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hey i found this great site with an article about changing gravel in another section: http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/qa/l/blqa2008.htm

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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I need a quick 101 on plant fertilizers, please???

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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LIITLE_FISH where did you buy your Double Fixture Versa-Top??? Since you live in the US, did you buy it from Petco or Petsmart or your LFS??? Just wondering.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Kayla,

To answer your questions:

I got my Double Fixture Versa-Top from the LFS. They sell AGA (All-Glass Aquarium) tanks as well, and as such have for the smaller ones always enough tops in store (almost always), otherwise they can order it. I believe that even the Petco in my area would be able to order it, but I haven't asked. If you have trouble finding it then find out which store in your area is an AGA representative. They should have no problem ordering it for you.

Plant Fertilizer, 101: That is a course of 100 hours, hands-on training not included .

Basically, plants need 3 things besides water to grow, light - a carbon source (often CO2 or Flourish Excel) - and fertilizers. We usually break down the fertilizers into 2 groups, macros and micros. Macros are called this way because plants need proportionally way more of these than of the micros. Macros are made up of Nitrates (N), Phosphates (P), and Potassium (K). Micros are made up of loads of components, for example iron, calcium, and magnesium (plus many more).

What else would you like to know?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I think I have everything ready for planting my tank this summer and giving it a major makeover.

Light Fixture: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29549;category_id=1875;pcid1=1843;pcid2=

Light Fixture Legs: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=23927&category_id=1875&pcid1=1843

Hood: http://www.all-glass.com/products/hoods/index.html
The 24" long for 20H aquariums that is the Twin Tube.

Background: http://bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=20257;category_id=2427
What does it mean by: sold by the foot???

Driftwood #1: http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F46DA/Class/Aquarium+Ornaments+Driftwood+Natural/T1/F46DA+0122+0005/EDP/1266/Itemdy00.aspx

Driftwood #2: http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F46DA/Class/Aquarium+Ornaments+Driftwood+Natural/T1/F46DA+0122+0001/EDP/1251/Itemdy00.aspx

Gravel: http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=7658&PC=productlist&Nav=220&N=24%20105%2030%205706&sku=217824&familyID=8177&
If you click More Images under the picture it is the first picture you see. I am getting 6x5lbs bags.

Fish Stock List
1. 1 Blue Ram
2. 7 Pygmy Cory
3. 15 Harlequin Rasbora

Plant Stock List:
1. Cabomba caroliniana
2. Ludwigia repens
3. Cryptocoryne beckettii
4. Echinodorus quadricostatus
5. Cryptocoryne willisii
6. Echinodorus tenellus

Any comments or suggestions on anything I listed above???

What order should I do these things to my aquarium??? I guess the first step would be to get rid of some fish in my tank that I dont want anymore and then do the gravel and add the driftwood. Then I would do the lights and get to the plants. The background would be last or whenever I get a chance.

What fertilizer should I buy for my plants??? What should my fertilizing schedule be with the plants I am planning to buy??? What fertilizers do I need to add??? I would like to use Flourish I believe.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Kayla,

From top to bottom:

1) Light fixture and legs are good

2) Your link to the hood brings me to the index of all kinds of hoods. What you want is the Versa Top for twin tubes, which is simply the glass top and not a full fledged hood. That is what you mean, right?

3) Good background to get started. It gives you the option of either using the dark blue side (have that on my 29G) or the black one (which is what most people do). You can play with it and if you don't like it turn it around later. Be aware that the blue that you see on an empty tank is much lighter than when the tank is filled up. "by the foot" means that these sheets have a fixed height (the one you linked to is 19" high) and you order how many feet wide you need. I think your tank is 24" wide, so you would order 2 feet. Make sure the hight is not too short for your tank, the 19" would have to be the height between the black bottom and top trims.

4) Driftwood: eh Not too wild about these. Although their shape is very nice, you know that you are not getting exactly these two pieces. Also, this would is on slate as it is not pre-soaked and would otherwise float up. In addition, these pieces are rather short, the tallest being maybe 12". This is barely half the tank height and given that you selected taller plants for the back these woods will dissapear visually in no time (except if you place them close to the front). I would suggest you peruse the LFS for pre-soaked Malaysian (spelling) driftwood that is more unique.

