# First Planted Tank - 8 Oct 2012 start



## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

Here is our first go at a planted tank -























Tank size: 20 gallon long (PETCO - 1$ a Gallon) - No Cover
Stand: http://www.petco.com/product/119922/Petco-Karma-29-Gallon-Wooden-Tank-Stand.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

Substrate: Seachem Flourite Plant Substrate - 2 Bags - http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753891
Plants: Dwarf hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula) and very nice plants from JTang - http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/freshwater-plants-classifieds-26/fs-mini-pellia-weeping-moss-floating-plants-10-a-28762/

Other items: http://www.petmountain.com/
1. Nutrafin CO2 Natural Plant System: Habitat: CO2 Natural Plant System - (Up to 20 Gallons) 
2. Marineland Penguin Bio Wheel Power Filter: : Penguin 100B - (100 GPH - 20 Gallon Tank) 
3. Via Aqua ViaAqua Quartz Heaters: : 100 Watt - 25 Gallon 
4. Marineland Maxi Jet Water Pump and Powerhead: : Maxi Jet 400 - (Max Head 3 Feet) 
5. Marineland Aquatic Plant LED Lighting System - WITH TIMER: : Fits 24" - 36" - 2240 Lumens - (23 White LED / 4 Blue LED)


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Your off to a good start. I didnt notice until the third picture that the wood in the middle makes a bit of a cave. I like the look of that. It Ive been considering buying that marineland plant led. Keep updating pictures. Im curious to see how well the plants grow. A little pointer. Try using fishing line rather than elastic bands. The elastic bands break down rather quickly and a very visible. Once the plant anchors over time you can just snip the fishing line off. Good luck with the tank. You will be hooked.


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

jbyoung00008 said:


> Your off to a good start. I didnt notice until the third picture that the wood in the middle makes a bit of a cave. I like the look of that. It Ive been considering buying that marineland plant led. Keep updating pictures. Im curious to see how well the plants grow. A little pointer. Try using fishing line rather than elastic bands. The elastic bands break down rather quickly and a very visible. Once the plant anchors over time you can just snip the fishing line off. Good luck with the tank. You will be hooked.


Thanks Justin! The LED comes pre-programmed so you just put in the current time and it does the rest - : ).

The Hagen CO2 is remarkably easy to set up - will see how it goes . . .


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

Bought some HC from BaoBeiZhu and then dropped into King Ed . . . and they had quite a range of nice plants.

Not sure what each of them are called, as the guy there had no idea - : ) - he just wanted a quick sale.


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

BTW - The carrot and zucchini are for the BNP babies from the pair I got from Ursus sapien back in January 2012.


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

Don't take this the wrong way, but why did you make the common mistake of buying plants from king ed rather than check out the planted classifieds here on BCA first?

Quick sale was right. The person who sold you those plants at king eds really has no idea what he was selling. I can already see that at least 4 of those plant species are not aquatic. Plus they're all grown emersed, so expect them all to melt away. Hope you didn't spend too much.


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks for the heads up - Which ones in the photo are you referring to? Can you point them out? - so that I can keep an eye on their growth.



vdub said:


> Don't take this the wrong way, but why did you make the common mistake of buying plants from king ed rather than check out the planted classifieds here on BCA first?
> 
> Quick sale was right. The person who sold you those plants at king eds really has no idea what he was selling. I can already see that at least 4 of those plant species are not aquatic. Plus they're all grown emersed, so expect them all to melt away. Hope you didn't spend too much.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Lots of people including me have made the mistake of buying plants from King Eds that arnt true aquatic plants. The $2.99 pricing is hard to pass up. Many of the plants they are selling are bog plants that wont grow fully submerged. Ive found the 4.99 plants they sell usually are aquatic. Best bet is to do some research before hand or as mentioned buy them from members on here. My favorite LFS to buy plants from is Rogers in Surrey. They are a sponsor on here. Their plants always have good roots and are healthy. They also have all the names listed on the glass and a rating scale on how easy it is to grow.

