Planted Tank help please!

i would offer the following advice.. now that you are sorting out the lighting, i would stop all ferts and for the next 2 - 3 weeks, just to a 10% water change 2-3 times per week (that is only 10L at a time so it should be too much of a hassle).. chances are that will get your plants growing healthily enough to out-complete the algae without supply the algae with excess nutrients.. then once you see your plants start to really take off, you can start to dose with your ferts etc, but i would dose at 25% or less of what is recommended on the label for the first few weeks, only increasing the dosage as you see the plants really begin to take off...

something i learnt from a friend of mine in the industry, when you have problems with a tank - always go back to basics.

 

I will keep this in mind and give it a try.

Just one question, I have have currently been dosing ferts with the lighting I have 2x Sylvania aquastar 10 000k. Not too much algae, but not all the plants like this light sepctrum, hence the purchase of the new tubes. Should I still stop the ferts and follow your instruction?

 

i would still stop dosing for the 2-3 week period and continue with only frequent water changes, especially as i think you do not have c02 (i think?)

allow the plants to build up first, then start dosing with small amounts.

 

@mydummyname Yip, I do not have Co2. Using excel for this. Im also dosing Seachem Compehensive & Seachem Potassium, I have also inserted Seachem Root Tabs.

Will follow your advice and will let you know the outcome in a few weeks.

 

I am only reading up at this point on getting a planted tank but what I did read is that you should go back to trace elements and not the Comprehensive coz it may contain phosphates and nitrates (Just check on that) which are apparently not that good as it may increase algae growth

And I quote "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Do not purchase a fertilizer than includes phosphate or nitrate, because horrible algae problems may arise."[/FONT]

But like I said I am just reading up and one of the other members will probably correct me next

 

So I have completed my DIY Canopy and fitted 3 X 18w T8's. (2 X Grolux & 1 x daylight 6500k tube). Not sure if this is the the correct combintaion of tubes though. I also have sylvania aquastar 10 000k tubes at my disposal & an extra daylight 6500k tube)

So my first question to the experts would be, what is the correct combination of tubes? 2 x Grolux & 1 x Daylight or 2 x Daylight & 1 Grolux?

2nd Question: My plants, namely the ludwigia repens & Amazon swords have a type of algae of the lower leaves. What is the cause of this? I am dosing with Seachem excel, comprehensive & pottasium. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Pics below:

1st Pic: Vallis is growing & Propogating like mad, I dont intend on trimming it anytime soon. I like the 'wild' effect. You can see the Ludwigia to the right.



2nd pic: Full tank shot. You can see the DIY canopy here as well.


I plan on getting more plants soon. What do you guys suggest for a ground covering plant?

 

I'd swop out one Grolux for the other 6500k you have... as for a groundcover/foreground plant - look for some Stauragene repens or Echinodorus quadricostatus....both will do o.k in your tank...

 

ooh tank is looking nice there!!

those tiger barbs and red serpa's make a really good combination too!

 

For rapid plant growth you have to have 3 things in place :

1. Adequate Lighting
2. Co2
3. Fertilizer

Let me clarify :

1. Lighting needs to be good, the more the merrier. Light has to penetrate right down to the substrate. I use normal daylight tubes that you can buy at any supermarket. Nothing fancy. If you can afford the expensive tubes like Gro Lux and the like then that will also be good. 9-12 hours a day should be fine. Monitor algae outbreaks , then you may have to reduce number of hours.

2. Co2 . You can go the expensive pressurised cannister way or the DIY - yeast /sugar mix. I find the DIY method works really well and cheap. Info widely available on the internet.

3. Fertiliser. I prefer the tablet type that you stick into the gravel. The liquid type tends to encourage algae growth if you are not careful.


Please note that you must have all 3 above. One without the other will not give you optimal results.

Make sure you remove the pot that comes with the plant. Cut off thick roots, brown leaves. Encourages new growth. Put plants into gravel. Then put fertiliser tablet in between plants to give them a good start.

Initially plants may go brown but that is normal, once things start happening it will take off. There will be initial algae build up. That is normal , once things settle it will not be bad. After a while you can introduce a few Siamese algae eaters (Not the chinese algae eaters) if you want them to control algae. Remember that there has to be some algae in the tank. As long as its not excessive.

Remember not to overdo the liquid fertilzer. Tends to feed the algae and not the plants.

Then watch your plants grow like crazy. ​

 

@azurekoi I will swop out the one grolux for the other 6500k. Hope to get some Echinodorus quadricostatus from @boebie who has generously offered to help me out with some. So, hopefully I will be able to pick it up this evening.

 

Thank you @mydummyname Still has a long way to go though.

 

Got a whole lot of plants & cuttings from @boebie yesterday, thanks again. Dont know all the names though. Will upadate pics in a few weeks once they have grown in.