How many people out there have a heavily planted tank or a tank devoted to just plants.

Wouldn't mind seeing a few other tanks to see what people are doing, and sharing pics and ideas.

I have a 900x450x450 tank which is planted and only has 2 pearl gourami's in it, it also has a large variety of plants in it, and I am running a DIY C02 injector which can be found here http://www.sydneycichlid.com/diy/diyyeast.html (A link to sydney Cichlids and brought to my attention by Jude, thanks for that one jude) also I am adding chelated iron at a drop every 2 days( info courtesy of Cees and Jude, Thanks guys)

Currently I have 3 lights running, 2 x 3ft white flouro's and a 2 ft purple tube, the plants are growing like crazy and I am starting to prune them now.

what do you do for your plants and do you have pics.

Pics of my tanks can be found at the link in my signature or at the following thread http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=4197

Cheers B

Hi Ballistic,

Don't have a digi cam so can't show you my tank, but have a link to the best planted aquarium site there is, aquatic gardeners association.

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2004.cgi

Have fun!!

Blueram

Mine is heavily planted, but not devoted entirely to plants. It has a medium going-on-heavy fish load.

Don't have pics yet. Well, not good ones, I must have another go at photgraphing my tank.

I have a 80cm tank (I can never remember the other dimensions, but it has about 120 litres of water in it, thats on top of rocks and gravel and the like).

I use DIY CO2, 0.75L water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp yeast, seems to last a month. I also add 10ml of fertiliser (no phosphates, contains iron, etc.) to the tank. I find the plants need both to really get going. I didn't replenish the CO2 for a month and the algae started to get serious, added the CO2 again and the algae died back almost literally overnight. I keep the CO2 bottle on top of the lights to keep it warm (and to cut back on the CO2 at night).

The lighting is just like ballistic's.

I once had a lot of different plants in there, but pulled out the half that were underperforming and just kept the stuff that was growing well. What is left is Hygrophilia Diformis, Hygrophilia Perensis, Cabomba Caroliniana, Acorus Gramineus, something which looks a bit like Hygrophilia Polysperma, but isn't, and the obligatory Amazon Sword. There are also some babytears in the corner that escaped the purge. The H. Diformis and H. Perensis are particularly agressive gowers.

For ground cover I have some microswords and something grassy, but these aren't going very well. As an experiment I have staked out a layer of java moss as a ground cover, but I expect to have to do some serious pruning there .

From my knowlege, white fluros dont help very much?they cause alot of algae growth and deterioration of plants. Its the the pink UV's that are the best. they promote algae, and plants grow like mad with them.

Shae 250

Hi Ballistic,

I like my plants too; I think a heavily planted tank can be the most challenging, and the most rewarding, sort of setup. And they just look stunning! I posted up some pics of mine recently under a different topic, this link is...

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?t=3589

I think this 'Aquatic Plants' section is underused, there must be more planties out there...!

Shae, plants photosynthesise in both the red and the blue (i.e. anywhere but the green). Unfortunately water absorbs more light in the red than the blue, so even though the white light is is "wasting" a bit of green light, the extra blue light that gets down to the plants is probably greater than the light from the red bulb. Plants will take anything but green.

I have heard two different theories about using the mixed white and red bulbs. One is that the extra red brings out the colours in the fish, the other is that red light is better for plants than algae. My theory is that the mixture of bulbs looks more "technical" and makes them easier to sell to us.

For the record, I have that mixture of bulbs because that is what came with the tank.

I agree with Dubbieboy on the fact that this section is underused, but maybe if we expose those planties out there then we can get a bit of info pumping through here.

B

Oh no, I don't want to be exposed. At least, not without sunblock ......... :lol:

I've come to the conclusion that you're probably better off spending the same amount of money and getting 1-2 more cool white tubes than worrying about getting a gro lux or whichever. Or just use the same number of cool whites and call the price difference paying for electricity.(Or buy a fish with it)

I've got a 2.4m tank (1200L) pretty much dedicated to plants. It has a handfull of discus, a few dwarf cichlids and about 100 neons but it's mainly plants. I've recently ripped it to bits and changed everything round. It will be another week or two before it's all grown properly again. I'll post some pics then. It has a very strong Amazon theme...

