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Hi
Just wondering if i could get some stocking numbers for my 250ltr planted tank? how many cms of fish can i put in there? Also i read somewhere that plants are happiest with nitrates in the water, anyone know the amount? this will obviously have an affect on the fish right? am i still going to be able to have Tetras in my tank as well as nitrates to keep my plants happy?? im to scared to put any fish in my tank!

The target range for nitrate sin the planted tank is around
20ppm I believe. 250L is around 66G I believe. As for
actual stocking number it is entirely dependent on the type of
fish you want. angels and other large bodied fish require
more room than streamlined tetras. If you could tell us What
fish you have in mind we can then help you come up with a
feasible number.

HTH,
Megil.

loulou,

In addition to Megil's statement, plants are not the happiest with nitrates in the water alone, you will need other fertilizers as well.

If the only thing available to plants are nitrates then they will not utilize them as much as they would if they get "a healthy balance" of nutrients.

20ppm is usually considered an upper limit that fish can handle without any long term damage.

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hi,
10 ppm, is the generally recognized "target" for nitrate
in a planted tank. In a fish only tank, 0-5 is fine.

Frank


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

As for nitrates, if you have some fish in the tank, they will produce all the nitrates your plants will need. As stated, 10 is the best goal. And 20ppm is the upper level of fish health quality. A tank with fish in it should never be higher than 20ppm nitrates. Though fish can tolerate higher levels, some as high as 60ppm or more, it is not healthy for them.

As stated already, give us an idea of what you are looking at keeping, in regards to both plants and fish.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

hi
sorry i was so brief, i didnt really expect so many posts!
ok tank has just finished fishless cycle.
ph 7.6
ammo 0
nitri 0
nitrate 10
kh 11!!
kh has gone from 8 to 11 in last few weeks? why is this happening? this is first time ive bought a KH test kit so maybe this is normal??
Tank has CO2 setup, taking PH from 8 to 7.6 but this is at only 2 bubbles per second so ive increased it to lower ph to 7.0.
the fish i have in mind are
Ottos x5
Bleeding Hearts x10
Glowlights x10
Cardinals x10
Rummynose Tetras x10
im only having Ottos as bottom dwellers so would like a school of approx 5, there not cheap at $10 aust each. then thought seen as my tank has cycled, im not going to be adding my fish to high levels of nasties so thought the Bleeding Heart Tetras first? Im presuming the amount of bacteria in my filter ect will be small as i havent added the high levels of Ammonia. But thats ok as id rather add fish SLOWWLY and let the bacteria build up that way, im in no hurry. i just want to take it easy and avoid overdoing things too quick. should i only add say 3 Bleeding hearts at first or would it be safe to add say 5? i dont want to send ammonia up. then im thinking i just keep a close eye on water tests and increase numbers gradually. these are fish choices i have always wanted! i also wanted Glass Catfish and Blind Cavefish but thought they grow too big and would mean i would have to reduce Tetras.
Will the Rummynoses be ok with Nitrates up to 10?
Regarding plant ferts, yes i have got Sera Florena but have only added it once when i set tank up (approx 4 weeks ago) as i read that levels in a cycling tank meant there was enough with just CO2 to keep them going for a while? when should i add fert?
Lighting is only 66watts consisting of
Growlux 18watt
Power Glo 20 watt (1800k)
Aqua Relle 18 watt (10000k)
since adding the Aqua Relle i have a small outbrake of green algae in my front glass and on some of the gravel. should i change anything im doing or wil this just happen normally? Lights are on 12hrs (all of them at once)
Sorry so many questions! im just a bit confused thats all

forgot to mention CO2 was being turned off at night but with KH 11 its bouncing up slightly (just short of 8) so going from 7.6 to 8 however because i want to drop ph to 7 to better suit some of the Tetras would it be better to leave CO2 going 24/7?? or would i then have probs with not enough oxygen at night for fish my god, my pony is not this hard to care for!!!! i know fish arnt easy but wow my head hurts

could somebody please help out, i was hoping to be able to put some fish in tomorrow id just like some answers and reasurance first. will i need to do a water change before adding fish? i will let some water sit overnight tonight just in case.
thankyou in advance for any info

kh has gone from 8 to 11 in last few weeks? why is this happening? this is first time ive bought a KH test kit so maybe this is normal??

In many cases, yes this could be normal. What kind of substrate do you have, and what kind of rocks (if any) do you have. If either of these is calcium or limestone based, then the added CO2 will cause them to disipate into the water quicker, causing the increase in hardness.

Tank has CO2 setup, taking PH from 8 to 7.6 but this is at only 2 bubbles per second so ive increased it to lower ph to 7.0.

