# "new" to plants



## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

Been on here for a couple of months and earlier I said I was in the process of setting up a planted tank. Have had a planted tank before and it did well. Too well at first. Being an experimenter I made my own substrate out of peat moss in a cloth bag under the regular gravel. Plants loved it but the peat turned the water to a dark tea color. So I took it out. Plants died. Also as I said before. I run a UG filter on one side of a 50 g tank Just because it has been there since the tank was new and helps keep the whole tank balanced, and a Fluval inside filter on the other. I also do not want to tear the whole thing apart and start all over. I have purchased a 48" T-5 with a 6700 tube and a color tube. I can use the original t-8 with a color and go with a second T-5, 6700 if needed.I got a bag of Seachem fluorite for use on the non-UG side and since the UG side has a wall of natural rocks i think I will be going with plants that can root to the rocks on that side (java fern etc).. I have cleaned the Fluorite and am letting it dry now. Like I said, I do not want to dismantle the tank and start all over again and want to just add the fluorite to the tank and mix it with the existing gravel while in the process of a regular 25% water change. Any thoughts on this idea?


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

I was about to suggest plants that can attach to rocks for the side with the ugf, java fern anubias and mosses. Appart from that I would go to your local pet store and check out what plants they have, see what you like and check if they fit in your tank.


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

So, Will the one 6700 tube be enough to support the plants? I do prefer to have the color tube as things look more natural.Has anyone out there added fluorite (or any other substrate ) to their tank when it was more than 2/3 full? if so, What happened? I bought a little patch of dwarf hairgrass from petsmart just to see how it does. Will probably be ordering, hopefully, better quality @ lower prices online. (One strip dwarf hairgrass, about 1/2 x 2" for $8.95 from PS and it was green only down by the roots). Will be adding the fluorite today. Will let Ya know how that turns out. Wish I could show before and after photos but me and my Apple don't see eye to eye when it comes to posting photos.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

if you want plants go to www.aquabid.com


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

It's been about 3 hrs now since I added the fluorite and filled the tank. Was doubtful at first but is pretty much cleared up now. Need to clean up all the "dust" that's all over everything and probably nee to clean the filter again. I'm happy so far. Planted the hairgrass from PS and a sword plant that i put in there a couple months ago. It was almost dead from lack of sunlight. Will see hoi things go. Been looking on the E-net for more plants or maybe even try PS again. anyone here buy their plants?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

the wife and i have a friend that deals in plants...he is just about the only person we buy from..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I am spoiled by the wide variety of cheap plants I can get at AAAA meetings. I can not believe how much my LFS gets for a tiny java fern.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

yeah I get mine for free at the local pet store cause I do co-op there. Would be too expensive otherwise. Anubias 6.99, moss ball 8.99. It's silly


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

Betta Guy, I feel the same way about Pet Smart. $8.95 for 1/2x2" strip of hair grass And it looked mostly brown. Getting greener now that it's in the tank under a good light $8-15 each for bigger plants. About half that price online but add shipping charges? Looked into packages but either the plants were not specifically listed or not exactly what I wanted. No locally owned pet/fish dealers in area. Pulled some weeds out of a local pond yesterday. Cleaned them in H2O2 solution. Will see how that works. Still have plenty room for store bought. Thanks for the input guys!!


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

emc7, AAAA ?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

www.aquabid.com

more plants than you could ever dream of....


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

Couldn't wait. Bit the bullet and went back to PS. One Small Java fern And 2 A. Nana. Pulled one of the rocks out and tried to attach them with momofilament. Came untied (couldn't tie the knot I usually use on mono). Tied it with thread. Came loose & floating.Tied them again Came loose again. I'll figure it out someday. Small plants. Maybe I'll let 'em float until the roots get long enough to wrap around the rocks. LOL. Also the wild stuff from local pond turned out to be Widgeon grass (ID'ed from TPWD aquatic plant guide). No roots either. Buried the stems (They should root by themselves) and algae eater is digging them up. Must be tasty. Might be what's happening with the storebought stuff too. He's been keeping the algae mowed off those rocks for 2 years.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

use elastic bands you boiled beforehand to attach things


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

I now have two rocks that look like rubberband balls. One is holding a small Java fern and a small Anubias Nana. The other has 2 Nanas attached with RBs. Will see how that goes. Now gotta figure out what to do with the hair grass. The Ch. Algae eater (nick name " Bulldozer") plows right through it. Somewhat covered it with gravel and a few pebbles trying to hold it down. May end up going with a mat of it.


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

How long should I leave the rubber bands on ? or should I ask, How long will it take for the plants (anubias nana & java fern ) roots to take hold on the rocks? how can I tell without taking the bands off?


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

It takes around 2 weeks (that's how long mine took). I just left the rubberbands on until they ripped (I guess the degrade somehow) and then I took the pieces out and the plants stayed attached


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

*Update*

It's been 12 days now. The Nanas have perked up and seem to have grown. I hear they are slow growers so I wasn't expecting much yet. They are small plants, now about 1/4 to 1" ( the rhizome broke up as soon as I took it out of the package). The chinese algae eater (Bulldozer)has managed to remove some of the bands. Hopefully they will have attached themselves before he gets them all off. The Java fern does not seem to have grown and the pointed end (top)has wrinkled and rolled up, but it has greened up good. Been having to clean the algae off of them and vacuum the gravel more often as the T-5 has increased it's growth to where Bulldozer can't keep up with it all. Tested my water for the first time in years the other day. Took a sample to work ( I work in a chemical plant) and got 5.9 pH in the lab. With litmus paper showed somewhere between 6 & 7 and with a home test kit was around 7. So I think I am somewhere in the ballpark. Will find a way to get a hardness test soon. Any way, Will post another update soon. Still open to suggestions, comments and advice.. Lobo


