Marie's Planted Tank!

[Kindredspirit]

I lied! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/29/29_2_4.gif It's my planted BAG! lol! Omg! I am sooooooooo tired I have been gone all day on interviews ...one, I have been there three times! ***?? You think I was applying for the CIA man:mad:

AnyHoo~

Here are my plants guys ~ I have NO idea what they are as I lost my list and they didnt have the ones I wanted to copy their display tank ~ "wait til Monday, Marie"...Nope...Patience is not one of my virtues:D

So ~ I got these ~ you must tell me what they are ~ I also got sand and I am going to go and plant them in 2inches....right? I could not believe what these plants cost...they die..I'm done...Pluck and Chuck I say!


I will be back with new pics!


Marie ~ :coffee:

[Dying for Discus]

They look lovely!!! Good luck on the planted thing. I could never do it!! :D

Hopefully the plants will like the water discus like. Do you have to sterilize them before you put them into the tank???

Applying for the CIA...STINKS. Most never make it past the front door. ;)

[AADiscus]

Well al I got to say is it looked great to me. I loved it. Great job.

[t_j]

Marie!!! I'm so happy for you. Your going through with the planted tank. I can't wait to see what it looks like when its done.

Myself I haven't decided weather I'm going to do sand or rocks. I have bag of rocks so I don't know if I want it to go to wast.

Have fun picking out the plants and setting up the tank:thumbsup:

[White Worm]

Should be plenty of sand (enough to hold them in place and give growth room for roots). If you dont want to mess with adding ferts and crap to the tank. put tabs under each plant. I didnt do either and they were just living....not dieing but not really growing and then the discus and angels started this game of yanking the plants out of the sand so I had to keep replanting. Make sure you weigh them down so that the little peckers cant pull them up, lol.

[tpl*co]

Don't forget Marie, Quarantine! or wash them with a PP solution!

Tina

[t_j]

Don't forget Marie, Quarantine! or wash them with a PP solution!

Tina


What is "PP solution" ???

[White Worm]

Potassium Permanganate. Its an oxidizer or like a disinfectant. Kills most external bugs. You can use it to clean your empty tank. Can be a killer if you are not careful when using it for fish.

[traco]

Liquid Parasite Clear is what I let my plants sit in before going into the tank.

I also add fert tabs underneath the plants but cheat and cut the tab into 4. Goes a lot further right now and also the plants are small.

[t_j]

Liquid Parasite Clear is what I let my plants sit in before going into the tank.

I also add fert tabs underneath the plants but cheat and cut the tab into 4. Goes a lot further right now and also the plants are small.



Barb how long do you leave your plants in it?

[Kindredspirit]

Okay Peeps ~ I have no idea what I am doing here:( Things floated to the top ~ leaves came off as I was taking them out of the bag ~ probably 50 cents a leaf:mad:

and ~

Plants were in a basket...take them out of the basket leave them in? I took them out and prolly shocked the lil suckers and by morning all will be dead! lol! ....also I could not figure out if I shld plant the plants first or fill the tank first....I figured I would fill some water then the plants...Frank confirmed that for me ~ cuz I must say I am so not going to keep planting plants that float up and crap!

So ~


Here are some pics! What do you guys think? Still cloudy from the sand and I have like five dif lights I cld use...I will post them tomorrow to see which is best ~


I can take it ~ go ahead:D



Marie ~ :coffee:

[Dying for Discus]

eww that's nice!! how many discus and what kind are you planning on stocking it with??

[Kindredspirit]

Hey You ~ no I am not putting any discus in this tank as it is only 40gal:)

[AmberC]

Marie.. yes you take them out of those planters, and take all that nasty S* off the roots.. but carefully!

It looks great woman! Good job on your pics lmao

[Kindredspirit]

Thanks Amber ~ I will take more PICS later:)

[traco]

Barb how long do you leave your plants in it?

I leave them in there for about 15-20 minutes and then rinse them in discarded tank water.

[t_j]

Thanks for the info Barb!!


