you use to test your water and this is were I get confused.Our water is very hard here.I use the standard conditioner for the bettas.Do I condition water for plants? And what kind of light for a ten gallon? Sorry if you can only answer one or two of the q's Id appreciate it.
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Last Login: 12/16/2012 1:14:36 PM
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Just to interject some ideas and answers to your questions. I'll start with tank size, this is determined by the plants you want to keep most plants will be to tall for a ten gallon tank. That being said I would start with the 20 gallon tall as the first attempt, beside the larger the tank the more stable the water quality. As far as lighting goes again it is up to the plants some plants need low light (1 watt per gallon) while other plants need bright to very bright (4 to 5 watts per gallon) the magic number when it comes to lights is 6700k this is the blue spectrum of the light spectrum and this is the parameters that plants need to grow. so the lights you get will be plant grow light types that are in the 6700k range. If you are using a two bulb florescent system one should be a grow light and the other could be whatever you want to balance out the light quality for viewing. CO2 will make plants grow faster and more robust but for the most part (unless you are trying the more exotic plants) is not needed. supplements such as flourish by Seachem or api CO2 booster can be used if you feel you need to use something. The reason I would steer a new person away from injected CO2 is this. CO2 effects hardness and PH of the water that being said to effectively use CO2 takes alot of money for the initial setup. A properly run CO2 system is run off a PH monitor which injects enough into the water column to maintain a set PH number. They have to be turned on and off with the lights(because plants don't use CO2 when photosynthesis is not occurring). The diy systems you can find on the internet have really no control on them so there is the very good potential to cause severe PH swings and if they use up the Yeast they quit making CO2. If I was just starting I would master the low tech tank first before putting out the money for the higher tech gadgets. Remember they can always be added later. Plants do need heaters to maintain temp. Again the temp. is determined by the type of plants you are looking at. Sand can be used in a planted tank but sand compacts and once it is compacted water cannot get through a deep sand bed. So that means there is a potential for the deep roots to run dry and rot in the sand bed and speaking from experience once roots decay in the middle of a deep sand bed they produce gasses, once pressure builds up in the bubble they will erupt through the sand and send up an air stream of bubbles that when they burst on the top will cause a stench that will clear the room. So if you want to use sand keep the bed between 1" and 1.5" this will stop dead spots from happening, also get fish species that like to burrow in sand eg. kuhli loaches these will dig and move the sand around the roots and allow fresh water in. One last point on using sand it narrows the types of plants you can use in your tank. Plants get fertilized through the roots or through the water column and if you have compacted sand around the roots the species that get nutrients from the roots won't get enough. And finally testing water should be performed as on a regular fish only tank that way you can monitor all the parameters and see problems before they get bad enough to effect your plants ie roots rotting or dead leaves driving up ammonia levels. The best advise I could give you is to research your plants and they need to thrive then design the tank around that. once that is done then specific questions can be addressed. thank you for reading and indulging my rants.
I will not buy fish this time, I will not buy fish this time, I willnt buy fish this time, I willt buy fish this time, I WILL BUY FISH THIS TIME. Sometimes my addiction gets the best of me... did I say sometimes
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Wow I was adding things up and its going to cost me a solid 200 to get a ten gallon started...I dont know if I want to spend that much for a ten gallon starter/trial tank ...Not sure I want to spend this much too try out a hobby Im not sure I can even do(probably end up killing all the plants)..
high quality water test kit 25.00
glass tank top 25.00
light flourescent fixture 20.00
full spectrum grow light 25.00
filter ...?....30.00
a good book on planted tanks 20.00
heater...........15.00
plants, substrate, decos,fertilizers, water conditioners ...50.00
Shipping/tax for all the above...25.00
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Since the tank will be a new setup not everything has to be bought right up front. You will need a filter and substrate and a bottle of cycle start. These will be all you will need for the first couple of weeks. After that if you choose low light plants like anubias, hygrophilia, or crypts you don't really need the grow light, you can get away with the light that comes with the hood. Also fertilizers are not needed. This will greatly reduce your startup cost and the upgraded lights can be added later. Just a note if you do use fertilizers you should have upgraded lights but again not needed. The equipment needed is based on the plant types. If you wanted sword plants, they would need strong light and fertilizer, and iron supplements, and on and on. So if you keep the plant choices simple the setup will also be simple. Hope this helped.
I will not buy fish this time, I will not buy fish this time, I willnt buy fish this time, I willt buy fish this time, I WILL BUY FISH THIS TIME. Sometimes my addiction gets the best of me... did I say sometimes
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| I was looking at prices and the difference between setting up a 20 and a 10 would be very close to the same.I mean if Im going to end up spending so much I might as well go with something a bit bigger.Im going to have to think on this for a bit first..But I do appreciate all the help.And I may be back if I decide to go with this.
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Last Login: 12/5/2012 4:02:38 PM
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on a small tank like that just do diy co2, it isn't very expensive in the initial setup or in the long run but I say 30 gallons max for diy co2.
here look at this: http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html
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nano reefs are fun
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