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

Ordered a few plants from Aquariumplants.com today: Hygro Difformis (wisteria), Bronze Wendtii, Tiger Lotus, Crypto parva and Stauro Repens for the foreground and Pellia Tenerum for mid accent. Probably more to come but added to the fern and Nanas I already have it's a good start I think. Having a little problem with algae right now. Have always had it but But Bulldozer, the CAE, could keep up with most of it and what he missed, mostly on the gravel,I could either vacuum up when I clean the tank or leave it as it adds a natural look. Don't know what kind of algae it is but it easily wiped or vacuumed off the gravel and plants. Not hairy but kinda matty. In places the thickness is such that my siphon has a hard time carrying it away. I think I may need to cut the lighting time back some until I get the new plants and they have established. Will keep the post going, so til next time, CHEERS.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

When I first started my 5g I had exactely that, thick matts of algae all over the tank. It was because I had a light that was too strong, I took a big piece of driftwood and kind of put it under the light to block a lot of it. So yeah I would cut the hours of light you have


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

I have cut 2 hrs off lighting time (One in the morning +1 in the evening). Will see if I need more. Kinda upsets me though because about the only time I have to just sit and watch my tank is late in the evening and now I have an hour less.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

take off two in the morning and put the hour back on in the afternoon. Your plants don't care when they have light, as long as they have light


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

Was trying to simulate, as close as possible, the natural daylight time. I had 12 hrs on the timer. Now have 10. Will see how far I have to go. I may check out one of the LED moonlight simulators just so I can watch 'em at "night"


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## roostergod (May 15, 2014)

I just seen that one of yous said u went to the pond n pulled out some plants. What do you clean it with. Like wat is it and how much i mix. thanks


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## roostergod (May 15, 2014)

Oh n also for how long? is it just a quick dip or u leave them in there for awhile? Does it kill everything but the plant of course? Will it kill all the lil nastys u dont want in ur tank?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

if you want to clean plants because you have concerns about any kind of critters that might harm your fish,here is the dip formula that we use here...
in a 5 gallon plastic bucket put 1 part bleach and 19 parts water...say 1 cup to 19 cups..place plants in the dip and swish lightly and let soak for a total of "EXACTLY" 2 minutes...not 5 seconds longer either..


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

As for your 10h, my plants are on 8h of light right now


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

Rooster, I soaked the pond plants in a Hyd. peroxide solution that I found (Ithink ) on this site for about an hour. No problem now though. The fish seemed to love it and would not leave it alone. Kept digging/pulling it up. Never got to take root. was a long stringy plant that grew in thick clumps and I had "hair" floating all over the tank. Took it out.


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

*update*

On the plants from Aquariumplants.com. Purchased:Hygro difformis (wisteria), Bronze Crypto Wendtii, Crypto parva,Tiger Lotus, Stauro repens and Pellia Mono. Received them Fri,May 30 about 7:30 pm. Fridays are Momma Lobo's day out of the kitchen so we went out to eat and I waited til Sat. to plant.The wisteria , I had to put back in the ground a couple times but it is looking good. The Tiger Lotus bulb (rhizome) had several sprouts about an inch long and am waiting for them to do something. Have heard it may take a while. Parva came in a bunch large enough I was able to divide and have several small plantings. Still kinda pale but hoping they will green up. Planted them fairly close to some E Bleheri I purchased from PS and can hardly tell them apart. Stauro R was in three pieces. 2 of the pieces were large enough I pinched some off the top and stuck them in the ground too (they are supposed to be a low growing ground cover). Have pinched off and planted a couple more pieces since. The Pellia? It was not explained in the web site (AQPL.Com) it was a moss. Tied it to a small piece of broken clay pot and fed it to the fish. Not much left now but a few rubber bands. 
Overall I'm happy with it although I have put a lot of the plastics back in as the tank looked bare which I am not used to seeing. Have used some of the bigger plastics to shade the Nanas which I planted about a month ago and are now looking better.


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

PS: Still growing more algae than I would like. Am now on about 10 Hrs light. wanting to cut back to 8 but: My light is a dual 48" t-5 not HO. It came with a 6700k bulb and a "color" bulb. Most of the plants I have planted recently are medium to high light plants and although they are growing and greening up somewhat theyare not as green as I would like. Was thinking of replacing the "color" bulb with another 6700k and maybe cutting back the hours to 8. Sound reasonable? Have given them a shot of Flourish. Or maybe I am just getting impatient?


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

seeing how it has been one day I think you are being impatient. Plants can take longer to adjust. As for algae, have you considered amano shrimp? I really love these guys. They love snacking on algae (substrate and plants, not of the glass) and they are a nice addition to any tank that doesn't have fish that would eat shrimp in them.


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## locolobo (Mar 21, 2014)

Fish:7 zebra danio
1 blushing angel about 4" tall
2 cichlids. 1 yellow lab about 1.75' long and a blue one same shape just a little bigger.
1 chinese algae eater maybe 6" long
3 young green corys

I think maybe the cichlids may pester or eat shrimp. So I am reluctant to get them. They may be detrimental to the rest of the tank inhabitants as they get older . If so they will be going to a different home. Then I will think about amamo shrimp. Have been thinking about snails though. Have always thought they were neat in an aquarium. About the algae, after some research I am thinking the "algae" I am having trouble with is blue green algae. "Not an algae but a cyanobacteria" It is a dark blue green that only grows on the gravel and somewhat on the plants. Can suck it off with the gravel vac but is heavy and the vac will not carry it out easily. It is easily wiped off the plants. It is slimy and not a fibrous material like any other algae I have encountered. Have read it is not easy to get rid of without Killing all the bacteria in the tank then starting all over again. Any thoughts?


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