Marie that tank is so cute!! I can't wait to see what you do with it. Maybe you'll give me good ideas on what to do with mine:D :D

[wolfbane]

Marie, if you can get those little "lead" strips, curl them aroung the lower stems of the floaters, after they root you can remove them if you want. Did you get Vals? They get nice and tall and flow in the current. Looks like red crypts? Good choice, don't faint if they melt, they will come back!

[Alight]

Yes, you definitely have some cork screw val. The red crypts should be planted so that the corms are above the sand surface. If you bury them to deep, they'll have problems. As said above, even if you do plant them correctly, they probably will "melt" but they should come back up after that. If they float up (I see one at the top) either use the lead weights, as already suggested, or tie them to a rock with some thread and use that to weight them down.

The broad leaf thing you have looks like an Amazon sword. Again, don't plant this too deep. It will probably undergo some changes as it adapts to your tank. I'm not sure about the leafy thing. Maybe a Ludwiga of some sort? I've not had much luck with that plant, but others may have had more luck.

The planted tank has tons of info on plants. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/

If you don't put fish in, you will likely have to fertilize the plants by adding nutrients to the water.

If you want to get fussy, you can get a nitrate and phosphate test kit, but you'll have to calibrate them to have any real idea of how much you really have in your water.

How much light do you have? Both too little and too much cause problems.

The plants you have are relatively slow growing, so don't expect them to suck up much nitrates from the water. So, expect to have to do water changes as usual.

Good luck, and welcome to the Dark Green Side!

[Kindredspirit]

Thanks Al! I adore you:) I will admit tho when I saw you had posted on MY planted tank thread I was like ....Oh S*....he is not going to like it...

The lights I have Al are tubes...15watts only ~ as I can not seem to get higher for the 40 gal bow ~ But I have so many dif kinds..what do you think is better:

SunGlow*Aquarium light* and Eclipse....all 15watts~

I did get some Vals...I remember that ~ you are good, Sir:) You Too Deb! I really like the cabbage colored one too ~ but it won't stay in the sand:mad:

Also Guys ~ I have 6 Cardinals in there too ~ what shld I be doing in this tank? Wc every day? Once a week?


Marie ~ :coffee:

[GrillMaster]

Lookin good Marie!!

I would personally like the vals in the back or on the sides of the tank stead of in front of the rocks. They are not really foreground plans. You might look into puttin a 1/2 fert tab a couple inches under the roots of the swords an vals. Make sure the plants are where ya want them before ya do though! Ya dont wanna move ta move em once the fert tabs are in place.

Like it was mentioned earlier, your crypts will melt to practicaly nothing in the next week or two more than likely, but will come back after awhile so just remove the melted leaves an nuthin else.

Dwarf sags would look really great in that foreground of yours!!:D Would accent the rocks you have in there.

As far as the water changes, I would let it go for a few weeks an let everything get established. I dont think your gonna be feedin the cards very heavy. A low tech tank like that shouldnt need that many WC's.

There are alot of people who will let the water go for months with a light fish load, an sparse feeding. If you find yer always tryin to fatten the cards up though by tossin sumthin in the tank everytime ya walk by, ya might wanna change the water once a week.

For now, I would let it go for a few weeks an just make yerself remember there are no discus in this tank. Maybe tie an arm behind yer back or sumthin.:D

We will be watchin...;) :)

[Kindredspirit]

Okay Mark....which ones are the Vals? Can ya draw on my pic?:p I guess the ones right next to the rocks...? Not the colored ones?

[GrillMaster]

The ones on the left look like vals. The ones on the right, well kinda hard to tell from the pic, but looks like a sword. Anyways, both the plants up front on each end should go to the sides or the back...JMO:)

[Kindredspirit]

Anyways, both the plants up front on each end should go to the sides or the back...JMO:)


Consider it done:) Thanks Mark for the earlier comments as well ~

[Kindredspirit]

Marie that tank is so cute!! I can't wait to see what you do with it. Maybe you'll give me good ideas on what to do with mine:D :D



aww..you are too sweet as usual:) But there is something about it I do not like:(

[t_j]

aww..you are too sweet as usual:) But there is something about it I do not like:(


Why?? I love those kind of tanks. I can't believe thats a 40 gal tank I like it. You'll love it too once its done:o

[Alight]

Marie, don't be afraid to add more plants, move them around, etc., until you like what you get. Plants adapt pretty well to being moved. I have to pull up most of my stem plants and trim off the bottoms and replant at least every other week if not every week because they grow so fast. This doesn't seem to slow them down much and they regrow roots extremely fast. Of course this is in my CO2 injected, high light tank. But even in my low tech tank, moving stuff around doesn't hurt the stem plants, and only slows down the more slowly growing plants.

