FishChannel Forums / Freshwater Forums / Plant Particulars

Coralife lighting

hiddenrunes — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:50:52 GMT

I have a 15 gallon tank planted with various swords, wisteria, moneywort, and some kind of red lily bulb(they are all very productive). It is being lighted with standard white light 120V, 60Hz, 10 watt 2 compact flourescent bulbs. 1st question..is this appropriate lighting? I also have a 10 gallon planted tank with similar plants but I needed to replace the bulbs and a guy at the fish store said I needed coralife mini compact flourescent bulbs colormax..same Hz and V and 10 watts each but the bulbs are pink and make my tank pink. Is the pink lighting really a lot better for my plants than the white lighting? I am also trying to setup a 28 gallon planted tank but with strip lighting. I am curious is a 20 watt Nutriglow strip light really a good lighting to make my plants flourish? Sorry there are so many questions but my plants flourished without any issues and now that I am needing to replace the bulbs I am finding I don't know all that much about lighting. Thanks!

Aqua Botanic

FattFishy — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:20:47 GMT

I am thinking about buying some plants from this site.. has anyone tried it? Is it reliable?

Tank Stats

2.8 watts per gallon. 28 watts of 6500k "daylight" compact flourescent bulbs. On for 8 hours. Lowering to maybe 6. Should I?

A half dose of PlantGro Iron Enriched fertilizer every week after a water change. Will dose Excel once I get it.

Amazon Swords, Java Moss, Anacharis, Hornwort

Questions

I am planning to get Anubias nana 'petite', Marsilea Quadrifolia Fourleaf Clover, Marimo Balls, Anubias minima, and Cryptocoryne moehlmannii.

Does anyone have any problems with these plants from aquabotanics? Will they thrive in my tank conditions?

Algae problem

I also have a Green Beard Algae (NOT CYANOBACTERIA) and brown diatom algae problem. My water source has excess silicates so I can't help the diatom but I would like it if it just didn't grow on my Amazon Swords. The GBA is on the gravel and Java Moss and would love it off both. Can dosing Excel help with the algae problems? Should I stop using the fert?

Thank you to those who read and reply. Please post some advice and opinions.

20 gallon high V.2

David Lass — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:12:46 GMT

As some of you may remember, I have a 20 gallon high that I had set up using Red Sea's plant system, which I then ran without a filter for about two months. That tank has now been completely redone -- to using the SERA planted tank system. This consists of a very rich substrate (that goes under regular gravel), additives used daily and weekly, and a CO2 dispenser that uses a fizzy tablet. The tank has a Hi-Q outside power filter, and a Hagen GLO T5 light. The tank has been set up for better than a month now, has lots of plants, and LOTS of fish, and there has never been even a hint of algae, and plants and fish are doing very well. Photo enclosed

Algae Control

JCHAMPAGNE — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:47:34 GMT

Has anyone had any success with these freshwater snails in controlling algae? I am thinking about getting some for my planted 55 gallon because I hear they are good at algae control and don't eat plants: But only via hearsay.

I would like to have a first hand account if possible.

Help identifying a freshwater grass

akagorilla — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:53:02 GMT

When I would visit The Fish Store in Buckhead near downtown Atlanta, they had a show tank with a type of grass toward the front of the tank. I bought some but was never successful at getting it to spread out like the show tank.

It shot out runners to start new grass, like St. Augustine would in your yard.

What type of grass is this and how do you get it to spread out?

super bright algae

draco — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:51:12 GMT

i was cleaning my 15 gallon sengal bichir tank the other day and when i rolled their plastic skull over it had really bright neon green algae. it is creeping like moss but the tank isnt planted. i use API bacteria booster, novaqua, and novacare for chemicals for every 6 water changes.

is it toxic?

what on earth causes it?

what happens to the fish with this stuff?

SPECS:
15 gallon

under gravel filter

ehim power ball moves 170 GPH with just the air hose on it to suck in air

10 gallon air pump

tetra 2 - 15 gallon hang on back filter

stealth 5 - 15 gallon heater

one fish log

one fake small cugar skull

normal hood lighting 20 watts came with the tank

PH 7.0

hardness 7

amonia 0

nitrates incunclusive

Specific lighting question.

