Plant options?

[natedawg124]

I am in the planning stages of a 75-100 gal dwarf cichlid tank. My plans are to do an ph controller CO2 setup because how hard of a time I am having trying to keep the ph around 6.5. I am wondering what some good plant species are that would do well in a soft water lower ph tank? Also what types of lighting and how much wattage are necessary? I have had good results in my 29gal planted dwarf tank with a Smartlight from Custom Sea Life. However alge has been a battle.

 

[aspen]

plant possibilities for this type of tank are wide and varied. almost anything from south america would be fine. here's a good place to view different plants with growing specs:

www.tropica.com

here's lots of tanks where they have been used successfully:

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/

i like this site because there are many varied entries and the owners provide lots of specs with their tank pics. i would start with 2 or 3 fast growing species, and shuttle others in after the tank is established.

this article by chuck gadd is a must called 'setting up a newly planted tank':

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm

there is no limit as to how much lighting you can use on a tank like this, 2 - 2.5 watts per gal would be very good.

i am sure you would like the 100 gal size (5 foot long) the best for dwarf cichlids due to the large bottom area. it sounds very nice. any idea on what type of filtration you would want to use?

rick

 

[natedawg124]

I would like to use a canister filter. I thought it would be cool to try out trickle filter with a prefilter overflow but I think that would defeat the effect of the CO2 system. I used to have a fluval 304 about 8 years ago and it worked well but priming thw thing was not fun. I have read a little about their filters now and they seem a little easier to use. What type would you suggest?

 

[farm41]

Filstar xp2 or xp3 is a real good reliable filter, I have the xp2 on my 75 for 2 years now, it's a great filter.


If you use tanked co2 the little bit that would blow off with the action of the trickle filter would barely be noticed. I am running a 10lb co2 cylinder on both my 75g tanks, filled them in february for $9.80, still running strong, I think the $9.80 worth of co2 is going to last me a year or more.

 

[aspen]

if i was to set up a large planted tank like that, i would use a canister filter. imo, a trickle filter has a disadvantage right off the bat from the aspect of trying to keep co2 in the water.

i know matt really likes his filstar filters or i would lean towards the eheim line. i have never owned a fluval, but have not heard great things about them. you may also want to use a HOT magnum simply to polish the water after maintenance. when using the micron cartridge, they are a really good filter to just to keep the water sparkling. i have a HOT magnum and also the 350 canister, and they are both easy to use and function perfectly so far.

lots of people simply bubble their co2 into their canister, but for dissolving it better a co2 diffuser is quite good. there are many types, from simple to complicated. they sell them because they work.

i store my water, and for a tank like that i would set up an aging tank right under the main tank, and pump it in when you want to do a change. I SAY NO TO BUCKETS! frequent water changes are the best maintenance you can do, and making them easy from the start is a great way to ensure that you do them often.

rick

 

[natedawg124]

I checked out those links yesterday and wow some of those tanks are amazing. My 29 gal is pale in comparison. I have trouble visualizing what the plants will look like in combinations in the tank. Those descriptions of there layouts are great and the comments from the people judging them are very informative. I am planning on using a pressurized CO2 system. I have seen a bunch of diffusers what type have you had the best results with? Also I saw a membrane type can you use those with a pressurized system? I have been using 5 gal gasoline containers for a while when making my water. I have been adding a little kent r/o right to the r/o water I make. I am having alge problems. I have used the natural approach using some otto's but they aren't really doing there job. The green hair alge is taking over. I also have been putting phosguard in the filter cartridges but that hasn't done a whole lot either. The under tank sump idea for water changing water is great. What size tank can you get under there?

 

[farm41]

IME the addition of co2 is the single biggest improvement that can be made for plant health after lighting, and the healthier they are the less likely you are to have algae.

Of course, I always have an algae cleanup crew in all my planted tanks, it consists of - Ancistrus, SAE's, otocinclus, and amano shrimp. I never go without them. Otocinclus won't do a thing for hair algae, but SAE's will do a good job on it. I always buy the small SAE's, 1.5-2" and take them back when they get over 4", they get lazy.

I will get some pics of my co2 diffuser tonight and post them, it is simple and cheap, run by a 200gph pump and is made from PVC pipe.

 

[aspen]

>>'IME the addition of co2 is the single biggest improvement that can be made for plant health after lighting,...'

i agree with matt 100%. you'll wonder where you're gonna get the time to prune often enough with the right lighting and co2. any mistakes you make will grow out in a hurry too.

for a 100 gal with co2, i would not change more than 25% on a regular basis due to ph shifts. i also consider it prudent to use most of your reservoir with each change, this means you have less 'old water' in your reservoir. a 29 gal under the main tank with a small pump will do fine. this is where you add whatever you will use to manipulate your water parms.

if you get your plants growing well coupled with the right algae eaters, you will have minimum algae once the tank has been 'run in'.

>>'I have trouble visualizing what the plants will look like in combinations in the tank.'

a planted tank is a work in progress. you will always want to get a new species, or move what you have around. really, stem plants are easy to move, but large swords can disrupt the substrate substantially when moved. you will want to find these plants permanent spots, and move the stems etc around when you want a change. i cut the tops off of my stems, and re-plant them removing the bottoms. you want a substrate that will handle being turned over regularly. i like plain sand, others use flourite. there are tons of options. i would polant the whole tank with fast growing stem plants to start with. i particularly like hygro, there are others. after the algae subsides and things are going well, move in other plants where you want them, and pull the extra stems out. you will have lots of clippings to trade in for more desirable plants when things are going well.

as for snails, think about these first. if you practice proper quarentine of new plants (a must in my mind) and use bleach dips, you will never see a snail, and never need snail eating fish in your tanks. when you get new plants, remove any visible snails, do the 10 min bleach dip and put them into a 20 gal plant grow out tank. you can store any extra algae eaters in this tank. diy co2 is a good idea, but not necessary. when you move the plant into your show tank it is properly grown in and ready to look it's best, not just a small specimen in rockwool stuck in the corner.

imo, oto's are not the greatest of algae eaters. small plecos, shrimp and sae's and also american flag fish would be the way to go. watch the plecos- some develop a nasty habit of chewing through sword leaves. you won't notice this till the leaves all go brown and die. trying them out in your plant growout tank can save the main tank from turning into a big mess. stay away from chinese algae eaters. they get big and very agressive. farlowella are ok, but they don't do that much and are very timid.

rick

 

[Christine-FishGrrl]

also check out www.aquabotanic.com - there's a lot of good information and good stuff for sale as well. Great internal and external CO2 reactors.

 

[farm41]

I have some quick pics of my diy co2 reactors

http://pic9.picturetrail.com/VOL275/1433031/3306642/40552606.jpg

http://pic9.picturetrail.com/VOL275/1433031/3306642/40552584.jpg

http://pic9.picturetrail.com/VOL275/1433031/3306642/40552539.jpg

They cost me less than $25 to build, including the powerhead and have bioballs inside, powered by a via aqua 480.