Creating a planted tank from an established tank

Ok let me just start off with thanking everyone for the help. I think I may have gone the wrong route and before I do anything to the tank with my limited plant knowledge let me ask for yours. I have one 72litre tank it now has 32watts fullspec light the tank have been est for almost 2 months fish living very happily in it no problems with them. The ph is aroung 8 I have a powerhead that also aerates and filters around 320l phour when on turned on fully. I have medium plain and simple gravel its abt 5mm max. My question is how can I get a nice planted tank now I don't have a spare tank for the fish and I honestly have no idea what gravel I need soil etc. Is it even possible to est a planted tank or is it to late or only possible with removing the fish which isn't really an option. I have a few crypts growning but I think their roots arnt getting the nutrients they need as its just gravel. I'm a student so the budget needs to be kept to as little as possible. Thanks for all the help I really need it. Oh and I'm in the pretoria area getting to pet a pond or animal kingdom is no prob they're close by. Thanks again for any help.

 

a note on pet a pond, be weary of some of their plants. they are almost always COVERED in pond snail eggs or ramshorn eggs. a plant covered in gooey bumps. . snail eggs. . . anyways. it could be possible to just add plants to your current setup/ depending on whether they are low/highlight plants, feed mostly from water column or heavy root feeders. etc. how dense do you want the end result? things like that should help wou select your best route to follow

 

Ja they do tend to have snails on them from pet a pond. I want quite a dense tank I want the tank to be alive with plants I have seen some aquariums with the entire ground covered something like that. I'm just worried that now it may be to late cause I don't have the proper substrate etc and may not be possible to add due to the fish not being able to be moved. Now that I think about it simplistic might look good as well but as I said I really have no idea where to start

I guess I'm looking for plants that basically anchor themselves to the gravel and pull most of their nutrients etc from the water I gues that is the route I need to follow if I'm not mistaken

 

Hi snyper I would really suggest you get another tank. Nothing fancy at all and not to big because at some
Stage you will need a hospital tank. This will also help you getting the other tank planted.

 

I have an old 35litre fish tank I could move the fish there for a short time. How long would a planted tank take to settle cycle etc I could just add all the water I have now and replace the tank once its planted. Will the 35 litre be ok for 4 neons 3 marbled hatchets 1 algae eater 4 bronze corries 3 scissor tail rasboras and 2 rosy fined tetras for awhile, while I sort out the planted tank?

 

Snyper...

Firstly I would seriously suggest you go with the Palm Fiber Peat route. Prof Dirk goes into some detail HERE This would require you move the fish to the smaller tank. You could possibly do this over the next few long weekends if you not too busy. Basically get the PFP going in a spare bucket on a Friday night. Move the fish on saturday. Set up the tank (PFP capped with the gravel) fill up. And then move the fish back into the tank 3 days later. Keep the water you are currently using.

Then you can introduce liquid fertilizer in the water. Prof Dirk has a fantastic product available specifically aimed for the SA market, but I have had huge success from using Bio-Elite's plant fertilizer.

You can also add fertilizer TABLETS into the system just by pushing these into the gravel near the roots of the plants.

DIY CO2 is also a very good addition.

I have had extremely good success in my tank over the past few weeks by simply using liquid ferts, DIY CO2 and the tablets. I don't even have the PFP under my gravel. Have a look at my entire thread HERE, but look particularly at my last few pictures.

 

I was thinking of going the peat route will read through the info later will the fish be ok in the smaller tank for 3 days that's what's really worrying me. Cause its almost half the size thanks for all the info it really helps

 

Zoom I had a look at ur tank it looks amazing. I'm starting to think maybe I should just leave the gravel as it is I don't really want to move my fish around ill rather accomodate them with plants that will suit the tank than change their environment and add peat etc ill keep that in mind wen I get my next aquarium. As I mentioned earlier I think ill go the root of plants that anchor into the gravel bur take nutrients from the water ill be getting fert and possibly adding co2 the question is now what plants fit that anchor in the gravel and nutrients from the water. Thanks

 

The whole peat things doesnt take long to do. i moved my fish into a black bucket for couple of hours it took me to lay down the peat, put down the plants and substrate. Then put my fish back in. with about 35% old water 65% new water. None of my fish pegged off. It doesnt take long and the roots really go mad for the stuff!

 

I thought u had to leave it a few days, if u can do it the same day... Well then I just need to make up my mind just a question where do u get the peat from?

 

Builders warehouse. ONE VERY VERY HIGHLY recomended thing, go with a darker capping sand/silica. Its looks a whole lot better and 5min after you have just cleaned the tank it wont already look dirty. I have white silica and its very hard to get it to look 100% clean. Its one thing i would have done if i had done things differently.

 

You can put the current water,filter and heater in the small tank with the fish and just put everything back
When your done. This way you keep your biological filtration going.
Do not leave your filter to dry!

 

Thanks for the info I'm so glad to hear that the tank isn't a lost cause. By the sounds of it pls correct me if I'm wrong I just need to prepare the peat overnight then I can remove the fish prepare the tank put the water back and the fish back within the same day is this correct? I have gravel already medium 5mm max in size that I would like to use can I use this to cap the peat?