JCHAMPAGNE — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:24:49 GMT

I have a standard size 55 gallon tank that I am using for a planted tank set up. 48"x13"x18"deep

I have just installed a compressed CO2 system. Is my lighting strong enough for plants requiring medium and/or bright and/or very bright lighting?

I ask because I would like to have a successful go at things.

Staghorn Algae Growth

Nikita — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:09:30 GMT

I have a heavily planted 10-gallon tank that looks beautiful and brightens my day every time I see it. Unfortunately, it's developing a problem that's putting a damper on my joy.

I'm getting a ridiculous amount of staghorn algae on my plants. It attacks older leaves first, such as decaying vallisneria stems, but I'm starting to see it on plants that still have several days of viable growth, like fronds of my marsilea that are still green and vital. It's starting to take over my cryptocoryne some older wisteria leaves, and the last straw came when I saw a strand of it on my prize cabomba stems.

Now, I have not had other algae problems. After the tank was set up I got a bloom of brown diatom algae; this was resolved quickly. I had a few days of green spot algae growth, but once it was removed it did not come back. And I fought off some blue-green cyanobacteria on my cabomba that I solved by decreasing the photoperiod. But the staghorn doesn't seem affected by decreased light.

I have a pH of around 7.4, and a gH of 60. The hardness should be on a slow increase because of crushed cuttlebone added to the tank (see Invertebrate post "Ghost Shrimp Mortalities"). Ammonia and nitrites are zero. Nitrates are also very low, below 5 ppm.

Average temperature is 80 degrees. The tank houses roughly 6 ghost shrimp and 6 neon tetras. Also, I inject CO2 via DIY yeast fermentation.

So what should I do? This stuff grows fast, and its growth rate seems to be on the increase. I removed old growth that was being taken over; this worked for some people but the algae just infests my other plants. I don't mind a small amount of it, but this bloom is unpleasant and is ruining the vital, healthy appearance of my tank. Help!

EXCEL DOSING (EDITED) SEE LAST POST

FattFishy — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:59:46 GMT

So after some of you helped me with identifying this algae as Green Beard Algae, I need some ways to get rid of it. It's just everywhere now: On the Java Fern, Anubias barteri, gravel, filter intake tube, and I'm afraid it'll get on the Java Moss but I have an Amano Shrimp tending to it though. I hate having to also rub off brown diatom algae every week; it's sorta hard to get off with my fingers and I always rip some part of the leaf or something with the algae scrubber...

Tank statistics:

10 gallon planted 2.8 wpg

Hornwort, Java Moss

5 Red Cherry Shrimp, 1 Ghost Shrimp, 1 Honey Gourami, 2 Panda Cories, 6 Neon Tetras

28 gallon planted 1 wpg

Anubias barteri, Java Moss, Java Fern, Hornwort

4 Balloon Mollies, 6 Cherry Barbs, 4 Ghost Shrimp, 1 Amano Shrimp

Lights are on for 12-14 hours, fish are fed 5 days a week 2 times a day, water change 33% every week, and no fertilizers are used anymore.

I know a few methods to get rid of the green beard algae and brown diatom algae... I know that these methods can be done together.

1. Reduce Lighting

2. Reduce Feeding

3. Blackout

I want some certain conditions met: I have some Java Moss that just established itself and is now growing new strands. I want to promote growth and make it grow so that I need to ruthlessly pull moss every week or so. I REALLY WANT TO. No algaecides, CO2 addition, faster growing plant addition, or algae eaters.

Are there any other methods? Can I use the blackout method in my tank?

Flourish excel vs a CO2 injected system

JCHAMPAGNE — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:00:31 GMT

I recently went into my LFS in order to buy a CO2 tank system. I go there becuase they are a true "local" fish store and they are for the most part fairly knowlegable.

After talking with a very engaging employee for a lengthy amount of time, she sold me on trying triple to quintuple dosing with flourish excel. Evidently she is an aquatic plant head and swears by it. She even had a digital camera with loads of pictures from her 75 gallon tank on hand. I have to say that Amano would have been proud.