[Kindredspirit]

Okay Al & everyone ~ not to sound like a complete idiot here..."stem" plants? Are? Are all of mine stem plants? By stem you mean .......the roots go into the sand Al?:o

So I can move them around when I want too? Good! I am quite fickle I'm afraid ~ Always get what I want...it's wanting it after I get it ~ is my prob:D

Tell me too please guys ~ how can I tell if these are growing? I know that sounds hella dumb but...I guess they will get taller right? To tall? Then I trim them down?

I will have oodles of questions ~ so dontcha all leave me now:p

[Alight]

Stem plants can are pretty much the same from top to bottom. If you cut them anywhere, they'll grow new roots from there and grow on. The Vals, swords and crypts you have are not stem plants. That other thing you have, that I can't see well probably is.

Some stem plants are cabomba, wisteria, hygros of various sorts, ludwigas, rotalas of all sorts, anacharis(don't get this for a discus tank--has trouble with high temps). Many stem plants are very fast growers and are recommended for newly planted tanks, as they also suck up nutrients very fast and help prevent algae in newly planted tanks. Once the tank is established, it's easier to switch to slower growing plants and pull out the stem plants you don't want anymore.

Most of the plants (maybe all) except the vals, are fairly slow growing in a low tech tank. In a high tech tank, swords grow pretty fast, but much less so in low light, low tech. It's easy to tell growing swords and crypts--you'll see new leaves. Just count. For vals, they'll primarily just get longer.

Most plants get set back when shipped, so expect to see little growth and some dying back for the first couple of weeks. Don't be alarmed, just wait, trim off the dying growth. If you see any algae forming, wipe it off as soon as you see it. Don't wait.

[GrillMaster]

Alight gave ya the heads up for sure! :)

So ya know what ya have now as far as stems an rooters? :D

What yer gonna fert an what yer not??

Another pic would be great, cause I know the bubbles are gone now..;)

[Kindredspirit]

Here Ya Go Mark! New PICTURES ( i am done with the short cut on that word:o ) I just took ~ the water is not so murkey now ~ but could be more clear ~ is it due to the plants, sand or the fact that the filter is too small:o Probably all three yes? lol!

I have noticed as well some plants dying ~ just leave them right? See my Cardinals? I love them guys! They are so colorful! I am not sure what to feed these lil fish ~ I am feeding them flake and worms? Have not lost one yet so I must have cycled this tank pretty well:) ( so they all bite the dust tomorrow! )

Now Shld I be doing water changes on this tank? I feel like I am neglecting it! Do I have to do fertilizers on this tank?


Thanks!


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_4_10.gif

[Kindredspirit]

Marie, if you can get those little "lead" strips, curl them aroung the lower stems of the floaters, after they root you can remove them if you want. Did you get Vals? They get nice and tall and flow in the current. Looks like red crypts? Good choice, don't faint if they melt, they will come back!



Thanks Deb! I have the little led strips..the ones that bend real easy right? I shall try them:)

[GrillMaster]

I thought you were gonna move them plants that are planted in front of yer rocks to the back...;) :D

The water will clear up for ya.

If this were my tank, I would just let it go for a few weeks an let the plants settle in. I would do a small water change after that just to remove any debris from the sand. I would keep up with the removal of any melting plant leaves though. I would just feed the cards flakes a couple of times a day. If it were MY tank...:)

Ya dont have to do ferts. I would use maybe a jobe stick in the substrate under the sword plants.

-Mark-

[wolfbane]

Mark has it right on ferts, it looks like only the sword plant will need a Plant Tab or spike. Don't worry about frequent water changes on this tank, you could monitor the tank's parameters if you wish, but I wouldn't think that a lightly stocked tank like that would need more than monthly cleaning. I let the Church's community tank go 2 months between cleanings, no problems.
If you have the different bulbs for your fixture, you can see which one you like best, just remember to change it out every 6 months or so, they lose alot of their ability to produce good light after that point.

