FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Kristin,

You should take a look at their new website located Here.

This place is currently my favorite for ordering plants online. Very friendly, they called me because one plant I ordered was out of stock. Orders are always in good shape and plant size is good as well. This is also the place where I got my CO2 Regulator. Which reminds me - Melissa - didn't I link you to that one already?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I think so....I looked at the CO2 accessories and I think I understan a little better. Do these things come with a diagram on how to set them up? I need detailed instructions with pics. If I hadn't had that with my cannister I never would have got it set-up!!!

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Melissa,

The instructions where not all that great, but I followed them carefully and it turned out just fine.

And don't forget your friends at FP, we will be able to guide you through it, in particular if you get the same unit than the one we have as we can even show you some pictures.

Overall - it is easier to set up than one would anticipate.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo, I have in fact checked out their new site. I ordered from the old one though. They had some differences between the sites on what was in or out of stock...I emailed the guy and he said the old site was a little more accurate....so that's why I ordered from there. I am going to make them my primary plant place. They have a good selection.

*Kristin*

I haven't read throught all the post but I am running with the Dr. F&S stuff. I am not a big fan of the bubble counter but it seems to work with my set up.

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

What is the drawback of that particular bubble counter? Is it as Ingo mentioned that you have to find somewhere to put it?

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

It comes with suction cups but they don't work worth a crap. I made my own stand for the tank so I just screwed it onto that.

One like LF's would be much nicer.

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

I see...can you replace it after the fact? Like if you order that set-up and hate the bubble counter, can you remove and replace it with a better one? Just wondering.

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

The way that the Dr. F&S's is set up I think it would be hard to hook a bubble counter right to it. This is because the needle valve comes off the bottem are a right angle.

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

Oh by the way the brand for the Dr's is Azoo

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

What brand is the regulator?

This all seems like Greek to me....maybe because I've only seen pictures....I've never seen CO2 set-up in person. Would someone post pics of what it looks like all set up with little arrows pointing to all the parts???

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

If Wings is right, then This Is The Regulator Brand (page loads slow).

And if nobody shows you pictures of their setup by the weekend then I will

WITH ARROWS

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Oh Ingo, you're such a sweetie!!!

Is that a decent regulator?

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Oh Ingo, you're such a sweetie!!!

I don't know if this one is decent, it is the one from the Dr Smith & Wesson () site.

I still would assume that you are better off with the one we suggested (the one tetratech and I have, and Wings agrees upon).

There is off course another point that you have to keep in mind - find out about:

Where are you planning to put the bottle and how much height is available in that spot? The last thing you want is to get the equiment and then find out if it is too tall.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Oh yeah, good point. I'll measure the dimensions of the cabinet in the tank stand when I get hom and perhaps you can tell me if the thing will fit. I already have my cannister in one side. Perhaps I could scooch it over a shade and put the CO2 bottle next to it....probably not tall enough in there. I'll post dimensions later.

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I still would assume that you are better off with the one we suggested (the one tetratech and I have, and Wings agrees upon).

LF,
Putting words into my mouth are you?? Well I guess its ok this time. The Azoo works but I am sure that the LF-tetra product is better.

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

but I am sure that the LF-tetra product is better

I anticipated your answer, Wings

Melissa - below is the promised photo of the whole CO2 setup. As you can see, there is not too much to it.

On the left you can see the stuff that is hidden in the cabinet. All is in one piece only, an advantage of the unit I have. Somewhere in this mix is also the check valve, but it is not visible as it is built-in.

On the right you see the only thing that is in the tank, the diffuser.

And that is it, nothing more. Except if you need me to take a picture of the timer for light and CO2 .

Ingo

Attached Image:

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Nice work on the picture LF! We need to put stuff up like that in a artile for people.

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

Those are great pics guys and very informative....I'm with wings, they would be great for an article.

I'm doing some plant research and I'm thinking I'm going to start off with tons of stem plants like: Foxtail, Hygro, Ludwigia, Moneywort, Wisteria, and Water Sprite. I got a hold of this article: http://rexgrigg.com/./cycle.htm and these are recommended for cycling a plant tank without cycling it (does this makes sense??? )

Then, later, I can plan the rest of my 'scape around that. Would that work?

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

where did my post go?

well, here it is again i guess. this is a reactor with a bubble counter attached to the side of it

co2.jpg" border="0">

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

where did my post go?

Yeah, I guess a few things were/are a little off today

Anyway, Melissa and I had a short discussion in Chat regarding if she would need CO2 or not. From my research, it seems that she has a strip that has 2x65W in line over 48", which brings her to somewhere around 2.35wpg. It appears that all lights are either on or off, having only one power cord. Even if it could be stagged, then half the tank would have no light while the other does, not a good solution.

I personally think the tank may be doing better with CO2, but it should be managable without. Maybe by adding bi-daily shots of Excel.

What does the rest of the gang think?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

here's a pic of my set-up with the lights up and running. Please excuse the crappy looking background....it's just a black sheet back there to cut reflection until I can decide what I want. Any comments so far??

