Insectile Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Hey guys, Im planning on setting up my first tropical tank this week :thup: . Im going to set it up as a SE A biotope, im planning on planting it with rotala rotundifolia, crypt wendtii, hygrophila polysperma, java fern, java moss and maybe some some water sprite floating on the surface. My first question is how to go about planting, can I order all the plants and just keep them moist until they have all arrived and then plant all together or is it better fill the tank and plant them as i get them? also with testing water parameters, are test strips, drops etc better or easier and if so what are best brands to get or are other methods such as electronic more reliable. The tank itself is only 20 litres so im planning on just stocking it with a shortfin male fighter. Cheers Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 You would be best to plant them as soon as they arrive, whether this be all at once or over time. Test strips are not very reliable. A liquid test kit would be much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Ok thats great thanks caryl, are there any particular brands to look out for? :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Unless you can float them in another tank, it's best not to keep them in the dark for too long. Planting them as they arrive may be the best option for you. I'm keen to see this tank, I have a soft spot for fighters :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Ok sweet as, ill just plant them as i get them then. Im looking forward to setting this tank up too haha :lol: i guess i better take a few photos once its set up then :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Also is it best to get the plants from people here or on trademe, at the LFS etc??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 These are my observations buying plants: *buying from LFS you usually or often pay more but at least you can see what you're getting *buying through TM and getting them posted often gets you squashed plants but you might pay less *buying on here has always gotten me good quality plants packed well but it's easy to miss out as they usually go quickly I prefer to buy from here first, then LFS, then TM unless I can pick up. I also have a few plants sitting in my new tank that aren't planted. Crypts you should definitely plant as soon as possible as they are fussy creatures. Stuff like twisted val and plants that put out runners often grow partly out of the substrate anyway and I haven't had trouble not planting them quickly. Saying that I weight them so they float the right way up and have some sort of stability rather than floating about in the current. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Thats very helpful thanks is it better to buy cuttings or plants with existing roots or does it not really matter?,also when cycling what is the best way to go about feeding my little microscopic friends :smln: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Plants with roots are much easier to get settled in and growing but most stem plants are pretty quick to take off if you get good cuttings. Lots of people will give away or sell cheap trimmings you can use, or if you post a thread in the wanted to buy section someone might likely do some trimming and send you a PM. Plants like swords, twisted val, crypts, ferns come as plants with roots usually. If you ever get twisted val make sure just to plant the roots and not bury the green bit or it will rot away. There is a lot of information on cycling here, it can be a controversial topic. There are couple of streams of thought - either use fish or not... if you do a search you will find more topics than you feel like reading :sml2: if you can get some filter media from someone else you can get the cycling started quicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 sounds good :thup: am hopefully going to pop in to the LFS tomorrow to pick up the last few things before I fill the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barnacle Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 And also, threads are useless without photos Will be good to see your progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 haha ill be sure to keep every one updated :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Looking forward to seeing it. I've become quite interested in plants but know very little about them. Be good to hear how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insectile Posted October 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 cheers, i am just doing a leak test now, so should have photos up in next couple of days :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.