FishProfiles.com Message Forums

	Planting a 20gal long (1rst time w/live plants)
girlunderrainbow Big Fish Posts: 323 Kudos: 230 Votes: 0 Registered: 22-Aug-2003	The tank is established but empty of fish at the moment. Has sand and living substrate. 20 gal lone. 55watt bulb. I bought a Cabomba to start with.. Any suggestions?
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
greenfootball Fish Addict Posts: 613 Kudos: 360 Votes: 0 Registered: 23-Jul-2001	whats living substrate? not sure what that is, but anyways... 55 watts of fluorescent right? cabomba with that setup probably wont grow much since they need high light, more like 70 watts with your tank. try some low-mid light plants www.plantgeek.com have a lot of that kinda info. good luck
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
girlunderrainbow Big Fish Posts: 323 Kudos: 230 Votes: 0 Registered: 22-Aug-2003	I can't remember what it's called..but it's small gravel and fine sand that came in a bag, wet,with bacteria etc already.. I thought 55 watts for a 20 gal tank was good? It's VERY bright . I was told 2wpg was min..and this is more than that.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
greenfootball Fish Addict Posts: 613 Kudos: 360 Votes: 0 Registered: 23-Jul-2001	i have 3.25 wpg, and i have cabomba in there, they dont look exactly healthy, the tips are kinda pink/red i dont know if thats good. if you think your 2.75 wpg is bright, you should hear some of our plant experts, they have tanks go up to 6-7 wpg, now thats BRIGHT with bacteria already... like the bateria for cycling? or for plants?
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
poisonwaffle Mega Fish Posts: 1397 Kudos: 591 Registered: 11-Feb-2003	<--- has a tank with 6 wpg, another with 7.5 wpg, another with 3 wpg, and another with 0.6 wpg....I have a lot of light I you want to grow cabomba succesfully try more light
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
greenfootball Fish Addict Posts: 613 Kudos: 360 Votes: 0 Registered: 23-Jul-2001	see, i told you, there are people out there that are just crazy about high lights... which i envy... cuz i want one of those dutch aquarium looking thing in mah room so yeah, if my cabomba in 3.25 isnt doing well, then you prob wanna shoot for 4 or 5
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
poisonwaffle Mega Fish Posts: 1397 Kudos: 591 Registered: 11-Feb-2003	My Cabomba grew like crazy in my 6wpg tank...but now it's in my 0.6 wpg tank and still doing good (all of my plants in there are growing at 3X their usual rate...it's weird...
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
greenfootball Fish Addict Posts: 613 Kudos: 360 Votes: 0 Registered: 23-Jul-2001	my cabomba look red on its tips, and my pleco keeps swim around and knock them around, so in the morning i always find them unrooted. i really need to trade my pleco. well, at least now the cabomba doesnt die right away like it was in my .6 wpg tank.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
Rosko_22 Hobbyist Posts: 86 Kudos: 78 Votes: 0 Registered: 01-Jun-2004	Even with your 2.75 wpg, I'd stick to mostly lower light plants, and some hardy/fast growing medium light plants. I'd suggest java fern, crypts, bacopa, hygro polysperma, hornwort, and limnophila sessiliflora, just to name a few. Have you checked this site? http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_cat.php?category=1 Go through the low, med low, and medium listings, you'll probably be able to keep most of those plants.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
girlunderrainbow Big Fish Posts: 323 Kudos: 230 Votes: 0 Registered: 22-Aug-2003	PLUS, with it being a 20 gal long..it's really shallow. My tank was already cycled in the first place, the living substrate I got was for the plants.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
Falstaf Fish Addict Posts: 785 Kudos: 1211 Votes: 196 Registered: 12-Feb-2004	greenfootball, There are 3 kinds of cavomba, yellow, green and magenta or red, it the tips are turning kind of red that means you have Magenta cabomba, which is a good sign it it's turning red, you shouldn't worry. girlunderrainbow, same thing if you have green cabomba it's going to be fine with your lights, it won't be lush, but it will survive and steel look nice, probably it will develop longer spaces between leaves.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
vic Enthusiast Posts: 213 Kudos: 228 Votes: 288 Registered: 16-Mar-2004	girlunderrainbow, You do understand that an Established Cycled tank, needs a steady source of ammonia to continue to stay cycled?? Just making sure, since you said that your tank was Fishless at the moment, but cycled....Depending on the time frame of your tank being fishless, you will need to restart your cycle process when your ready to add fish....
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42
girlunderrainbow Big Fish Posts: 323 Kudos: 230 Votes: 0 Registered: 22-Aug-2003	Yes I know that, I've had this tank for a few years with various things in it.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:42


	Jump to:

The views expressed on this page are the implied opinions of their respective authors.
Under no circumstances do the comments on this page represent the opinions of the staff of FishProfiles.com.

FishProfiles.com Forums, version 11.0
Mazeguy Smilies