[Kindredspirit]

I thought you were gonna move them plants that are planted in front of yer rocks to the back...;)



I'm gonna I'm gonna! Don't get your boxers in a bunch Mark:D lol! I was working....!

But I am off now ~ So........what is it you want me to move around? ( don't pop me...I will scroll down:) )


http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/11/11_2_104.gif




Marie ~ :coffee:

[GrillMaster]

The vals you have in front of yer white rocks (forground) will eventually grow to the surface. Tanks pretty tall so it might take quite awhile. They might look better behind the rocks on both sides of the tank.

Then I got to thinkin. I dont it much, but you must like where they are at the moment or you wouldn't have put them there. After all its your tank!! ;) :D

[Kindredspirit]

So ~ here are some updated pictures guys! Do you see a difference? Have they grown to YOU...I did lose all my cardinals save two:( ....I will never by them again ....I say that every time I spend 22 bucks for 6 of them:mad:

The "Buzz Family" are doing great however ~ they love the plants too:) So....whatcha think? I do a wc about once a week ~ to get all the crap out from the mini-family in there:)

Marie ~ :balloon:

[Ed13]

So ~ here are some updated pictures guys! Do you see a difference? Have they grown to YOU...I did lose all my cardinals save two:( ....I will never by them again ....I say that every time I spend 22 bucks for 6 of them:mad:

The "Buzz Family" are doing great however ~ they love the plants too:) So....whatcha think? I do a wc about once a week ~ to get at all the crap out from the mini-family in there:)

Marie ~ :balloon:
The plants have grown, Corkscrew val and the amazon have new leaves. It seems to me that there's something lacking here maybe some iron, potassium and a little more light;)

Wow, $22 for six cardinals, I hope they come with a birth certificate for that amount. They usually are at $1.99 around here but lately they've been getting them direct from SA and are really srtong retailing at $1.49

[t_j]

You get them from Bill and there only $1.

[GrillMaster]

Looks like your vals are melting a little on ya. Make sure you pull the melted strands off when they are finished melting. They should bounce back in a couple months. Mine did the same thing, but came right back.

Have you put a fert tab under your swords yet?

I dont know if I would increase the lighting any more than 7-8 hours. There are not enough plants in there to do that. You should consider adding more plants Marie. If it were spring I would send you some. The more plants the better off you will be.

Looks good so far though! :thumbsup:

Mark

[Kindredspirit]

The plants have grown, Corkscrew val and the amazon have new leaves. It seems to me that there's something lacking here maybe some iron, potassium and a little more light;)


They have? Yeah? Well I'll be dayum! This is a good thing yes Ed? I can not see any new leaves buy hey .....works for me:) Iron? Postassium?....umm.....that'd be NO Ed ~ lol! If I have new leaves well they got there without all that right?


Wow, $22 for six cardinals, I hope they come with a birth certificate for that amount. They usually are at $1.99 around here but lately they've been getting them direct from SA and are really srtong retailing at $1.49


You would think:mad:





You get them from Bill and there only $1.


Funny funny girl Tiffany! Don't even talk to me!





Looks like your vals are melting a little on ya. Make sure you pull the melted strands off when they are finished melting. They should bounce back in a couple months. Mine did the same thing, but came right back.


Ya know Mark I was going to ask you about that ~ the melted part are so slimy ( that does not look right ) and they come off on their own...but you want me to pull them off? Why do they "melt"....it bugs me ~





Have you put a fert tab under your swords yet?

oops! I forgot this part completely ~ I shld do this yes? I will asap ~




I dont know if I would increase the lighting any more than 7-8 hours. There are not enough plants in there to do that. You should consider adding more plants Marie. If it were spring I would send you some. The more plants the better off you will be.

Looks good so far though! :thumbsup:

Mark

I will someday Mark ~ I just cannot afford it at the moment ~ not a priority ya know:o I do think that more wld look better tho you are right ~


Thanks Mark!


