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Aquascaping, planted sm. FW
sys. 7/11/09
Hi,
I am planning to start a new 10 Gal. Aquarium and I am
wondering about what I can do for aquascaping.
<Before we go any further... do understand 10 gallon tanks often have
very, very poor lighting systems; all those Dutch and Amano-style
planted aquaria you see depend upon strong lighting. For that sort of
growth, you need 2-3 watts per gallon, and most 10-gallon aquarium kits
don't have anything like as much power. So your options are limited to
plants that tolerate shady conditions: Anubias, Java ferns, Java moss,
and some of the hardy Crypts like Cryptocoryne wendtii. Beyond these,
you'll have plants that slowly die, no matter how good the other
factors, such as substrate, might be.>
Its a freshwater aquarium and I was trying to do some sort of thing like
in the video I placed in the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1kfNy7rSvc
<I see; typical large planted aquarium.>
But I have a problem, I don't know what would work as a big wooded
centerpiece like the one in the video.
<It's aquarium driftwood; most shops sell the stuff, and if you go
online or eBay, you can find all sorts of types: Mopani wood, bogwood,
mangrove roots, Malaysian wood, etc.>
Do you know where I could perhaps find some? I plan to go around the
beach tomorrow and find some rocks and for the plants I'll buy some
artificial plants to make it out.
<Beach wood can be fine provided it isn't polluted with oil or whatever.
Does tend to float, though! Use silicone to attach to a glass or better
get a Perspex or slate sheet, and bury that underneath the gravel.>
Also, for the mound how many packs of gravel should I obtain?
<Depends how big your packs are! Personally, I prefer to buy 25 kg bag
of gravel or sand from a garden centre, which costs about 3 UK Pounds,
and from that I could decorate several 10 gallon tanks, easy! Do see
here for some options:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav2i6/planted_aquascaping/planted_aq
uascaping.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/nicebottoms.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/plantedtkssubwebindex/rkwdscapeag.htm
>
Sorry for so many questions but I am quite new to this aquascaping thing
and don't know how many fancy guppies/neon tetras I should put in for
the tank, with the whole deco and mound of gravel reduces the amount of
water is provided in the tank.
<Guppies don't belong in a 10 gallon tank, period. But Neons work well,
and you could have a dozen or so without any bother. Do choose a dark
substrate or at least use plenty of floating plants if you want them to
look good; in Spartan, brightly-lit tanks they tend to look washed out
and unhappy. Keep them in a big group, ten or more, otherwise they won't
school!>
Thank you for your time,
Roxas
<Cheers, Neale.>
South East Asian Tank
Hello people <HI Mike how are you today?>
I’m currently in the process of planning a South East Asian themed aquarium. And
since you seem like knowledgeable folks I’d be grateful if I could run the
current set of ideas past you for your thoughts. <You are too kind> I’ve read
general info on these topics across your site (and many others), but it is
really useful to hear others opinions on specific setups. <I think so as well.>
Nothing about this planned setup is set in stone yet – it’s literally at the
drawing board stage, <Very smart to plan it out in advance.> but any advice you
can give to help avoid problems in the future would be much appreciated. So here
goes…Juwel Rio 400 system – I’ve not read anything on your website about these
(so far! Its rather large…)<Bigger is usually much easier to take care of then
smaller> but it’s a very basic aquarium ‘package’ that’s very popular in the
UK (http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/uk/index.html).
Size: approx. 151 x 62 x 51 cm
Volume: approx. 400 litres
filter / heater - fairly large (8 Litres) internal basket filled with poly
pads, active carbon sponge and coarse / fine filter sponges - driven by a
pump (1000 litres/hour). A 300W heater is also located in the filter basket.
lighting - two 36 watt fluorescent tubes (fitted with reflectors).
Internal layout - substrate of fine gravel or sand mixed with an additional
"plant friendly" media such as peat or laterite, bogwood and a few pebbles.
<There are some marvelous plant mediums out right now you are lucky to be doing
this.>
Plants being considered,
Cryptocoryne affinis
Cryptocoryne crispatula
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Cryptocoryne willisii
Nymphaea lotus
Eleocharis parvula
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Hygrophila polysperma
Limnophila sessiliflora
Vallisneria spiralis <Very nice selection and should give you many different
textures and heights.>
Fish,
Dwarf Rasbora Rasbora heteromorpha
Pearl Gourami Trichogaster leerii
Clown Loach Botia macracanthus
Glass catfish Kryptopterus bicirrhis
Flying Fox Epalzeorhynchus kallopterus
A few areas I’m already concerned about Pump power, too strong for this setup?