The purple plant you bought might be a bog plant. Pretty sure I bought that one. You will know if it doesnt seem to grow or develop any roots


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

It has been a few months since we set up this planted tank - vdub and Justin were absolutely right about the plants from King Ed - : ).

Only 1 or 2 of the King Ed bought plants from back in Nov 2012 - out of 8 are still alive.

Have taken the various advice/info and stuck to buying from members who are much more trusted and generous sources of quality plants.






There are 4 Amano shrimps, 3 Rilli Red and 10 Cherries - have spotted a few babies likely Cherries. The Assassin snails have been very productive (multiplying). All the baby BNPs are now in the larger tanks.

For CO2 - adding sugar and yeast to the plastic Hagen unit hanging on the side - it seems to work well. I can spot pearling regularly.

BTW - I think I may have a bit of Planaria infestation, will see how it goes.


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

BTW - I think the Amano shrimp is berried - not hoping much as larvae needs brackish water from what I had read.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Your tank has really come together. Looks like the marineland led light passes the test. Ive been concidering going led also. What ever you have been doing is working. Some of your red plants look really good. Its a bit of a jungle which is exactly how I started out. Eventually if you start to group the plants and scape it a little more it will look even better. Great job for your first planted tank. Bcaquaria members are great for getting good deals on healthy plants.


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks Justin - it is a bit of a learning curve as I find out more and more what is out there, what works, what is nice - initial goal was for them just to survive, the re-scaping will come later. The red plants came from Crimper - he has very nice plants! 

I am planning to get another similar set-up started up, with more focus on getting carpet plants thriving. The intended carpet on this one did not really work - it got overrun by algae, mosses and the likes.


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

In case this is useful to anyone else - from - Nutrafin Co2 Basic User Guide - Archived PARC threads - Tropical Fish Forums

**********
Here's a basic guide to using the popular Nutrafin yeast-based CO2 units, based on my own experience.

1. Fill canister with regular granulated sugar to the first line.

2. Add 1/2 teaspoon of dried yeast (available from supermarket).

3. No need for "Stabiliser" unless you have v. soft tap water.

4. Top up to second line with tepid (approx 30C) tap water.

5. Stir.

6. Fix lid tightly.

7. Attach tubing tightly.

8. Watch the bubbles appear after 10 to 30 minutes.

Ambient temp. affects bubble rate, cold = less output, warm = more output.

More yeast = more CO2 for shorter time.
Less yeast = less CO2 for longer time.

1 teaspoon of yeast will give you around 30 bubbles per min. for about 7 days. This should be good for up to a 100 l. / 30 gal. tank.

Aim for 30ppm CO2. Change mixture regularly to avoid unstable/low CO2, this causes algae. Test for CO2 using 4dKH drop checker.

Clean ladders may clog bubbles up for a while. The bubbles will run up smooth after a few hours or so.

Use multiple units for larger tanks. Change mixtures alternately for stable CO2.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Kimrocks said:


> Thanks Justin - it is a bit of a learning curve as I find out more and more what is out there, what works, what is nice - initial goal was for them just to survive, the re-scaping will come later. The red plants came from Crimper - he has very nice plants!
> 
> I am planning to get another similar set-up started up, with more focus on getting carpet plants thriving. The intended carpet on this one did not really work - it got overrun by algae, mosses and the likes.


I learned the exact same way. Good old trial and error. Some plants work for some people and not for others. I re scaped my tank 4 times before I finally achieved what I was trying to when I first set up my planted tank. All the things I learned along the way have given me a beauty planted African tank aswell. Not very many people are sucessfull with planted African tanks. I think all the learning on my 25g planted co2 tank really helped with that.

Good luck on the next tank. Post some pictures when you set it up. Its crazy how fast planted tanks transform into really nice tanks so fast.


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

Instant Carpet! - Very nice Mini-Pellia carpet from JTang.

Just draped it over the driftwood right at the centre - Perfect fit! - : ).


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

Tank as of today - 9 Jan 2014


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