Marie ~ :coffee:

[t_j]

Funny funny girl Tiffany! Don't even talk to me!
Marie ~ :coffee:


LOL!! Just saying....:wave:

[Alight]

Marie, just ask for some plants, and I'm sure you will get some for nothing.

I'll send you some stem plants that should do fine in your tank if you PM me your address.

You might consider adding some Seachem Flourish to the tank to make sure you have enough micros.

I suspect that this tank will do better after it matures a bit, so, I'd hold off adding any expensive plants for a few months.

Al

[Kindredspirit]

Oh Goodie! I was wondering if you would stop by Al:) So these are not expensive plants? HTB! Could have fooled me ~

If I add that Flourish it will be okay with my Gobies in there? They so love the plants Al ~ I will pm you my address ~ Do I have Mircos? What the hell are Micros? lol!


Thanks:)

Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_8_19.gif

[Alight]

Your water probably has some micros in it, but probably not enough. We call these microfertilizers because they are essential elements, but only trace amounts are needed or wanted. These are things like iron, zinc and manganese. Flourish has these in adequate, but not excessive concentrations. It is perfectly safe for all fish if used as they directed.

This stuff may actually be good for your fish.

[Kindredspirit]

Okay then ~ I shall get some as soon as I can:)

[tacks]

Hi Marie I am new here so take what I say with a grain of salt. Marie do you have a garden at your house if so do you plant in it? If so you want to look at the tank as a garden. You need many more plants, some swords in the back maybe on the sides. I really feel a tank needs a foregrown so some form of grass in the front and then some crypts or mid plants. If you have a fore ground it will givethe tank some depth. If you can plant different plants in a group try not to seperate them. The tank is off to a good start so stay with it. I would also use plant tabs, flourish and tropcal master grow. good luck Ed

[Kindredspirit]

Well thank You Ed! I will certainly not take what you say with a grain of salt, Sir! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_6.gif You obviously know of which you speak ~ to be honest I have not a clue as to some of the plants you mentioned ~ but I will:)

I know ~ my tank is lacking.......something huh? Well Al is going to send me some and we shall see if this girl has it:D


So ~

Stick around okay?


...and thank you!


Marie ~ :balloon:

[GrillMaster]

Sorry I didnt get back to ya here Marie!

Yes you want to remove any melted leaves or any decaying plant matter. Your phosphates will start climbing on you if you dont. You dont have alot of plants at the moment, but I think you are fixing to get a bunch from Al so keep this in mind. :)

I would send you some, but they would probably wouldn't survive the trip.

I recieved some Java Fern from Cali last year from a guy during the winter, an it was frozen solid when I got it!! :p

I will wait till spring. Gives us time to see how ya handle Al's plants. ;)

tc
Mark

[Kindredspirit]

Here is an update on my planted tank! I have decided to call this my experiment tank...as I have a discus from Andrew and Angela ~ a discus from Kenny ( I decided Tia needed a friend:) and I have had them for three months....three days have passed.... so far so good! ) There are three plecos of some sort from Tina and two Cardinals ( of 6 ) along with the Buzz Family:D oh...and plants! Real Ones!

Everyone is doing great ~ Tia, my new discus, follows me everywhere now and Td2 ( touchdown2 ) are best of buds... for now...lol!

See that one plant in front of the blue rock? I can not decide if that is a new plant/growth or one that is dying off??


Thanks for peeking:)


Marie ~ :wave:

[Alight]

Plants off to you today. Big snowstorm here today, so hopefully, they'll still make it to you this week. Good to see some fish in the tank. The plants need at least some nitrates and phosphates to do well.

Typically, it will take a few months for new substrate to "season" (meaning get dirty enough to really feed the plants), so don't expect too much from your plants for a few months.

[tpl*co]

That guy looks like he/she is doing well in that tank ;)


Tina

[Jeckel]

Marie, how many fluorescent tubes are you using? I'm not much of a plant person but I might go that way some day, and I'd like to know from some of the experts how much light (watts per gallon) is recommended for the plants you have. I'd like the answer to be that you have enough, because I'd like a tank like that!

About all I know about plants is that some need more light than others (ones with red leaves usually need a lot). Your tank looks deep, and I think that can cause problems because the wavelengths of light the plants need get absorbed by the water and don't reach the leaves. It's a Catch-22 situation because if the plants could grow up to the surface they'd be okay, but of course they won't grow without enough light.

