how can i have a low planted tank?

[ialtalal]

i have a 120 gallon tank with 7 adult discus in there and some cardinalsm rummy nose. and i wonder if i would be able to plant a tank that already established? will i have to quarantine the plants before adding them to my tank? thanks

[DerekFF]

Short of completly redoing your tank for a few plants, id put them in pots so that you can just put them in without having to drain the tank, move the fish ect ect....

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[ialtalal]

do i have to quarantine the plants? or do you only do that for new fish?

[Curt]

I would expessially if they are going into an established tank. It is good protocall to do the same with plaants as fish. You could have good luck just dropping them in but you would be playing with fire. I have been into planted tanks since 2006 and have had everything from low to hi tech so I can try to answer any questions you may have.

Curt

[ialtalal]

I would expessially if they are going into an established tank. It is good protocall to do the same with plaants as fish. You could have good luck just dropping them in but you would be playing with fire. I have been into planted tanks since 2006 and have had everything from low to hi tech so I can try to answer any questions you may have.

Curt
how bad would it get if i don't quarantine them?

[Curt]

depending on what may come in you are at the very least looking at snails. also you could get fluks, leechs, planera, ich and other forms of pests though this is an extreme example but can happen. If you get from a reputiable source you might be ok. But i still recomend a quarintine. it is simple an All you need is a 10 gallon tank with proper lighting and give it 2 weeks. You could do a salt water dip for at least 10-15 min, but that can get involved. be safe and just quarintine. what types of plants are you trying to grow?

Curt

[xxbenjamminxx]

I would def qt your plants no matter where they came from. I know people who bought plants online and looked fine but once in their tanks TONS of planeria came wiggling out. Might not be a huge deal for Discus but was a huge deal for his King Kong Shrimp.


Better to be safe then sorry. Always could do a PP dip on them as well if you dont have a QT spot for them which would help remove any nasties beforehand.

[ialtalal]

depending on what may come in you are at the very least looking at snails. also you could get fluks, leechs, planera, ich and other forms of pests though this is an extreme example but can happen. If you get from a reputiable source you might be ok. But i still recomend a quarintine. it is simple an All you need is a 10 gallon tank with proper lighting and give it 2 weeks. You could do a salt water dip for at least 10-15 min, but that can get involved. be safe and just quarintine. what types of plants are you trying to grow?

Curt
i am not sure yet what to grow because i don't have a QT tank and i will have to get one. i read that swords plants are good and i will saw a pic here for some plants that float on top of the water they looked awesome. my LFS has swords and some of these that float on top of the water. i am hoping the light i use is good enough because i am using the two bulb coral life light it 48'' and my tank is 60''

[ialtalal]

I would def qt your plants no matter where they came from. I know people who bought plants online and looked fine but once in their tanks TONS of planeria came wiggling out. Might not be a huge deal for Discus but was a huge deal for his King Kong Shrimp.


Better to be safe then sorry. Always could do a PP dip on them as well if you dont have a QT spot for them which would help remove any nasties beforehand.
can i put the plants in my african cichlid tank then two weeks later add them to the discus tank?

[DerekFF]

Not a qt as now you africans might get a bug

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[ialtalal]

Not a qt as now you africans might get a bug

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what do you mean?

[ialtalal]

i wanna plant my tank already :confused:

[DerekFF]

Putting them into another fish tank isnt a qt if you have super fish in it that can get sick

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[dprais1]

some on this board have said they dip the plants in a mild bleach solution then rinse them in a bucket of water with a heavy dose of prime added. I assume the bleach would kill all the nasties and solve the quarintine problem. but i have no experience

[Trier20]

I know you are anxious about wanting to plant but it's better to be safe than sorry when adding anything new to your tank. I lost 5 discus once because I was too anxious. It will pay off in the long run.


-Brandon

[joeymac]

i wanna plant my tank already :confused:

If you want to plant your tank already then go ahead. It is YOUR tank. You asked for advice, and got it.


If it all works out, you won't be the first or the last to get away without proper quarantine. Just know that some lessons are learned the expensive way.

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[ialtalal]

If you want to plant your tank already then go ahead. It is YOUR tank. You asked for advice, and got it.


If it all works out, you won't be the first or the last to get away without proper quarantine. Just know that some lessons are learned the expensive way.

