reptilez Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Hi, i am thinking of setting up my 3 foot tank as a planted.. just wanted to ask some quick Q's 1-Is it possible to have to much Co2 for the plants? 2-What fertiliser would you reccomend? 3-If i keep plants will that make algae grow? 4-WHat begginer plants would you reccomend that grow well? Thanks heaps....i know i sound a bit 'dumb' to all those plant experts... matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterlogged Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 i don't think you can have to much co2 for plants as they only use what they need but it will kill your fish if the levels are to high. CO2 can have an affect on the algea growth, to much and the algea will start using the extra co2 left by the plants. that goes for all the nutriens in the tank. if you can get the levels to the right point you shouldn't have to much trouble with algea. As for big plants, my amazon sward has grown to 50hX30W and i know some other swards do it quite nicely, um lotus will grow to the top and looks cool, twisted val nice long plant with slim leaves, plants like stargrass that are bushy but grow fast look awesome as a background plant..... um lost my train of thought now lol but hope this novel has helped. I,m not a pro but over the last few years getting in to planted tanks thats the basics I've picked up P.S. ask P44 about plants and Jennifer about CO2 and nutreints+plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Hi, i am thinking of setting up my 3 foot tank as a planted.. just wanted to ask some quick Q's 1-Is it possible to have to much Co2 for the plants? 2-What fertiliser would you reccomend? 3-If i keep plants will that make algae grow? 4-WHat begginer plants would you reccomend that grow well? Thanks heaps....i know i sound a bit 'dumb' to all those plant experts... matthew To answer your questions, No you cannot have too much CO2 for your plants but you can have too much CO2 for the rest of the tank inhabitants. We really need to know a bit more about your proposed setup. What type of lighting and what intensity? Ferts is dependent on what plants you will have and what lighting. If you are planting root feeders like swords or crypts you can get away with just something like JBL balls or a layer of mineralised substrate. If you intend on lots of stem plants you may need to think about dosing liquid ferts like Flourish Comprehensive or PMDD. Algae will grow in any tank regardless whether it is planted or not. It is more common in planted tanks as there is usually more light and nutrients to feed the algae. Get the balance right and algae looks after its self. Beginner plants. Well it all depends on what you wish to acheive. Again this comes back to what sort of lighting etc. Crypts are good plants to start with as they are easy care, but they do take a while to settle in and get growing. Stem plants are easy but are quite demanding of light and nutrients. Once you understand the basics then most plants are easy to grow. I suggest you start by telling us about your hardware( lighting etc) and then telling us what you wish to acheive. this will enable people to give you better advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted April 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 thanks heaps for the help...my light i have got at the moment is just a flourescent one? would i need to get a new light? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 What sort of tubes does it have in it, it should be written near one end, and how many of them in the fitting? What are the dimensions of you tank, especially the height. Do you want this primarily for plants with some complementary fish chucked in for looks, or are do you have your heart set on a certain type of fish? Do you want to be setting up a high tech tank that requires a lot of lights, ferts, C02 and $ and be pruning the plants every month, or do you want a fairly low maintenance tank with some plants in it that doesn't drive you nuts with algae outbreaks due to light/fert/C02 imbalance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted April 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 What sort of tubes does it have in it, it should be written near one end, and how many of them in the fitting? What are the dimensions of you tank, especially the height. Do you want this primarily for plants with some complementary fish chucked in for looks, or are do you have your heart set on a certain type of fish? Do you want to be setting up a high tech tank that requires a lot of lights, ferts, C02 and $ and be pruning the plants every month, or do you want a fairly low maintenance tank with some plants in it that doesn't drive you nuts with algae outbreaks due to light/fert/C02 imbalance? 1 light in fitting 90cm x 40cm high x 40 cm deep i just mainly want to add some plants for looks...not an overload.i want a fairly low maintenance tank with some plants in it that doesn't drive you nuts with algae outbreaks due to light/fert/C02 imbalance thanks heaps i will check the light tonight and will get back to you 2morrow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice222 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 If you go with under gravel ferts with your current low lighting you could probably go without CO2, and other ferts, and have minimal algae unless if the tank is very overstocked. Can go for plants like the Java Fern Varieties, Java Moss, Ambulia, Anubias, Water Sprite, and several types of crypts and/or swords are also good, but I'm not sure which species myself. Twisted Val may also work too, they apparently prefer moderate lighting, but they seem to do alright in my tank even in a dimmer corner. It's pretty hard to have 0 algae in any tank, planted or not, but if you choose suitable plants and keep up with WCs if shouldn't become a problem. I think it's good to have mix of the above plants, eg. Anubias is slow growing on it's own it probably won't use up very much of the nutrients in the water, if you mix it with some faster growing plants like ambulia, it'll probably do a better job of using up any excess nutrients in the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted April 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 ok thanks heaps for the help.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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