Attached Image:

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I personally think the tank may be doing better with CO2, but it should be managable without. Maybe by adding bi-daily shots of Excel.

CO2 would help a ton! but if you don't use it I would go with daily shots of Excel. You can't go wrong with the stuff.

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

My plan is to use the Excel only until I can save the bucks for the CO2 set-up. It should only be a couple of weeks. Man, all this is LOL

*off topic**
Here's a pic of that plant that doesn't want to start a new thread, can amyone confirm that this is Hygro?

Attached Image:

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Melissa,

Yup, looks like a Giant Hygro to me, but I think Wings was the first to confirm in your original thread for it.

Hey, the light unit looks slick on the tank . What I like about this set-up is that you can move the unit backwards, remove the glass tops, and do some maintenance in the tank while seeing what is going on in there. If I am not mistaken then your tank is only 12" deep, right? That may make it a little narrow for full fledged planting in the back and such under light, but even on my 29G I apppreaciate the light while having my hand in the tank to remove a dead leaf and such.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo, i can't remember right off hand how deep it is....12" might be right. Dang me, I'll measure on my lunch break. Wait, on that so you mean front to back or top to bottom???

The light assembly worked out pretty darn well, if I do say so myself. I'm now plant shopping and I'm going to the LFS soon for some driftwood. This is a blank slate right now so any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for the ID on the plant both Ingo and Wings....that's what I thought it was, but I wanted to make sure. I might put that in the 55 if it gets too big.

Anyway, as for the CO2...the point is moot right now because there is nada in there. I will only do Excel in the very short term and I will get a CO2 set up in the next month or two.....I will save money like there is no tomorrow. I promise.

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Melissa,

Tips on the driftwood:

- Should be pre-soaked, if possible, so it stays down by itself and leaches less tannins (you will have some tea for a few weeks though)
- I prefer skinnier pieces that you could arrange rather than one big chunk of wood that takes up a lot of real estate.
- I usually go to the LFS and play with the driftwood. I pull out a few pieces that seem nice, arrange them on the floor, check how they look from a different angle, and most of the time end up putting them back in the bin .
- If you get branches (or skinny main pieces), make sure to get some small rocks to arrange around them. This way they will stay in place.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Here is a link to my thread. I just posted some pictures of my tank and som pictures of the Giant Hygro I had to trim. Just to give you an idea of what this plant can turn into.

Wings Thread


Also with the CO2 stuff. I have only been running real CO2 for a couple of months now. Before I was doing DIY CO2 with Excel. You can get by with out the real CO2 but once you have it your plants are going to take off.

Here is a link to the page I keep my pictures on.
Sometime between part iv and v is when I got the real deal for the CO2.

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

Ingo, the LFS where I get my driftwood carries only a really heavy kind that needs no soaking. I bought two smaller chunks for my 29 and put them in a bucket to check and they sunk immediately...no worries there, also, I welcome the tannins. Since I'm setting up an Amazon type tank I want them, I'm more than likely going to be filtering over peat pellets to get more. I'm not hoping for a big pH shift or anything, just a nice, natural "blackwater" effect in my tank. Good tips about the sizes to look for and trying the arrangements out in store first...I wouldn't have thought of that...I probably would have just bought a huge chunk that took up a lot of real estate. I would, however, love to have a pic of you sitting in the floor of the LFS playing "Lincoln Logs" with the driftwood....I might even pay money for such a pic!!

Wings, your tank look really awesome. It's def. incentive to invest in the pressurized CO2 set-up. I could have already if all sorts of crap hadn't come up and took a bite outta my wallet! The Hygro looks like a monster! Good thing my 29 is 18" tall. I guess I'll still have to trim that thing when it get taller. How would one go about trimming Hygro?

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

How would one go about trimming Hygro?

Two ways of going about it.
1. If you want tall thin stems just pull up and trim the bottems down and replant the tops.
2. If you want it to get bushy then trim the tops. When you do it this way you can replant the tops to start new stems.

The picture of the hygro pulled out shows the two different ways. On the far left is the bushy stuff, the right is the thin stuff. I have a tank full of the little tops that I have been trimming off.

Best of luck and thanks for you complement!

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

Thanks for the tips. It's not out of hand yet, but those are great options for if it gets too big.

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Okay, here's a moderate plant list of stuff that I like, I'm getting ready to order shortly so let me know what y'all think:

A few different anubias, several types of Crypts (there are so many and I might order a couple of each) Wisteria, Giant Hygro, Red Ludwigia, Dwarf Sagittaria, Mayaca, Bacopa Carolina, a few banana plants.....I'm going to try some Water Sprite in here. My stupid water sprite is doing terrible in my 29, but I don't know if it's the fish or the light. I would also like to give Corkscrew Vallisneria ashot in this tank....it never worked out too well in my 29.

How's this list so far? Feedback? Gripes?