<I don't think its too strong if you can disperse it into different areas, if
its all coming out in one place could be a problem.> Could be downgraded to 600
litres/hour. <Might be necessary unless you find a way to send the current out
from two places.> Lighting, sufficient? <I personally would prefer a bit more
lighting.> The tank is upgradeable to carry another 2 tubes with reflectors
bringing total to 4. <I think the more light the better.> Glass catfish, out
competed for food? <I'd suggest you buy one of them that's a little big larger
and I've had friends tell me they do better in pairs.> Overly boisterous clown
loaches? <Start them out very small they will grow quickly.> Stocking levels,
these have been hard to determine because of the potential size of the loaches
and not knowing how long they will take to grow (assuming they achieve anywhere
near full size) I’ve read eventual sizes anywhere from 10-50cm. Any suggestions
for numbers & ratios of fish species? <My big concern with the clown loaches is
that I've seen them pull plants up.>
Clown loaches/plants, The plan is that hopefully the plants will establish
when the loaches are small and being protected with a few (perhaps sizable)
pebbles should manage to survive – any loach that reaches anywhere near a
foot is going in another tank. <Good way to address that.>
I’m not planning to use any Carbon Dioxide injection apparatus, mainly
because I can’t afford the better equipment and cheaper models appear
incredibly hit and miss to me - I’d rather not take the risk. The filter
pump will be positioned to create little to no surface disturbance. <you have to
have some surface movement or you won't provide enough oxygen for the fish at
night.> Possibly running an air stone during the night to maintain oxygen levels
– if I need to…? <I don't think surface movement is going to be your problem so
much as total current. I think if you use some kind of adaptor to split the
current you'll be able to take care of this.>
I actually have a smaller Juwel tank (54 litres/similar filter/heater on
smaller scale) that I can use for quarantine. <Very smart, don't forget to
quarantine your plants as well.> Sorry for such a long meandering set of
questions, thanks very much for your time. <Great questions Mike, Let us know
how it goes, MacL>
Mike
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Re: It's a jungle in there!
Hi Ronni- hope you are well!
<Hello Rosa! All is wonderful here, hope it’s great for you too!>
My fish tank tested 0 nitrites and 0 nitrates this morning so I was
pleased and went out to get plants. Unfortunately neither of the 2 good
fish places had either corkscrew Val, or Vallisneria spiralis- and the
anacharis they had looked incredibly moldy. I tried to grow this grass
once before and it kept falling apart and getting stuck in filter.
<I’ve had very good luck mail ordering plants (I’ve personally ordered
plants from Aquabotanic (www.aquabotanic.com) and was very pleased with
what I got. I’ve also purchased from a few sellers on eBay and Aquabid
with good results. Just be *sure* to QT everything before adding it to
your system. A good soak in Lime-It is also a good idea; this will kill
snails and such so they don’t infest your show tank. That’s interesting
that you had that problem with Anacharis. I’ve run into that with
Hornwort if the filtration wasn’t just right but never with Anacharis.
I’ll keep it in mind though and warn people about this problem.>
I really wanted to get another plant but now I'm worried it was a mistake.
I got a Bacopa monnieri, potted, which looked incredibly healthy and the
guy told me it was a medium light plant. The other grass like plant that
looked great, also potted, was something called a Mondo grass. He
assured me it would be great for setup. I like it because it is tall and
willowy- sort of like long hair. But when I got home and looked it up on
a few websites I found it is 'not a good plant for aquarium" and they
don't last long? Is this true - I'm bummed now.
<Unfortunately, it does seem to be true. This is not really an aquarium
type plant and doesn’t do well when submersed.>
Also, with these additions there is little 'free' space on aquarium floor-
but you said this was ok with the otos right? (I'm not at home and I
don't have access to first email).
<Should be OK. At least from my experience with oto's.>
Suddenly I think maybe there are too many plants in this 15 gallon setup -
is it possible to have too many plants?
<Yes, this is very possible. If you have too many plants the tank can
become very crowded looking and it also cuts down on swimming room for
your fish, effectively lowering the amount of fish you can keep. Since
you’re planning on smaller fish you should be OK with quite a few plants
but make sure that they don’t crowd each other out. Don’t forget that
the plants will most likely grow and spread pretty rapidly. I wish I
still had the pics of when I had my 60g heavily planted. I did a brief
study (just for personal reference) on how quickly various plants would
grow. My tank had a medium-high plant load and a medium fish load when I
began. Within 2 months, it was very hard to see more than ½ way to the
back of the tank and the fish were getting quite crowded because of the
plants. I’ve attached a picture (sorry it’s not a better pic!) of the
same tank now with a low-medium plant load and a fairly high fish load
(about 25-30 Tetras, 5 or so Barbs, 1 regular Pleco, 1 Bristle-nose
Pleco, 5 Loaches, 4 Corydoras, 1 Talking Catfish, 2 Bumblebee Catfish).