"More light" doesn't mean keeping the lights on for more hours. If the intensity is insufficient, increasing the duration will do nothing but grow algae.

Anyway, the tank looks nice, and I hope you have success with it!

Jerry

[Kindredspirit]

Plants off to you today. Big snowstorm here today, so hopefully, they'll still make it to you this week. Good to see some fish in the tank.

I got your pm Al! Thank you so much that was very nice of you:) I can not wait to get them. I have kept your pm so I can know what to do and how to do it when they arrive!




That guy looks like he/she is doing well in that tank ;)


Tina


You are back from Disney Word? How'd it go? Ya survived I see!! The fishie is doing great Tina! I wuv him man:)





Marie, how many fluorescent tubes are you using?


I think just one Jerry....or it may be two little ones ~ lol! Whatever it is the light is not all that trust me ~




I'm not much of a plant person but I might go that way some day, and I'd like to know from some of the experts how much light (watts per gallon) is recommended for the plants you have. I'd like the answer to be that you have enough, because I'd like a tank like that!

Are you high? lol! My tank is ......nothing really Jerry ~ I have no idea what these plants are .....they are in this thread somewhere:o I just wanted something easy and something low tech and I do not even worry about them..Nothing has really died yet so I must be doing something right!



Anyway, the tank looks nice, and I hope you have success with it!Jerry


Thanks Jerry ~ these were expensive..at least for me ~ this tank is deep...it is bow front and I hate it but the only one I had ~ it magnifies the fish and distorts everything:mad:



Marie ~ :balloon:

[GrillMaster]

Marie, I can assure you that when the plants arrive from Alight, you will be in shock, an wonderin where to plant what!! :D

tc
Mark

[Kindredspirit]

Well....you are right Mark! These plants were packed with such care ~ better than some fish ~ I have no clue what they are but they sure came quick:)

Al ~ I love the purpleish colored one more than anything!! I hope it does not die! I really had no clue where to put them ~ what do you guys think? The Bumble Bee Gobies and the discus LOVE them! What a difference a plant makes:D

This girl is hooked.


Having said that ........how do you find creatures in a planted tank? You may never see certain things again, I swear! I have six gobies and three plecos in there and two discus....I keep looking for them!....well not the discus:o


Enjoy ~


Marie ~ :balloon:

[Kindredspirit]

and ~

[wolfbane]

Wow! What a difference! Al is a gentleman, sent you a varied group of plants. Sure makes the tank look good!!

[Kindredspirit]

Well I don't know about good Deb! But def different....Oh Crap I must do a wc i turned off the tank .........a while ago......


Thanks Deb!!

[tacks]

Marie now your cooking the tank is looking great. Try not to mess with it, and in no time you will be sending off cuttings to other people. I like your discus there they look right at home. Great combination plants and discus. Keep up the good work Ed

[Kindredspirit]

aww...how sweet Ed~ thanks much! These two discus can not stay in this tank forever tho ~ I just remembered that....this tank is too small ~ four more weeks I think...

Then I shall just have the gobies and cardinals and the plecos:)

[Alight]

Looks like the plants made it OK, Great! I'd separate the Red Temple (the purplish stuff) into 2 or 3 or more clumps if you have enough weight to hold it all down. It will like as much light as you can give it, and all together it shades itself.

The Cabomba (the green stuff) can also be separated further, or left clumped depending on how you like it.

Check the wattage and number of bulbs you have and let us know so we can recommend how long you should leave the lights on.

I had the cabomba growing well in only 30 watts of flourescents over a 55 gallon tank for quite a while. Does much better with more light, though.

The Red Temple will grow OK at less than 1.5 watts/gallon. Don't know what it will do with less.

Al

[Kindredspirit]

You know Al, I was going to separate the red plant! But it was not that easy then I thought that you were not suppose too ~ can I still? I love that plant! Thank You again, Al ~

I will check my lightage ( that is so not a word is it? ) lol! and get back to you ~ I leave my tanks on around 10 hours a day...good? bad?