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lol i was just jk i wouldn't i go ahead and do it. if i am was planning to do i wouldn't post this thread asking for help

[ialtalal]

I know you are anxious about wanting to plant but it's better to be safe than sorry when adding anything new to your tank. I lost 5 discus once because I was too anxious. It will pay off in the long run.


-Brandon
yea i heard some very interesting stories about adding plants right away to a tank and it didn't sound good at all.

[ialtalal]

would the plants survive if i QT them in a 10 gallon tank because i only have a place for something this big

[Big-Ken]

Ya that should be fine just make sure they have some light

[strawberryblonde]

some on this board have said they dip the plants in a mild bleach solution then rinse them in a bucket of water with a heavy dose of prime added. I assume the bleach would kill all the nasties and solve the quarintine problem. but i have no experience

I'm one of those people who uses bleach to clean my plants rather than a QT tank for them.

I mix 1 part bleach to 19 parts water and soak the plants for up to one minute in the solution. The amount of time for soaking depends on the fragility of the plant. Swords are very hardy and can be soaked for 1 full minute without ill effects. For my crypts I do a 30 second soak and same for valsineria. Anubias is quite tough and can go the full minute.

Once they have soaked (be sure to swish them around a bit during the soaking period and make sure the roots are fully immersed in the solution), place them directly into another bucket that has a double dose of Prime or Safe in it. Swish in that solution for about 15 seconds, then rinse well under soft running water (if the pressure is too hard you might damage the leaves), then back into a bucket with the water/prime solution for a minute or two to rest.

After that they'll be good to go in any established tank. I've never had a snail survive the bleach treatment. You'll see dead snails at the bottom of the bleach bucket when you empty it! Planaria and all other nasties are killed by the bleach as well.

Please note that I've never used this method on any of the "fancy" hi-tech plants and have no idea if they can survive a bleach treatment.

[ialtalal]

I'm one of those people who uses bleach to clean my plants rather than a QT tank for them.

I mix 1 part bleach to 19 parts water and soak the plants for up to one minute in the solution. The amount of time for soaking depends on the fragility of the plant. Swords are very hardy and can be soaked for 1 full minute without ill effects. For my crypts I do a 30 second soak and same for valsineria. Anubias is quite tough and can go the full minute.

Once they have soaked (be sure to swish them around a bit during the soaking period and make sure the roots are fully immersed in the solution), place them directly into another bucket that has a double dose of Prime or Safe in it. Swish in that solution for about 15 seconds, then rinse well under soft running water (if the pressure is too hard you might damage the leaves), then back into a bucket with the water/prime solution for a minute or two to rest.

After that they'll be good to go in any established tank. I've never had a snail survive the bleach treatment. You'll see dead snails at the bottom of the bleach bucket when you empty it! Planaria and all other nasties are killed by the bleach as well.

Please note that I've never used this method on any of the "fancy" hi-tech plants and have no idea if they can survive a bleach treatment.
great feedback man. thanks a lot. i appreciate you stoping by and giving us the idea on how to do it but i got i a question for you? what do you mean by 1 part bleach to 19 parts water?

[aquaworks1]

If you want to have a Planted Tank,you might consider getting a bag of Flourite,and moving your Gravel aside and plant the plants right in Flourite.Flourite really is good for long term live plant success.

[Big-Ken]

He means just a general 1:19 ratio of whatever measurement your using, 1 cup of bleach to 19 cups of water or 1 gallon of bleach to 19 gallons of water. It doesn't matter the amount as long as the ratio is 1:19

[ialtalal]

He means just a general 1:19 ratio of whatever measurement your using, 1 cup of bleach to 19 cups of water or 1 gallon of bleach to 19 gallons of water. It doesn't matter the amount as long as the ratio is 1:19
cool it makes sense now

[ialtalal]

If you want to have a Planted Tank,you might consider getting a bag of Flourite,and moving your Gravel aside and plant the plants right in Flourite.Flourite really is good for long term live plant success.
how does fluorite help? i have silica sand as my substrate for now about 1/2 inch of it in the tank

[DerekFF]

Flourite has a high CEC rating (holds nutrients well) so its good in that aspect. However if youre going to use flourite as a substrate and not use pots then your expense is going way up now and also the maintenance will become more work

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[Curt]

flourite would definitly help for the plants. but you dont have to do the whole substraight with it just the planting area.