So, I left the fish store with some plants but not a new CO2 set up. I am again debating with my self.

My question to all of you is this:

What is your take on this advice? I mean it is evidently working for her. I know that with CO2, solenoid, and a timer...it is less laborious than having to remember to put the Flourish Excel in every day.

But other than that what else?

Aquascaping for my 20 gallon long

Purps — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:40:37 GMT

I am starting up my 20 gallon long tank. I am making it a community tank with guppies and neon tetras. i already have 2 guppies to start out with. I have some plants in there now, but I need some more plants and ideas on where to place them. Here is a pic.

tieing down plants

newfishguy — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:00:51 GMT

This may seem like a dumb question but a while I posted about geting some live plants for my tank ( fyi now I have a 55gal insted of a ten) what do most people tie there plants with.

thanks justin

mid michigan

Darn Yeasts.

Nikita — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:32:22 GMT

I've been fiddling with a DIY fermentation unit for two weeks or so. I had my share of beginner's fiascos; I've never used CO2 in my tanks before. I had seal leaks, back-siphoned aquarium water onto my floor, you name it.

I love the lush growth that the CO2 gives. I noticed it almost immediately. The problem with my Java fern melting? Resolved as soon as the CO2 concentration in the water went up. Even the normally slow-growing cryptocoryne is getting vibrant, quick growth - not bad for a plant that's hard to get adjusted. :)

Thing is, I keep having to remix my yeast because it simply..quits. It'll go amazingly strong for a day, pumping large amounts of CO2 into the tank, and then it will stop. Maybe a bubble or two the next day. After that, nothing.

I thought at first that I'd mixed it incorrectly. That I hadn't gotten proper activation. Or maybe I used water that was too hot. So I did it again, with the same results. So I changed my recipe, and used less sugar. I still got the same strong result for a day and then failure. At this point, I had my grandmother, a retired cafeteria lady, mix the solution for me. If anyone knows anything about making yeast work, it would be her...and the production was amazing...for a day.

I, for one, have neither the time nor money to mix a new solution every 24 hours. But DIY CO2 is meant to produce for 10-14 days, sometimes even longer. Why is it failing so soon...especially after having such a strong start? It makes no sense to me. :(

I have used varying packets of yeast, from old to freshly-bought.

I typically use a quarter to a half teaspoon of yeast. My grandmother used the entire packet, and the production was great, but the only added a quarter cup of sugar - I think they starved.

Six cups of water, give or take.

I have used anywhere from 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups of sugar in this amount of water.

The yeast is activated beforehand to ensure that I've gotten a good culture started.

I have added 1/4 tsp of baking soda, or left it out, with no change in result. (that's supposed to be a solution to problems that come later down the road, though.)

My ambient temperature is around 75 degrees, 70 now that I'm in the height of the mountains.

I'm at a loss. Something is killing off the yeast early, but those problems tend to occur later in the game, not a day after setting up the system. Should I try mixing the solution with spring/distilled water instead of tap? I have dechlorinated some mixes, left it plain in others, with no change.

I definitely need to figure out what's going on. The amazing growth in my tank is too nice to give up on account of lazy yeast!

Will this help.......

GRUBYGUPPY — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:51:00 GMT

I am ready to add water to my two new tanks,10gal quarentine tank & 75gal main tank.T aid the seeding I had 10 or 12 rocks and put them in a container of water from my girlfriends established tank.I am allowng the rocks to sit in this water for a couple of days and will put a few in the 10 and the rest in the 75 and then fill the tanks and continue on as for normal seeding and maturing process. Will this increase my bacteria level quicker? I am still going to cycle the tanks 4wks for the 10 and 5wks for the 75.Would floating the foam blocks from the two tanks in the same water as the rocks help?;)

Fissidens fontanus moss

Robin88 — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 19:26:09 GMT

Hello All,

Does anyone know of a site that carries this moss? I can't seem to find it.

Thanks, Robin

More lighting?

jsmith11618 — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:24:55 GMT

I have gotten some Java Fern and Java Moss and am planning on adding it to my 29 gallon tank.

I currently just have a 20 watt single tube daylight bulb on it now, the bulb included with the hood.