5) Gravel: The darker the better. I have in my 125G the Estes gravel that is called deep river. In the bag it looks pretty dark, but once added to the tank it becomes lighter, too light for my likings (but I am not in the mood to replace 220lbs of gravel either). Gravel alone wouldn't do it anyway, you will need (or should) some substrate fertilizer, for example laterite, as well. Have you thought about Eco-Complete?

6) Fish: Just some thoughts: Rams - Why only one? Also, if you don't have it yet then wait until the tank is way settled (up to 6 months). Pygmy Cories - aren't they NOT bottom dwellers? I believe to remember that this species is active all over the tank, unlike most "normal" sized cories. Harlies: Nice, but maybe too many. Start with a school of 8 to 10 (stock 6 first, then add 2 or 4 later) and see how full the tank gets. My personal experience with their cousins is that, if the tank is too full, they are not schooling that well anymore as there are fish all over the place.

7) Plants: As discussed many times over, just refer to my earlier comments

8) Misc. : About ferts, peruse the various threads (like tetratech's and mine and many other "shorter" ones talking about macros, micros, specific brands, schedules, and what not), it is simply too much to explain the whole thing in one entry.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

With 2) Hood - yes I do mean the glass portion, but we have already talked about this.

With 4) Driftwood - I know I wont get those exact pieces, but like the branchy look. I would redo gravel first then add the driftwood and plant my tank depending on how the driftwood looks. It will involve more creativity to set up the tank and make it more fun that way.

With 5) Gravel - Do I have to have substrate fertilizer or not??? Could you tell me more about the laterite and Eco-Complete??? I would rather not mess with all of this and just have the gravel. With plant fertilizer wont that make up for the substrate fertilizer??? I would like to go the easiest way and not have a tank get messed up like all the ones I have read about. I would like to keep it as simple as possible.

With 6) Fish - I was going with one Ram as a centerpiece fish kind of. Again sticking to the safe track with getting 2 and having them have territorial problems. From the Pygmy Cories I say at my LFS they were all sitting on the bottom of the tank.

I think I covered all of it for now.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Kayla,

From the Pygmy Cories I say at my LFS they were all sitting on the bottom of the tank

From my limited experience:

- Cories are active fish. If they "sit" at the bottom of the tank then they are most likely intimidated by the other fish in the tank or still stressed from the shipping, or sick, or a combination of the above. I am sure that, if I ever purchase Cories, I will not buy the sitting ducks but the ones that are actively swimming around.

- There are, if I remember that right, 3 kinds of small cories. Only one of them is a true bottom dweller (like the larger ones), the others are midwater fish. And I believe that the ones sold as Pygmy Cories are not that one, but maybe I am wrong. It would in any case be worthwile to peruse the web and learn more about them.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I didnt mean sitting on the bottom not moving, but swimming around on the bottom or relaxing on the bottom like my Bandit Cories do when they are not looking for food. But I didnt watch them too long so from what I saw that is what they were doing. I will try to surf the web when I get a chance this week.

I found this site on Pygmy Cories: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_pygmaeus.php

For the Driftwood: What if I did this:
1) http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F46DA/Class/Aquarium+Ornaments+Driftwood+Natural/T1/F46DA+0122+0007/EDP/1273/Itemdy00.aspx
and this 2) http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F46DA/Class/Aquarium+Ornaments+Driftwood+Natural/T1/F46DA+0122+0005/EDP/1266/Itemdy00.aspx

The one piece(1) is bigger and one is from my last decision/post. You said that since they were smaller they might be covered up quickly.

Plant Stock List:
1. Cabomba caroliniana
2. Ludwigia repens
3. Cryptocoryne beckettii
4. Echinodorus quadricostatus
5. Cryptocoryne willisii
6. Echinodorus tenellus

Would it look better if I did just the Cabomba caroliniana in the back or would that look funny??? That way I get rid of using the Ludwigia which has the pink hue to it which will make the Cryptocoryne beckettii look nice all by itself with the darker brown/green color it has.

Will the Blue Ram be fine then by itself??? From what I have read it will.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Kayla,

I guess the discussion if it is a bottom dweller or not is not really important, but I would like to show you This Link (look under Other Comments) to counter yours . In addition, I found another description that states the same - including a nice picture of a school in mid level), and a forum with a rather strong statement by one member pointing out that it is not a bottom dweller. I can provide you both links, but you would have to be able to read German. Anyway, it is not all that important

About the wood, yeah the height seems to be better, but this made it also chunkier. In general, I favor pre-soaked wood as it leaks less tannins. If you have tho option of getting wood at the LFS then you should investigate. Remember, sites always show the most favorable of the possible pieces.