I see you state you are doing this for the fish that you will be keeping. Just some advice here; acclimate them for a long time, with adding small amounts of the tank water to the bag every 15-30 mins. As most of the fish you will be getting, will be coming from your lfs, and your lfs probably has them in water parameters that are straight from the tap. And probably (if in the same city) have the same tap water as you have.

the fish i have in mind are
Ottos x5
Bleeding Hearts x10
Glowlights x10
Cardinals x10
Rummynose Tetras x10

You will have plenty of room for all these fish, and more if you want. As for the ottos, I would either get more of them, or personally I would also get a good pleco for algae control. This is a small number of ottos for the size tank you have. If you are only going to stick with ottos, I would go with several times that many. IMO, a better bet, would be a bushynose pleco. The albinos look good in planted tanks, and you will be able to see them more than the standards. You could even add a pair of them to your size tank, and even with the ottos. They will not harm any of your fish you have listed.

seen as my tank has cycled, im not going to be adding my fish to high levels of nasties so thought the Bleeding Heart Tetras first? Im presuming the amount of bacteria in my filter ect will be small as i havent added the high levels of Ammonia. But thats ok as id rather add fish SLOWWLY and let the bacteria build up that way, im in no hurry. i just want to take it easy and avoid overdoing things too quick. should i only add say 3 Bleeding hearts at first or would it be safe to add say 5? i dont want to send ammonia up.

Good idea always, to take things slow. As for your situation though, the small fish you are thinking about, you could add all 10 bleeding hearts at the same time. They would not have hardly any impact on the cycle (if it is completed) you have completed. Even if you used a small amount of ammonia, then 10 bleeding hearts is probably a close match to the amount you added. Then, if it were me, I would watch my water parameters over the next week or two, and then add my next whole group. The groups you have listed, are all small in comparison to the size of your tank, and what will be your total beneficial bactrial colonies. They will be able to handle the increased bioload, and very quickly grow to match it.

then im thinking i just keep a close eye on water tests and increase numbers gradually. these are fish choices i have always wanted! i also wanted Glass Catfish and Blind Cavefish but thought they grow too big and would mean i would have to reduce Tetras.

With your set up, especially since inducting CO2, I would check my levels weekly, even after the tank is set up completely and running along nicely. Slight changes in your CO2 levels could cause drastic changes down the road. And the CO2 levels will be changing as your plants grow and require more, and as the mechanical parts grow older.

Will the Rummynoses be ok with Nitrates up to 10?

I see no problems with them and nitrates at that level. They will be fine.

Regarding plant ferts, yes i have got Sera Florena but have only added it once when i set tank up (approx 4 weeks ago) as i read that levels in a cycling tank meant there was enough with just CO2 to keep them going for a while? when should i add fert?

You should add the ferts as directions tell you. Usually about 1-2 times per week. I would be adding them now.

Lighting is only 66watts consisting of
Growlux 18watt
Power Glo 20 watt (1800k)
Aqua Relle 18 watt (10000k)
since adding the Aqua Relle i have a small outbrake of green algae in my front glass and on some of the gravel. should i change anything im doing or wil this just happen normally? Lights are on 12hrs (all of them at once)

IMO, you should probably add more lighting. I would probably double what you have now. As you have about 1watt/gal. Only low light plants will even grow in this environment. What are the measurements of your tank? I would think you could place larger wattage bulbs over it. As for the algae, this is normal. But, it is happening because your other plants are not uptaking the nitrates as good as they can. Part of this reason is they will do better under more lighting, and they will do better with the ferts. Plants require CO2, ferts, and light to grow. And thus to uptake the nitrates. Nitrates are actually one type, or part of the ferts they need. The thing is though, they require an increase in all in order to use all. In other words, adding ferts and CO2, will not help much if there is not enough lighting. And increasing the lighting, will not help much if there is not enough ferts and CO2. With your use of the CO2, I feel you definitely need to increase your lighting, or it will all be a waste. As for the algea, get a good pleco (a bushynose is my recomendation), as your ottos will probably not be able to keep up with the algal growth.

HTH....

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

thanks soo much acidrain im off to lfs now for the 4 Ottos they have in stock. you say its ok to add all these fish, GREAT!! i thought as it was planted up you cant add the normal amount of fishies as you could in a normal tropical setup? im hoping to improve lighting soon and want it really dence in plants. so even then i can still have that number of fish??
Ive done a 25% water change this morning and re-tested water and all tests are excellent and ready for fish.
Thanks for your help i will let you know how Ottos settle in.

You can have the same number of fish in a planted tank as you can in a non-planted tank. The thing is, many people don't heavily stock a planted tank, as they like to create a somewhat eco-system. In other words, a tank that does not require water changes. If you are going to keep up with your water changes, then there is no worries about stocking the tank. And from reading your posts, I am under the impression that you will be continuing in your water change regime.

The number 1 reason for water changes, is to remove excess nitrates from build up. Planted tanks help remove the nitrates from the water. Now, the plants don't take the nitrates up as quickly as we all would like, so if you want to not have to do water changes, you will have to keep the fish stock down. Through nitrate measurements, you will be able to determine the stock limits of the fish, if no water changes is what you have in mind. But, if you are going to continue water changes on a regular basis, as in 20% each time, then you can fully stock your tank, or at least have it more heavily stocked. As for how often to do the water changes, this you can figure out when measuring your nitrates. Just keep the nitrate levels below 20ppm, and yet around 10ppm. Since the plants will be taking nitrates out of the water, if you keep an eye on the nitrate levels, you will be able to do less frequent water changes. In other words, since the plants will be helping remove the nitrates from the water, you many be able to go 2, 3, or maybe 4 or more weeks in between water changes. All depending on your final stock limits. And, as your plants grow more thicker and fuller, they will take up more nitrates. So down the road, even less water changes.

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There is always a bigger fish...