This tank has only been set-up for about a month and already I’m seeing
some good plant growth.>
Algae showed up on glass today- first time ever. I take it this is a sign
to get the otos now? I guess there is enough stuff. So should I go with
the otos first and then the shrimp and wait for readings on
nitrite/nitrate next week?
<Should be fine, just be sure to add everything slowly.>
I can borrow a digital camera and will take pics and send as jpg files-
can I send to this address? Thanks, Rosa
<Yep, you can send them to this address. Ronni>
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Looking for Hardy Mosses/Grasses for a 110 Tropical Tank...
Hi I’m setting up a 110 for rather large fish...2 Pacus, Arowana, pleco...
I’ve got time and would like to aquascape the tank before adding fish... Anyway,
I’m just looking to carpet the tank with one moss and one type of grass...I will
add driftwood and some medium sized rocks. Because of the fish size... I’m
trying to maximize room for swimming...so the "carpet" will be the primary
decoration...besides, larger plants would be easily uprooted by the fish...can
you recommend one type of moss (want something to grow on driftwood and rocks)
and one type of grass that are easy to grow and prolific? Thanks!
<Java moss is very easy to grow and grows fast but watch out because it can
rapidly take over a tank. Dwarf Sagittaria Subulata is a grassy type plant that
only grows to about 6-8 inches. True dwarf tenellus is smaller than the
Sagittaria and makes a good foreground type carpet. Lilaeopsis is another grass
like plant that grows into a very thick sod like lawn. But this plant requires
bright light and a soft nutrient rich substrate. It’s often called Micro sword
and grows to about 3 inches. Ronni>
Driftwood plants
To Robert,
could you please tell me what plants can attach to
driftwood. I know that java fern, java moss, anubias nana can.
Could you please tell me all the plants that you know that can attach
to driftwood?
<Hmm, well other aquatic ferns and mosses do... Am trying/typing to think of a
reference I have or somewhere to send you that might list these... What books on
general aquarium gardening do you have access to?>
Preferably the easy ones!
Could you send me a link if you know where I could find pictures of
them.
<I wish. Would gladly even post my images on part of our site: Home Page if/when
have time/general resources to sort them all out.>
1) Can Spathophyllums attach to driftwood? Someone told me that they
can but they need to be 'very young', when they are still growing. Is
it possible for it to attach to driftwood even when 10cm tall?
<Spathophyllums? Not really. These are "short timers" in submersed settings...
Really bog plants at best, terrestrial ones for a certainty.>
Thanks
>>
<Be chatting... I do encourage you to consider actually writing articles, making
photographs to go with writing/selling articles about your above insightful
questions...
Bob Fenner>
Driftwood with live plant
Dear Robert,
I recently purchased some driftwood and the pet shop said to soak it in water
for 2 weeks, changing the water every day. They said that doing this gets rid of
the 'tannin' that the wood releases.
<Much of the tannins... among other potentially discoloring, damaging
compounds...>
I'm worried as my wood is not sinking. I am also equally concerned as I read
your notes that driftwood could still release harmful properties into my tank-I
wouldn't want to harm my trop. fish. I have a Aquaclear 300 and Clearflow
undergravel filter.
<I hear you... Take a look at the site: Home Page and Freshwater Index piece and
FAQs on the "sinking" issue of driftwood... you may need to boil the material,
maybe use some chemicals with it... even attach something chemically inert (like
slate) to its base to get the overall density high enough to weight it down>
1) Do you recommend that I continue with preparing the drift wood? and if so,
what should I do to make it sink?
2) Will it release harmful chemicals that may affect my fishes' breeding
patterns? if so, what can I do?
<What sorts of fishes, other livestock? Many are not mal-affected by such
exposure...>
3) The piece of driftwood is very long and I cannot keep it fully submerged in a
bucket and I can't use the sink either, mum won't let me! Does it need to be
completely submerged to 'sink'?
<Yes... as in to waterlog the whole mass... and prep. it... and get it, keep it
down!>
Thank you I would really appreciate it if you could send me a reply at your
earliest convenience.
Keith >>
<Be chatting my "unsinkable" friend. Bob Fenner>
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