Would this be sufficient lighting for these plants? Or should I add some more?

I have an old incandescent from my reptile keeping that I can use if need be that can take 2, 23 watt compact florescent bulbs max.

Dracaena

FattFishy — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:25:33 GMT

Is Draceana bamboo an aquatic plant?

I see places like Petco selling it as an aquatic plant and in the water. There is a plant in the same genus as it is but non-aquatic.

If it is an aquatic plant, does anyone know the requirements? (lighting, water preferences, CO2, etc)

Just wondering.

How many plants?

GRUBYGUPPY — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:11:08 GMT

I have read all the books I own(many) and all the magazines I have(loads)

and can find any info on how mant plants per gal. woukd constitute

1-a lightly planyed tank?

2-a moderatly planted tank?

3-a heavily planted tank?

any help with this would be appreciated not only by myself but other people new to the hobby.

Live plants

austin123 — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 12:44:11 GMT

I have a 1 gallon tank for my betta so is that big enough for an aponogeton bulb?

Black moon sand?

hiddenrunes — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:59:43 GMT

Hi. I currently have 2 planted tanks, a 10 gallon with flourite substrate and a 15 gallon with simple gravel. I recently got a 25 gallon that I also would like to be planted and I wanted to try the black tahitian moon sand look but I was concerned about how that would effect plant growth. Should I do a layer of flourite and then moon sand or should I do gravel, flourite and moon sand? I'm not sure as to what would be the best in helping my plants flourish. Any advice on substrate layering with black moon sand would be great!:D

Anyone help me with identification?

FattFishy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:13:15 GMT

I have this moss but I'm not exactly sure what kind it is. I know that Java Moss is a very lush green and takes over your tank if you don't do water changes or nutrients are high. Also, the moss is very tolerant of literally any water parameters.

But it's not a lush green and grows slowly... not to mention it's also very hardy and not dying off. pH 7.6, DH 12, Ammonia Nitrite 0, and Nitrate around 10-15 ppm.

I haven't done many water changes and I add fertilizer, do you think it's Java Moss? I'm not sure it is.

Here's a pic:

Any opinions or ideas will be taken gratefully!

What would be a good plant

pufferrocks — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:20:51 GMT

I want to get a live plant to put in my 3 gallon betta tank. I have never had real plants before because my mom says they are hard to care for and make your water quality bad. So I don't know anything about them. What would be a pretty, easy plant to grow?

CONTROLLING ALGAE

JCHAMPAGNE — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:15:40 GMT

I am very interested in learning several methods of controlling existing algae. I have a moderately planted tank (55gal) with a DYI CO2 system including a ladder diffuser. My light are on 10-11 hours a day. I am experiencing a heavy infestation of Hair algae. I currently have two Otos that don't touch the algae. I went to my favorite fish store and they told me to try Cherry Shrimp and I think an Amano Shrimp. I just put them in yesterday.

What other words of advice can be given on all types of Algae including but not limited to hair algae.

Too much light for Java Fern?

Nikita — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:42:35 GMT

I was told that Java ferns aren't willing to tolerate light levels that are too high. This is sensible enough since they're more adapted to lower light levels.

I'm currently running 4 wpg in my tank, and everything else is loving it. But it appears that the Java fern is experiencing some trouble. I don't know if I'm just a plant hypochondriac, but I want to head off any problems before the little dudes just melt away.

I attached a picture of the plant. I hope it worked; I've never tried to post photographs before.

Does this look like the "melting" associated with too much light? Several leaves are experiencing the same difficulty.

Well forget the attachment, I figured out how to post the thing...

Now, the fuzzy-looking leaves at the bottom are original growth and are at least five years old. It's just got a touch of algae that substrate has settled into; that's not what I'm concerned about. It's the little places with the arrows that are worrying me. ;(

Live aquairium plants

Jeny — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:59:22 GMT

them? Ive saw them at the local walmart & pet stores But no certain instructions or anything on how to plant them where can i find out how to? Is it healthy or the fish or does it harm them?

plants and cichlids

newfishguy — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:20:30 GMT

this is a general question but are there any plants that you can put in a

tank with all cichlids and 2 danios

Fertilizer

FattFishy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:40:43 GMT

Before anybody reads this, I have to say thank you for reading it all anyways.

