# New to planted tanks. help me with my Geo tank!



## C-kidder (Aug 2, 2014)

Ok here goes....
Starting to try and plant a tank with a bunch of geo's. I expect all the same issues I had with the other set of geo's I had but, learnt a few lessons and asked a bunch of questions after everything that was put in the tank died/got eaten. 
I will attach a pic of what I bought at the store, Still learning so asked for all low light plants and this is what I was given/picked out with the person. 


I guess a few I have are.
1.Do I really need to fertilize/co2 with what I have in the tank and if so what is the best option. I would personally like to add as much plant life as possible without crowding it to much. 
2. Is is best to remove the fiber wrapping that the plant comes in and metal band? Typically I would but with them going into a tank with fish that like to dig around their roots/stem's I found that they tend to get dug up if not weighted or held down.
3. Anybody recommend any plants that I currently do not have? I would like to have more variation but am limited with the fish and lighting I have on the tank.
Lighting on tank is 1 (Beamswork 48" 3300 lumen - 54 x 1w LED (3 rows of LED, 54 6500k) Fish in the tank are Geo's, pleco's, and cory cat's I have removed all snails in hope that it should make it easier for the plants to have a fighting chance.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice given.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Tank looks good. Plant syou bought are. Anubias, Java Fern, Narrow leaf Java, Microsorum Windelov. Most of the plants you bought prefer to be ties to something rather than have their roots berried in the eground

Question 1# No you don't need to add Co2. The plants you have in there will do fine without it. I recommend adding some sort of fertz. I like the Seachem line. Add Flourish comprehensive and Trace. Keep it simple. Don't over dose it. Im not a fan of excel. I think you can achieve a nice planted tank without tit but some people do like it. I also you flourish tabs. You place them at the roots of plants in the substrate.

Question 2 # The fiber wrapping is supposed to be removed so are the cups. Reason being. The plant will eventually become root bound and it will effect the plants health. If you are struggling to keep them in the substrate you could leave them in the cups/fiber until they grow better roots. Your fish obviously dig so keeping them down is always an issue. I try to place a rock or 2 around the base of the plant to stop the fish from up rooting it. Once the roots grow in I remove the rocks. 

Question 3. A plant I have found that develops good long strong roots relatively fast is most Crypt species. They are good in low light. 

Ive dealt with many plants in my African tank. They like to dig too. Its been fun trying all the different types. Your lights should be fine.


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## C-kidder (Aug 2, 2014)

You are awesome thanks!!
Tank needs more plants because I chose not to background my tanks but I don't Like looking at the uv sterilizer tube behind this one. I Will see if I can attach some of the plants to some cactus wood I have in my tanks that I am not using and use the rock method. as well to help protect the bottom of the stems I think. The big Deamons I have are the worst out of the bunch but don't intentionally mess with the plants. The food will rest around it and they like to pick up every last bit so they will sit there and take 10 mouthfuls of sand which pretty much de-roots anything around the area.

Thanks again. I will look at picking up something from the Crypt family and post more pictures soon!


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## Niku (Feb 11, 2014)

with my geo tank ( if im not mistaken where some of these guys came from) i got around the earth eater problem with lots of sticks and many types of java and anubias. as far as i was told/ experienced you dont want to take away a lot of substrate real-estate with geos as they quite enjoy there mouth fulls of sand. i agree with every thing young said, sticking with this type of plants your fine with out co2, i am one of those people who do like excel because it keeps my BBA in check but yea you may not need it. the only thing i can think of is you may need to adjust your light cycle over time im not sure how much your running now but if you start to fert your plants its gonna give algae an opening if your lights are on more then 10-12 hours a day. 

looks good tho, they all look so happy


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Good point about the lights Niku! Best bet is to start with less light and work you way up. 8hrs is usually a good starting point. If you see new growth and healthy plants leave it at that. If you dont bump it up an hour. It all takes time. Sit back and enjoy the ride.


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