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

My stupid water sprite is doing terrible in my 29, but I don't know if it's the fish or the light

I have the same problem with wisteria in all 3 of my tanks. I don't know if I've moved mine around too much or what. I'm about to rip it out and replace it with something else. It was growing great a few months ago in all the tanks. Now it looks bad.

Your plant list looks fine to me, but I'm no expert. Some of the others might say you have "plant salad" with so many different types, but thats the way I like mine. I have a bunch of different stem plants in my tanks, but I like it.

The Ludwigia actually didn't do very well in my 55g. It was growing extremely slow. I don't know if it wasn't getting enough light or what. It grows fine in my 29g. Just try to put it somewhere that is open, with nothing shading it. Maybe you will have better luck.

Corkscrew Vals didn't work in my 55g, but they worked in my 29g. Strange. I think maybe the 55g is too tall and light couldn't reach it good. Mine just died in the 55g.

I prefer E. tennellus instead of the dwarf sag because it grows wider. It seems to fill in space quicker. It depends on where you get it as to how it will do. I just got another batch a few weeks ago and it was grown emersed. I got it from AquariumPlants.com. It takes a little while for the emersed leaves to fall off and grow the new submerged leaves. Thats the only problem I have with that plant. I actually like the light green color of the tennellus better than dwarf sag.

I guess that's the only advice I have./:'

*Kristin*

Melissa,

Kristin gave you good advice

From the bottom up, and then in no particular order ():

I am with Kristin on the tenellus over the sags, but for an entire different reason. In my tank (the big one) sags mostly grew runners in the substrate, and my tenellus (in all tanks) above the substrate. When thinning out these plants you may make a small mess when pulling on an obviously "single" sag and a whole chain of hidden children are pulled out as well, connected via the runner. On Tenellus, I see the runners and can sever them before removing a plant.

Anubias and crypts: I would suggest to add the crypts a little later, maybe get one up-front for visual pleasings . These plants grow slow and tend to melt first after being moved. Your goal initially should be to get the tank settled asap. For that reason you should have plants that grow faster. This last point is also why I would say that you should limit the number of Anubias in the beginning (although they are very pretty).

"a few banana plants" - why?

Corkscrew Vals will be ok, but I grew tired of them in my big tank in no time. But that may be just me .

Water Sprite, I have only tried it in my big tank, and there it took off like mad, just check the first few pages of my log to see the growth progress over the first few weeks. Ok, I have way more light and CO2 and maybe that is why it grew so well.

Kristin - Yeah, Ludwigia does not like to be shaded. I have Narrow Leaf Ludwigia in my big tank and it grew to some big bush, but I almost lost it completely when my 30" long Crypt retrospiralis leaves where shading it.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Great tip on the Tenellus vs. the Sag. I never thought about it, but that's what my sag. looks like in my 29....I can see a bunch of young 'uns under the substrate (the part up against the glass). Yes, I will change that plan. I will a lso appreciate it filling in quicker like Kristin mentioned.

I will order the anubias and the crypts leter as fill ins depending on where I need fill ins later. I might even be able to save some cash a take some from 29 because some of them in there need some serious thinning.

I just like the banana plant!! I got one free with a plant order I made for my 29 a while back and I think it's cute. It's doing really well in my 29.

I 've never has a chance to get tired of Corkscrew Vals....they did okay for a while in my 29 and then, they would just dissappear. Not sure what the problem was, but I may give them a try here....it's going to be a different world with the kind of light I have on my 55 vs. my 29. I can't wait. /:'

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I got one free with a plant order I made for my 29 a while back

Did it come with a monkey



No seriously, of course you can add whatever you want and it doesn't look too bad either, just not a plant I would add to my tank.

One interesting thing that may or may not apply to you. From all the plants that I initially ordered for my 125G, and these were a lot, I only have a few left. Most were replaced either because they died, became full of algae, did their job and could retire (like the Water Sprite), or because I grew tired of them. To sum it up, initially all my plants where the ones that everybody adds, not I am a little more selective.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

i will say that if you do co2 and have crypt wendtii that they will grow pretty quick once they establish themselves. my old setup in my 50g was *covered* in crypts all over the place. you'll go from a nice little bundle of crypts to a gargantuan jungle of crypts in about a month, especially with co2 pumped in.

---

"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Crypts + CO2 + good light + good sub = lots of growth.

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

My crypts are doing awesome in my 29....even the red ones. I'm def. going to get some for this tank. I have 2.5 inches of Eco complete and I'm just going to throw some plain gravel on top of it to bring the depth up to 3 inches.

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Crypts + CO2 + good light + good sub = lots of growth

Nice equation, but one item is missing:

Crypts + CO2 + good light + good sub + Don't move them! = lots of growth

Somehow, in none of my tanks, crypts have ever done too well. High light - low light - anything in between - CO2 - no CO2 - it never worked for me like moondog and Wings described it. Even if I don't move them for months. One reason may be that I used to have only small plants to begin with. Just recently did I purchase a red and a green mother plant. These seem to establish themselves ok, even after the initial melt-down. The green one even has a baby .

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club