I have some Plant Gro fertilizer by NutraFin.

It says it is iron enriched, optimizes growth, promotes vibrant colors, and contains benificial trace elements.

Instructions: 5 mL per 10 U.S. gallons provides the ideal amount of iron.

This is the guranteed analysis of the ingredients in it:

Total Nitrogen (N): 0.15% 0.15% Other Water Soluble Nitrogen

Boron (B): 0.0005%

Copper (Cu): 0.0005% 0.0005% Chelated Copper

Iron (Fe): 0.26% 0.26% Chelated Iron

Manganese (Mn): 0.05% 0.05% Chelated Manganese

Molybdenum (Mo): 0.0007%

Zinc (Zn): 0.003% 0.003% Chelated Zinc

Derived from sodium ferric EDTA, boric acid, copper EDTA, copper sulfate, manganese EDTA, manganese sulfate, sodium molybdate, zinc EDTA and zinc sulfate.

I am planning to use this for my Amazon Sword Plant in my 10 gallon as a grow out tank. I'm going to let it overgrow the tank and move it later on into my 28 gallon. The 10 gallon is much shallower than my 28 gallon so I'm letting the Sword take as much light as possible. I have 1.7 wpg in the 10 gallon. No CO2 diffuser. I'll also make sure not to plant it too deep into the gravel.

For reference on question 4.

Everything in all the 28, 10 and my sister's 10 gallon tanks.

Java Fern, Java moss, Anubias barteri, Anacharis

Balloon Mollies, Panda Cories, Dwarf/Honey Gourami, Ghost Shrimp, Amano Shrimp, Koi Swortail, Mickey Mouse Swordtail, Endler's Livebearer, Platy, Neon Tetras, Guppy

Gravel substrate in ALL tanks

No other fertilizer, or anything added. Just the regular water changes with a dechlorinator.

Questions

I have many many questions and would like as many as possible answered.

1. Is this a reliable fertilizer/product?

2. Will it be alright for the Amazon? Should I add or take out anything?

3. Will the copper levels become lethal to my shrimp(I originally have no or very little levels of copper as my shrimps never died or became injured.)?

4. Will ANYTHING be altered in any way at all?

I will monitor the pH for pH changes if this fertilizer is acidic because my KH is only 5 dKH.

Thanks you all who read this and post any advice or opinions.

New at this and need some advice

DukeofNOPO — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:20:43 GMT

I have been setting up a 55 gal tank into a plant/fish tank and want to make the best out of it but i dont have a but load of money but i do work at a pet store so i have access to alot of stuff. Anyways I am using florite gravel a few rocks and small peices of driftwood, I have a magnum 350 filter, a CO2 fermenting device with ladder, I have added some plant gro iron stuff and seachems flourish excell, I have a light used on a 30 gal tank for now but its next on my list to buy. I have a few different kinds of plants(java fern, wisteria, swords, etc.) and I have some rasboras and cardinal tetras along with a cory cat and otto cat. Now I have a few quetions and also would like some pointers if someone could help me out:

What kind of light should I buy?

What is a good ph level?

What chemicals/nutrients should i add?

Is there a limit to how many fish as apposed to a regular tropical setup?

Best method for increasing CO2 in alkaline hard water ?

stvnw — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 19:33:03 GMT

I currently have Red Sea Turbo CO2 Bio system. But with my KH at 6 and a PH of 8 according to my CO2 calculation table, my CO2 value is 1,8 and not in the recommended range. I am wondering if adding Seachem Acid Buffer would be a good idea as this would lower PH and increase CO2?

Plant "grow-in" time?

Nikita — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:55:42 GMT

I set up my 10g and bought plants. Had a fiasco with the bulbs; I bought some 13-watt compact fluorescents at Lowe's then found some 20-watt ones at Walmart. I was so happy to find a higher wattage... (it was either 13 or 20, no in-between.) ....Then I brought the lights home and discovered that one of the 20w bulbs was cracked. Joy of joys.

