Some Advice for planting my 90cm Tank

[AquaNewbie]

Reading the forums about which plants/fish a newbie should try to avoid, I was wondering?
Im currently setting-up my 90cm tank, I would like to have some nice plants in the tank that dont require heavy attention. Secondly I am aware some fish species tend to nip on the plants aswell, So if I was to keep some cardinals/neons , zebra danos(not sure if thats spelt right) some scissor tails, mollies etc which plants could i go with that should be safe with these fish and when adding rock features which type will not affect the water Ph levels?
:amazed:

[Kribs]

I speak under correction, but I think with regard to the fish you have mentioned...any plants should be safe. I dont think any of those fish are omnivorous...

Beginners tip....try to stick to the green plants...the red/purple ones seem a little more difficult to keep...

[AquaNewbie]

thanks mate! only problem is the LFS i use mostly has those red/purple ones you mentioned.... and they are quite pricy too.

[Kribs]

Not Sure what part of town your in but try...

Panorama Pets (Parow)
Northern Aquatics (Bothasig)
Sams Aquarium (Bergvliet)
Eco Pets and Aquatics (Parklands)
Tropicum (N1 City)

[AquaNewbie]

thanks!

[Sean J]

Try Java Ferns, Anubias and maybe some Lymnophilia psecies. They are hardy and most fish don't like their taste. Mollies like to munch plants occasionally.

[AquaNewbie]

[quote=slagter;13937]Try Java Ferns (cool i know what these look like), Anubias and maybe some Lymnophilia species (not sure about these two)

[butcherman]

@ auqanewbie. What substrate will you be using?

[AquaNewbie]

Ive got some light river sand... (thanks to Veegal's suggestion)

[butcherman]

should work well

[AquaNewbie]

okay so tank cyclcing a few days and ph level at 7 I added some plants i got from Zafgak and Veegal(thanks guys) When i started doing this i noticed the water started getting cloudy! is it time to do a water change already or have i shown my newbie colors again????

[theosmit]

Not to worry - It is suppose to happen. See Dale's post about cycling your tank as it will make the process you are going through quite clear :blink1:
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=245&highlight=cycling

[AquaNewbie]

thanks!

[AquaNewbie]

Which type of rocks could i use as features in the tank that would not affect the
water? Ive heard using sandstone does affect water...

[Zafgak]

You could get river stones from SupaPlants ,,,,

[AquaNewbie]

The cloudy water has cleared a bit since taking this pic but as you can see i need to add some rock features and more plants to my tank!
:blink1:

[Donny]

the potential :)

[Sean J]

Looking Good AN!!

A nice big piece of driftwood, with rocks around the base, would look very nice in there.

[Madam]

Lovely tank dude, where'd you get it? Beautiful cabinet!

Looking good :) I agree about the driftwood and rocks.. if you're up to dealing with tannins. Would look amazing.

[Wayne]

Hi Aqua - similar to my set up - now in week 5 following setup - also went through a cloudy patch but that cleared - some mopani wood is needed for sure (speak to Veegal) - I have had minimal tannins leeching and even that has been clearing.

[theosmit]

I'm curious about your cabinet. Can you post pics showing the whole cabinet pls. I need to build a cabinet soon and your appearance there looked like an option. All the wheels and gears nicely hidden away.

[butcherman]

All the wheels and gears nicely hidden away.

didnt know his tank had wheels and gears :p

[AquaNewbie]

Thanks all.
On the mopani wood I would really like to add a piece but im a bit weary as to all the leaching.... rocks a deffinate just looking as to what will go well with the fish i want to introduce.
The cabinet is something I designed myself. Basically to hide the unsightly tubing and wires from my toddler also to soften the sound of my pump humming away. I will put up some pics on what it currently looks like an on completion.

[veegal]

The part of the cabinet you can see in the picture looks great! +1 on requesting a full shot of the cabinet :)

[AquaNewbie]

Hi again,
Been monitoring my Ph, Nitrate and amonia levels and all seemed stable, I added a feature to the tank, went for the easy way out currently (artificial driftwood) as a centre piece to my tank. Also added some zebra danios(x4) The cabinet.... no progress on it yet, sorry to all who asked for detail on it, I will be listing a step-by-step pic and instruction on how i designed and built the cabinet.
Sorry for bad qaulity pic... will sort lighting soon...:bigsmile:

[Gareth]

Looks Great