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i've kept a few 'easy' plants before, but i'm inteading to do a heavily planted tank - and on a budget.

1) substate will be mix of flourite and river gravel. ok?

tank will prob have 1.25 to 1.5wpg when setup i will get more to take it to 2wpg but thats all i can afford at most.

plants want.
vallineria - corkscrew, bivaensis and giant
lilaeopsis maclovian
aponogeton cripus
crinum natons
echinodorus x berthii
cryts - becketii, wendtii and undulata broad leaf.
sagittaria subulata
hydrocotyle levcocephala
hemianthus callitrichoides

spelling??

will these plants be ok in my setup.

filter ether 700lph or 1200lph

gravel vacs - at momment i do two vacs a week and i remove a lot of waste, leafs etc.

how can this be done with out damaging roots and the leaves etc of plants?

cheers shekoi

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Hi,
Personally, were I you, I would stick to Low Light Demand
Plants only. Many of the plants you have listed are
actually medium to high demand plants. Look at some of
the web sites for plant sales. Such as Arizona Gardens,
Tropica, etc. Scour them for low light plants and then
either purchase them as a package, or write down their
names and then purchase them locally as you can afford
them.

Don't try to fill in the tank with plants right off. Get
some and plant them in a pleasing arrangement and then
leave things alone for a couple of months as the new plants
acclimate and begin to grow in.

When you vacuum the gravel, do it only in the non planted
parts of the tank. Don't vacuum the gravel where the plants
are rooted. Instead, swirl your hand or the suction end
of the Python over the plants and that will bring any
loose debris up into the water where it can be siphoned
off. Don't vacuum the entire tank at one time. That will
destroy much of the bacteria that live in the upper reaches
of the gravel and change the fish wastes into nitrates.
Instead, mentally divide the tank into sections and vacuum
a section at a time. Generally we divide the tank into
either quarters or thirds, and do one section each month.

As far as mixing the Flourite and Gravel is concerned,
100% Flourite is THE best. However, as you hint, it is
also expensive. Personally, I would continue to save and
scrimp and then use straight flourite. I think that in the
end, the results will be worth it.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 14-Dec-2005 18:04

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank, is that for all tanks, or only the big ones? I mean only gravel vac'ing part of the tank at a time. No-one has mentioned that to me before. Could this be why my tank seems to have gone through a few mini-cycles and the plants don't grow as quickly? Aside from being low-light anyway.Glad I read this thread, I always thought I had to get as much gunk out as possible in one shot!

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

Frank has given you some excellent advice. Also buying what you can afford now and upgrading later is the most expensive way to go two outlays rather than one good quality unit and materials that will work straight away.

I also suggest you some good research on the plants before you buy them and where you are going to plant them. Remember some plants a very slow growers and some can be very big in the near future.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop &amp; Placidity 5ft Community Tanks]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Hi Luv,
Yes it really applies to all tanks, weather planted or not.
There are two main reservoirs of bacteria that process
the fish waste. One is the filter media, the main one is
the gravel (substrate) in the tank. The third and a minor
one, is the inside surfaces such as the glass sides.

Each time you do a major vacuuming, you reduce the bacteria
colonies and can effect a mini cycle if you do enough
"damage."
Plants get their nutrients from the water and from
the substrate. When you vacuum the substrate
you are removing nutrients and that can hinder plant
growth.

Hope this helps...
Frank




Last edited by FRANK at 14-Dec-2005 23:55

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

very helpfull thanks.

i'll look over the plants again, i had picked some low light, then just got carried away with ones i liked.

ok for the substrate how much flourite do i need depth etc
tank bottom is 40" x 18" so 720 square inches



cheers shekoi

edit - just found site i'm buying from they say about 3 bags of flourite should be ok for my tank. i also notice a different product -first one on this page
http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/Z477182.asp
what do you think of it. or should i just go for 3 bags flourite.

cheers shekoi

any suggestions on low light easy plants?
Edit 2 - just been lfs and seen they have a eco complete which ia alive i mean it contains bacteria?

so should i have all flourite?
all eco - complete live
or mix them both so get some bacteria in and flourite?

cheers again

Last edited by shekoi at 15-Dec-2005 05:45

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

Hi,
I've not read anything scientific about mixing the various
plant friendly substrates such as Flourite and EcoComplete.
Because of the differences of the materials, I probably
would not do it. I believe I have read that
EcoComplete and some of the others are not "permanent"
substrates in that they can loose their nutirents over
a prolonged time which makes the addition of fertilizers
a requirement. I believe I read something about Amano
having to replace substrates in his tanks rather than
reusing them.

Flourite however, is an ancient, iron rich, clay and will
continuously release iron to the plants and is a
"permanent" substrate.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--