Marie ~ :coffee:

[Kindredspirit]

Al ~ I just checked on the light and it is an Eclipse..Natural Daylight...whatever all that means...I looked for a wattage and there is none! It is only a 40gal bowfront...and the light strip is about 15-18 inches long so I'm thinking....hell I dunno....15watts? I have others in the garage but I think I checked once and I can not get higher than that:( so it will fit in the casing...can I?

This light is ugly too I hate it ~

[Alight]

OK, all the plants I sent are stem plants. This means you can break, cut, etc. anywhere and plant the bits, and they will likely grow. So you can pull the stems of the Red Temple apart, even cut off the bottoms of the stems, or cut the stems in half and plant both parts, and both will grow.

I had the stems bound together to make it easy to move them around (I have to pull them out of my tank all of the time, and trim them down, or they grow out of the top of the tank). That's why they seem to be stuck together. But you can rip them apart with no damage done. This applies to the Cabomba as well. Both of these plants can get all or most of their nutrients from the water (hence the roots all over the place), but will root better, and have fewer hanging roots if you put a root tab under them.

I believe you will not have enough light to grow the plants very well with the current light. Leave it on 11 or 12 hours a day, until you get another one.

Put the Red Temple immediately under the brightest part of where the light shines for now.

When you get some money, let us know and we'll see what might be out there that would fit your tank nicely. Alternatively, maybe someone from the site has a fixture that will work and can do the RAOK thing and send you one.

I wouldn't get too much light in the new fixture (heed Mark's warnings), but something around 60-80 watts might work out better than what you have.

Al

[fobincorporated]

The plants you have are ludwigia(not sure about this), crypts and others I have no idea I think... just be gentle (as you should do with alot of plants) and they will reward you by spreading like mad and make you work just to get rid of them. You can do hydrogen peroxide from what I've heard for certain things (like algae spores, bacteria to a certain extent, maybe snail eggs?) but PP is probably best, bleach works too but it's hard to tell how long is enough (mixture ratio is 1:19 bleach/water from what i remember). GOOD LUCK! :D If you really want cardinals just make a dripper for acclimation (the acclimation can take as long as 2 hrs, longer the better, I've never lost a cardinal in my life, lost a bunch of discus though *sigh*) and wait for the LFS to quarantine for a few weeks so you get the strongest ones.

[Kindredspirit]

I had the stems bound together to make it easy to move them around (I have to pull them out of my tank all of the time, and trim them down, or they grow out of the top of the tank). That's why they seem to be stuck together. But you can rip them apart with no damage done.


I knew it! I was going to break them all up but then I thought that aquarium plants were dif somehow ~ Al...so my light is horrible huh? I knew it:( I do not think that a higher wattage is available for this fixture...so I guess I will have to get one at some point...?

I was hoping that I had plants that did not require much light ~ I know I asked that question somewhere....my requirements were: No special care and low light plants....

Pl do not let me get to high tech Al, it will waste your time and mine and they will all die:( I will leave the light on longer:)

The Water Wisteria...I love! I wonder if it is illegal in Cali? Is it known to the state of Cali to cause cancer? Everything is ya know ~ here ~ Formalin is illegal ~ but I have oodles:)


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_4_10.gif

[Kindredspirit]

GOOD LUCK! :D If you really want cardinals just make a dripper for acclimation (the acclimation can take as long as 2 hrs, longer the better, I've never lost a cardinal in my life, lost a bunch of discus though *sigh*) and wait for the LFS to quarantine for a few weeks so you get the strongest ones.

Thanks I shall need it:D I have two cardinals left ~ I suppose they were/are the strongest of the 6 right? lol!

[GrillMaster]

Looks like Al hooked ya up pretty good!! :) The red temple is amazing! Al, if you have any more, I will buy some from you!! :D

Dont think that your light will be enough for it though Marie. It will also let ya know pretty quick if it is lacking in nutrients. The leaves will just start falling off till your just left with a stem. The ludwiga an cabomba will do great for ya though.

Did I read that wisteria made its way over to ya as well? I didn't notice any in the pics. As far as it being legal or not in Cali, if its illegal there are thousands breakin the law out there!! :D

Tank is definately takin shape. Al wasn't stingy for sure! I would just leave things be, let em settle in, see whats gonna grow for ya an whats not. You will probably find that yer gonna have to trim the cabomba before anything else. Al explained how to do that trimmin stuff.