About the plants, sure you can go with less species, you can always add more later if you dont like it. I had Cabomba a long time ago in my 29G and it was ok, but I prefered Ambulia over it, nicer leaf structure.

I assume one Ram would be fine, just as one human is fine. But don't we all strive for a little love ?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Do I have to have substrate fertilizer or not??? Could you tell me more about the laterite and Eco-Complete??? I would rather not mess with all of this and just have the gravel. With plant fertilizer wont that make up for the substrate fertilizer??? I would like to go the easiest way and not have a tank get messed up like all the ones I have read about. I would like to keep it as simple as possible.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Laterite is an iron-rich sustance that is mixed into the bottom third of the gravel to allow plant roots to receive nutrients directly. Eco Complete is a substrate that basically has nutrients mixed into it already (and looks nice). Any plant that is almost exclusively feeding from the substrate would need some ferts in it. Some provide these ferts via plant sticks that they stick close to the roots into the substrate.

Most people are convinced that most plants can get by with fertilizers that they receive through the water column though, and as such you could use plain gravel as a base. Of course you have to make sure that you provide nutrients to the water on a frequent and proper (right amount of specific nutrient) base.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

So basically I dont have to use any of the Eco-Complete or subsrate fertilizer, but have to use fertilizers like the Seachem products to provide plants with nutrients. I can just get by with the plain gravel, right???

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Right Kayla

Just make sure that you understand how to use these products for the water column, which ones you nees, and how often you have to add them.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

You are refering to the fertilizers, right???

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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So anyway, I haven't been on forever but my dream to do live plants is still strong and I have started to put my plan into motion.

In August of 2007 I switched the gravel from the colored stuff to a more natural colored one. Note: I will try to get pictures up someday for ppl to view.

I recently within the last week recieved my order of 2 pieces of driftwood from That Pet Place which I didn't know what they were going to look like until I got them in mail. Didn't mind not knowing becuase it made it fun getting a challenge to work with what I was given and make it work in my design for my aquarium which I haven't done yet.

I also just recieved my new Coralife Freshwater Aqualight that is 24" long and also bought a new glass hood for my aquarium to accomodate the light fixture.

I just have to order plants now and decide when to do that.

I am planning on doing:
o Egeria densa
o Cryptocoryne beckettii
o Echinodorus quadricostatus
o Ludwigia repens
o Vallisneria americana

Any suggestions or comments on this choice???

The fish I plan to get are:
o 2 Blue Rams (pair)
o 5 Panda Corydoras
o 11 Harlequin Rasoboras

So any comments, suggestions, ideas or criticism is happily accepted.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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on the driftwood that i ordered there are screws on the bottom attaching a piece of slate to it. will this eventually rust and harm the fish???

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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No, it will not. My driftwood also has screws in the bottom. I think it is stainless steel, but either way, it's safe to put in the aquarium.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Thanks because I wasn't sure.

Does anyone have any comments on my plant choices???

How should I go about creating a map layout of where to put plants??? Is there any kind of guidelines to how I should arrange plants besides by height?

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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I am planning on doing:
o Egeria densa
o Cryptocoryne beckettii
o Echinodorus quadricostatus
o Ludwigia repens
o Vallisneria americana

I think you have a pretty good list there.

I see that you have a new light coming. How many watts will you be running on your 20G?

I think that most of the plants you plan on having should be fairly easy to grow. If you decide to use Flourish Excel as your carbon source you might run into some problems with your vals, crypts, and densa. I have melted my share of them using Excel.



55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

kayla, if you really want to get a good nutrient rich substrate try "Baylees Better Bottom" its sold via aquabid and is pretty cheap at arround a dollar a pound (shipping is "free" look into it... if you do that then you can keep the other plants fine and not need to harm your plants with strong ferts...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

I think the new light runs about 3 wpg but it will be on legs so it won't be directly on top of the tank. That way some light will escape.

I was planning on using some kind of fertilizer.

Thanks for the suggestion, brandeeno, but I just have plain gravel because I didn't want to put up with the substrate. Good for future reference I guess if I ever want to try it.

As for fertilizers, is there any that anyone knows of that won't cause the vals, crypts and densa to melt? Or has anyone had any success with Flourish Excel?

Help is appreciated.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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my tetra flora pride never made my crypts melt!

but never been much into vals and never kept densa...

hope that helps a bit...

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"