That rant aside, I have one medium cryptocoryne, some java fern, a lovely bit of moss (will have to research on species, it's not something I've seen before - got it at a specialty dealer and it was unmarked), some wisteria, cabomba, and corkscrew val. And my prize, a collection of aquatic four-leaf clover. I've always wanted the stuff, but it's never stocked - I got really lucky.

I'm hoping the rather high-light-loving clover and stem plants do well; right now the lights give a base 2.6 wpg, and I put a spare fluorescent strip over the tank as well for their first couple of days; the bulb's unmarked but I'm estimating the tank is at 4.0wpg. The substrate is an earth/sand mix.

I'm going to let these plants have the tank to themselves for a bit, since if I can help it I don't want to take live fish to college. Plus the substrate still needs to be cycled, etc etc etc.

...That was a rather long-winded post to get to the raw question: Do I need to add a fertilizer to the tank during this "grow-out" period? I want the plants to put down roots and acclimate to my tank. Are they going to need more than the lighting and the earth in the substrate? I have fertilizer on hand, but I don't want to dose the tank unless it's absolutely necessary. Not a lot of margin of error for overdose in a 10-g tank.

*edit* - Forgot to mention that I'm not running a filter at the moment, to give the plants time to settle without water currents. Is there a reason I should run it, though? And since I'm not running a filter, does it matter if the heater's on?

I have a plant question

se1an5795 — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:23:46 GMT

I'm thinking of puting plants in my aquarium and could the plant survive with these fish?

silver dollars

blackskirt tetra

gouramis

mollies

goldfish

catfish

clown loach

Amazon Sword Plant?

FattFishy — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:28:14 GMT

Thanks for all the ideas you guys gave me for my sister's tank.

Well, can I keep Amazon Sword Plant (Echinodorus amazonicus) in the 10 gallon? No fertilizer, pH 7.6 and 2.8 wpg flourescent 6500K.

In the FishKidz Corner, it talked about how livebearers like mollies can eat decaying greens on the plants and keep themselves happy as well as the plant preened. Can I do this with a platy, guppy and balloon molly?

How much light is too much?

Nikita — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 15:10:34 GMT

I purchased an incandescent hood for a new 10g I'm setting up, with the intention of installing compact fluorescent lighting. Each socket is rated up to 25 watts.

I want a good selection of plants in my tank, as many as possible, but without CO2. So my question is, what wattage of light should I install over my tank to give me the maximum selection of plants, but without necessitating CO2 injection? I don't want to overdo it on the light and end up with plants starving for nutrients.

Planted Tank Ideas

FattFishy — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:16:23 GMT

My sister's tank has about 2.8 wpg. The substrate is gravel and no CO2 system. pH: 7.6

Please list any ideas for plants that would do well in this situation. Don't tell me that it's just my preference... I'll choose from what you suggest.

felt like sharing the news

princessotfu — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:59:29 GMT

I spent this summer, like last summer, interning for a local environmental testing firm. The department in which I work uses a native water weevil to combat an invasive species of plants, and my job was to raise the plants, then raise the bugs and help ship them out to be stocked in lakes in various states.
Anyway, I am always picking through the native species that occasionally come through by accident and learning to identify them, sometimes bringing them home and trying my hand at keeping them in an aquarium. So when the eco-testing department was done with their stock of native plants, I GOT TO TAKE THEM HOME!!

So far, I know for sure that I have some form of elodea, curly-leaf pondweed, a type of naiad, foxtail/coontail, and sago something or other. Very specific names, huh?:P

But anyway, I"m so excited. Anyone got advice for growing lake plants that might be different from aquarium plants? I figure it can't be too different, other than that they won't care if I unplug the heater.

Pseudo-Lumen Index

math-only aquarium — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:47:15 GMT

"Planted tanks aren't really my specialty, so don't take everything I say as absolute. As to the 2-3 watts per gallon, that's a kinda weird rule considering the properties of light. The rule that I often use is based off of the psuedo-lumen index:

Watts Total = Ratio x [(Height of Tank in Inches)/12]^2 x [(Length of Tank in Inches) x (Width of Tank in Inches)]/144

Or, W = (RHHLW) / 20,736 Where R is the ratio of watts per ft.-foot squared, H is the height in inches, L is the length in inches, and W is the width in inches.