Like Al mentioned, I would try an get 40-80 watts under the hood.

tc
Mark

[Kindredspirit]

I can not get a stronger light at this time Mark:( I just can not I am afraid...plus it is not just getting the bulb I would have to get a whole new fixture, casing and all ~

The Wisteria is in there...not sure what it looks like but I put all that Alan sent me ~ I love this tank ~ and I hope I do well even if my light sucks:)

Everyone breaks the law in Cali:) itz what we DO, Mark ~ run red lights, hundreds have ferrets ( we go to Reno and bring them back )...formalin and now plants:) ....on a roll!

[AmberC]

Its looking really good Marie!! I did not see the plecos or the buzz fam, but I did see a cardinal!! lol Good job woman!

[Alight]

Marie, none of the plants you have require high tech. I'd avoid going that way, if I were you, for at least a year or so, until you get bored with trimming plants every couple of weeks and want to do it twice a week. I suspect the cabomba will do OK, I don't know about the Red Temple with that low light. It does OK, but grows slowly and has smaller leaves with 1.5 watts gallon. Only has to be trimmed once a month or less with that much light, too.

Hey, everyone out there, can you help Marie find a better hood a light for her Eclipse 40?? Does AH hobby have a compact kit that will fit that hood?

Mark, I have Red Temple to give away fairly often. I think Harriet wants some, so she will get the next batch, but you can have some after that. It will probably be 2-4 weeks before I'll have a batch large enough to be worth sending.

[GrillMaster]

I would just go with what ya got Marie. I am sure a couple a plants will do fine for you. :)

AH supply lights wont work with that hood Al.

Mark

[Kindredspirit]

Its looking really good Marie!! I did not see the plecos or the buzz fam, but I did see a cardinal!! lol Good job woman!


I lost one of my Buzz Family:(




Marie, none of the plants you have require high tech. I'd avoid going that way, if I were you, for at least a year or so, until you get bored with trimming plants every couple of weeks and want to do it twice a week. I suspect the cabomba will do OK, I don't know about the Red Temple with that low light. It does OK, but grows slowly and has smaller leaves with 1.5 watts gallon. Only has to be trimmed once a month or less with that much light, too.

Good! I do not want to go high tech....I tried to make that clear when I started ~ Al how can I stop pieces of plants floating to the top? It is annoying the hell out of me:mad: I lost a Goby too....

Tell me...and this is probably a dumb question but I thought I read some where that plants take oxygen from the whatever is in there...esp at night...? You do not suppose all these plants in the little 40gal is taking too much?

I do not want anymore Gobies to start dropping dead....






I would just go with what ya got Marie. I am sure a couple a plants will do fine for you. :)

Mark


I plan on going with what I have....:) Did someone get the idea I wanted to go high tech? Hell No! I am lucky if these survive....lol!

[Alight]

Al how can I stop pieces of plants floating to the top?
I'm guessing these are from the Cabomba. They need some time to adapt. It will stop when they have "taken". Leaves from the Red Temple are also shed from time to time, particularly when they are adapting.

The death of the goby had nothing to do with the plants. Regardless of what you've read, plants take an insignificant amount of O2 from the water, and only when the lights are off. They produce much more O2 than they take out of the water. Also, compared to many heavily planted tanks, you have a very small number of plants in your tank. Many very heavily planted tanks have a much heavier fish load than your tank, and do just fine at night, with virtually no dip in the O2 in the water.

I thought that Gobies prefered harder, slightly salty water, but since I've never actually done any research on these fish, I really don't know.

Mark, too bad a retro fit won't work in Marie's hood.
I agree with you, some of the plants will find that conditions are OK and Marie should go with those, and chalk up the others to an experiment, because it's really hard to tell what will work in any single tank. I know some who have grown supposedly hard to grow plants that supposedly only grow in high tech tanks, in very low light--so who really knows?

[Kindredspirit]

Thanks Al for the oxygen info! I appreciate it ~ I think that my Goby was just old...I have had them for quite some time:(