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Post by daviddelp09 on Oct 27, 2010 10:07:25 GMT -5
I decided I had to shut my salt water tank down because I just couldnt afford to get it back to how it was looking. So i decided I was going to do freshwater atleast i could afford it somewhat. I want to do a planted tank which cichilds ( I love german rams) but may go with africans but im not sure still in the process of setting it up after the long process of cleaning out all the salt and such.
I was looking for recommendations on what plants would be the best that they wont tear up and constantly up root. I hate fake plants and really want a lush planted tank. i have a 150w metal halide as a light so they have to be tolerate of high light or love high light.
any thoughts?
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Post by ADMIN on Oct 27, 2010 12:49:55 GMT -5
If your going with rams and dwarf cichlids you should be fine with about any plants. Look for a good back ground mid ground and fore ground plant. Some of our most popular are , rotalia, bacopa, java ferns, and various cryps all of these should do well with Rams.
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Post by daviddelp09 on Oct 27, 2010 15:18:46 GMT -5
Does specialty pets carry any rams?? Does anyone local breed them?
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Post by carb850 on Oct 27, 2010 15:24:04 GMT -5
I don't think I would use that light unless you also plan on dosing ferts and using pressurized CO2. I think the intense light without the ferts and CO2 would likely result in massive algae outbreak. I would suggest getting a much lower powered light and choose some low light plants.
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Post by daviddelp09 on Oct 27, 2010 15:40:19 GMT -5
hmm good point but I really dont have any otheroptions for lights at the moment, kinda strapped for cash thats why im going back to freshwater. what would be the best types of ferts? ive also looked at the CO2 units and they just confuse me im not sure what i should get lol. Im trying to avoid fake plants as much as possible and really want to go with live
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Post by carb850 on Oct 27, 2010 15:57:54 GMT -5
I was contiplating the same... going from Reef to FW so I completely understand.
I had a 10G low light planted tank that I really enjoyed. I keep freshwater shrimp and dwarf puffers. While the DP's were cool, I wouldn't do them again but I did really love watching the shrimp. Anyhow, that doesn't help your question any. LOL Anyhow, I had it with low light plants and it was really nice looking. Just two spiral CF bulbs in a stock hood was plenty. But then I wanted to try a high light setup and went with a 40W PC fixture. It did decent with that light and the DIY CO2 but once I started dosing ferts the glass turned green overnight. I struggled with finding the balance of light, CO2, and ferts when doing high light plants.
That is why I would suggest going with low light stuff. Soo simple, don't even need to do many water changes as long as you keep a relatively light bioload. I'm not looking a prices, but I bet you could get a light suitable for low light plants for $50.
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Post by carb850 on Oct 27, 2010 16:03:00 GMT -5
Low light without supplementing any CO2. 4watts per gallon with DIY CO2. It grew like crazy, I had to trim the plants regularly. Once I added the ferts I lost control. I think my DIY CO2 wasn't keeping up but in the end it was just too much of a headache for a FW setup. The low light was so much easier to deal with.
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Post by daviddelp09 on Oct 27, 2010 16:13:20 GMT -5
how exactly do you do the DIY CO2 setup?
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Post by carb850 on Oct 27, 2010 16:24:49 GMT -5
Yeast, sugar, and a diffuser. It doesn't add as much CO2 as a pressurized system does and it needs to frequently be switched out. I think maybe every couple of weeks. It is cheap though.
I used a Hagen CO2. It just seemed cleaner than a 2L bottle and it had a nice bubble ramp to help get the CO2 diffused into the water column.
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Solareclipsed
Reef Master
[M:200]
Professional Fish killer AKA Darla
Posts: 1,630
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Post by Solareclipsed on Oct 27, 2010 18:09:48 GMT -5
I converted my 120 to a planted tank. I have over 4 watts per gallon of cf light, pressurized co2 setup and undergravel heaters. I used substrate specific for plants with slow release ferts. I do not dose ferts in the water because every time I do I get algea horribly on the glass. The plants grow just fine without the ferts. If you want red leaf plants you might lightly dose iron but that is it. I will try to get a pic soon. Right now a couple plants are going through die-off with a bunch of new leaves so I need to trim and then take a pic. You can get elaborate or keep it simple. I may have some substrate that has flourite mixed with it if you want it. I will check to make sure but I think I still do. You definately dont want to do african cichlids with plants as they will shred most of them. The only plants I found to be suited for africans were java fern and java moss. I think there is on or 2 other plants that they wont bother but most they will tear up. As far as Rams they do fine with anything. I had them in my previous planted tank and they did great. When I get some money I want to get 6 to 10 and put them in this tank if I can find them reasonable.
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Post by ADMIN on Oct 27, 2010 19:54:13 GMT -5
Got Rams coming tomorrow yes, Had golden balloon rams last 2 weeks.
If you have a big bio-mass high light will work fine. Algae will occur if there is to much nutrient and not enough uptake of that nutrient. I run about 400 watts PC over my 75 and don't run Co2 or ferts. I also use eco-complete substrate about 4 inches. This is what works for me , it might not work for others but has worked well for my tank for over 5 years.
You will require mostly high light plants until the growth is high enough to shade lower light plants. Your plants will give off C02 at night (lights off) and give off O2 when lights are on. The trick is to provide the O2 in the right amounts at the right times only.
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Post by daviddelp09 on Nov 2, 2010 21:42:09 GMT -5
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Post by ADMIN on Nov 3, 2010 9:07:02 GMT -5
Looks good, get more in there fast though or micro algaes will likely make a play as the dominant life form.
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Post by daviddelp09 on Nov 3, 2010 12:09:38 GMT -5
what you get more in there? fish or plants?
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Post by ADMIN on Nov 3, 2010 21:45:24 GMT -5
Plants.
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Post by daviddelp09 on Nov 8, 2010 11:36:06 GMT -5
i got 4 more bunches of mondo grass and it has really helped its looks. I got 3 different types of algea eaters and they have did an amazing job cleaning the algea off of my plants. Theres not much left at all. Plus I have gotten quite a few more fish. I havent had any deaths at all either. ( knock on wood)
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Post by hmotorsol on Nov 8, 2010 22:17:41 GMT -5
I think it looks good. I really like how the light is shining down and you can see the beams. I cant wait to see some more updated pics.
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peyton
Sea Squirt
[M:0]
Posts: 43
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Post by peyton on Nov 13, 2010 21:42:48 GMT -5
i got 4 more bunches of mondo grass and it has really helped its looks. I got 3 different types of algea eaters and they have did an amazing job cleaning the algea off of my plants. Theres not much left at all. Plus I have gotten quite a few more fish. I havent had any deaths at all either. ( knock on wood) Mondo grass is not a true aquatic. Also the plant you have in the back corners looks an awful lot like alternanthera ficoidea aka "cherry hedge". It also is not a true aquatic plant and will slowly die.
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