For most planted aquariums, experts suggest an R of 13-18 with the average R being about 16. Therefore, as an example, an average 10-gallon aquarium with dimensions of 20L x 10W x 12H would need about 22 watts of flourescent or similar lighting ((16 x 12 x 12 x 20 x 10) / 20,736 = 22.222...).

A simplified version of the above is W = 0.15 x H x G Where W is the total wattage, H is the height in inches, and G is the gallon size of the aquarium. Using this version of the equation, it quickly becomes apparent that the wattage per gallon is proportional to the aquarium's depth. NOTE: This version returns a little lower number than using 16 for R, but is convergent with other stocking rules for the interval of germane aquarium sizes."

--Adapted from another thread.

How do you get rid of Cyanobacteria?

FattFishy — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:39:45 GMT

Does anyone know how to get rid of it? I currently don't have it on any of the plants or gravel. It's just on my Roman Coliseum, No Fishing sign, and fake sharks/turtle decorations. I've read on AFI that it is toxic to fish and that I should get rid of it.

Flourescent lighting, 1 wpg, 28 gallons. Lights on for 10 hrs a day. 18 inches tall. Nitrate: 5 ppm, Phosphate: 3 ppm CO2: ???? No CO2 system. pH: 7.6

Plants: Anubias barteri, Java Moss and Fern

I also have brown diatom algae growing

It looks blue-ish green. Very slimy and I have to scrape it with my fingernail to remove it. But then it grows right back.

Out of curiosity, what does IMO and IMHO mean?

green hairy goo

uncleroman — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:45:46 GMT

what kind of gunk is this it has exploded and has taken over my tank i have been doing 10 gallon water changes about every 3 days and trying to pull it out by hand but have had no effect also have not used liquid fert just soil conditioning tabs i am trying to attach a couple of photos i hope it works

black algae on plants

staffordmom — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 07:52:04 GMT

I seem to have no luck with live plants. My fish are doing beautifully, but the 2 new Anubias plants I bought have black algae growing on them. The Java Moss seems to be the only plant that does well.

staffordmom

20 gallon planted tank with CO2

David Lass — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:37:44 GMT

This is sort of an "interim" report on the test 20 gallon high where I am using the Red Sea CO2 system, and their substrate. I set the tank up in early February, following the Red Sea instructions, and starting out with as many fast-growing plants as I thought would fit in the tank. I used ½ water from an existing tank, some driftwood and rocks that had been in other tanks, and a small Hi-Q Eco Filter with two cartridges from an existing tank, so I had “instant cycling”, and the tank has never had any ammonia or nitrite after the first two or three days.

I added a fair number of fish, as I am a great believer that the best plant fertilizer in an aquarium comes from the fish – besides, I like a fish tank with plants, not a planted tank with a few cardinal tetras, otocinclus, and algae eating shrimp. The Amano planted tanks are gorgeous, but just not my cup of tea. Over the next six weeks as the plants grew I trimmed them, and added a few new ones.

The plants in the tank are:

· Amazon swordplant – sent out a runner and flowers after two weeks

· The new hygro that has thin brown leaves, and grows like a weed

· Red ludwigia

· Rotal indica

· Crypt. Balansae and wendtii

Micranthemum umbrosum

· Foxtail

· Christmas Tree Moss on driftwood

· Two types of Java Fern – regular and thin-leafed

The fish in the tank are (I know this is crowding the tank, but I do know what I’m doing, and I like to have a lot of fish in a tank:

· 8 large neons

· 5 sunburst wag platies

· 8 bleeding heart tetras

· 3 Siamese algae eaters

· 4 corydoras schwartzi

· 4 (2 pairs) of Apistogramma cacatuoides

· 2 bamboo shrimp

The only problem that I had with the tank was that the water turned green after two weeks or so. I raised the Hagen lighting fixture all the way up on the nice little mounting legs that they give you for just that purpose, and I ran a 7 watt UV unit on the tank for three or four days until the water cleared. After that I have not had any problems with the tank. This photo is of the tank today.

I'm really pleased with how it is doing. What do you think?