2.4m WOW, thats the sort of tank I need to convince the wife to go for.

can't wait to see the tank warren, looking forward to it.

I will have some updated pics soon of my tank as I have got some new additions in there.

B

Hi Ballistic and fellow 'planties',

I basically follow the 'ecological' approach. Use soil as a substrate, mainly natural light and natural aeration, hardly change any water, plants as the filter, low maintenance. Which also means it's always a 'work in progress'.

Hopefully some pics below of the 'main' system..

This is looking from the top. Water is pumped from the main tank up to the breeding tank and then fountains down over the rock back to the main tank, providing CO2 aeration. Presently I've got two day old Betta fry in the breeding tank so am not circulating any water which does mean that there is less CO2 in the water and plants grow slower and more algae is formed however it is not a huge difference as organic decomposition also provides CO2. If you want to come and visit feel free...have you still got my number? send me a pm if not..

Here you can see the pants thriving including the lobelia cardinalis on the left that grows out of the tank. I'm hoping this summer it will flower. Right in the middle you can see that neon rainbow I got from you glinting in the sun. :lol: If you want to come and visit feel free...have you still got my number? send me a pm if not..

Here is my lounge tank. It was recently heavily pruned of plant and just starting to grow back. It is a 4ft tank with 4 daylight fluoros and no CO2 or anything added.

If anyone can tell me what the last plant is I'd appreciate it. I have one or two ideas but...

it looks like it might be a type of syngonium(sp), I'm pretty sure I have seen it elsewhere as this.

that rainbow looks good richard, any luck breeding it.

B

Some updated pics of my planted tank and my main tank upstairs.

This is my main tank upstairs

This is the planted tank downstairs

And Another

The images are links to bigger pics, just for your info

B

Hi Caryl,

I would bet that the plant is Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, or perhaps C cordata.. Is that Rotala you also have there?

that rainbow looks good richard, any luck breeding it.

B

well he was very happy to find some females when I put him in the tank, kept trying to have sex for two weeks non-stop. However he is 2-3 x their size and they just freak out and run away. So I'm gonna wait till the females are bigger (anyone got any big female neon rainbows?). Also I don't really have room for more rainbows and am breeding bettas at the moment...so he will have to wait..

I have had alot of trouble getting my plants to grow well. Went to Rotorua for 4 days last week hunted down the LFS (WONDERWORLD AQUARIUM & PET CENTRE) Ardie Drummond, nice guy we talked over my problem and he sold me (oh no I can't remember the brand) but anyway it was base stuff then you put your fine pebbles on top same brand. Had to strip the tank and start from bottom up poor fish, they made it alright did'nt hurt any saved all the water so it didn't shock them, and replanted. All the plants are looking good and I really like the look of the new gravel. I have got a heavy load of fish can't help myself same with my marine but I decided enough is enough NO more fish. I would love some Arazona plants sword and things but can't seem to find them in the LFS maybe someone could help me there (would be prepared to pay good price) Will take some pics and show before and after soon.

Melanotaenia - I thought it was most likely C pontederiifolia too but wondered if anyone else had any other thoughts. The other plant is red rotala.

So here is my tank. Well half of it, I wasn't paying attention and all the full tank shots have the reflection of the photographer in them . It is recovering from an algae outbreak after I removed the CO2. The CO2 is back on now, The "reactor" is buried under the java moss.

@ Caryl - I also think the plant in the middle of your last picture is most likely C. pontideriifolia.

Here's a pic of one of my tanks, it's the 5' discus tank, has been set up almost 3 months now.

I'll see about getting better photos and also pics of the other tanks over the christmas break.

Definitely pontideriifolia. Well, assuming the stuff in my tanks that I think is pontideriifolia is pontideriifolia.

I'll give it a yes too...

In that case, C pontideriifolia it is!

Rob you have a lot of non-discus in your discus tank Looks nice all the same.

heres my tank, can you name the middle plant and the ones on the outside(the bushy ones)