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#1
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Newbie looking to add plants to 20G tank
I've had an aquarium for about 5 years now, with some success, but now
I've decided to upgrade to real plants, rather than the plastic ones I've got now. So, I've read the faq, browsed the newsgroups and looked at what's available from mail order places, but now I need some good practical advice from people with good practical experience. What I have: 20L tank (20"W X 12"D X 12.5"H) external dimensions Light strip w/ 24" 20W light (yeah, I know this will have to be upgraded to about 60W total) Bio-wheel 170 Gravel of variable size, approx. 2-5mm (1-1/2" depth) 5 Tiger Barbs (1 - 1-1/2") 1 Red Tailed Shark (4") 1 Common Pleco (5-1/2") What I'm looking to add: As far as the plants go, nothing fancy, too difficult to keep or that will be eaten by the Barbs. I'm doing this because real plants look better, especially if they put out flowers (not necessary), not because I've decided to become an aquatic horticulturist. But it would be nice to have a variety. As far as equipment, nothing fancy either. I'm willing to invest in a dual light strip, but I'm not willing to put it together myself (beyond the usual "some assembly required") or spend mucho bucks on some fancy MH setup. I know I'm probably going to need some extra gravel of appropriate size. I'd like to avoid hooking up a CO2 system if I could, but will do so only if necessary and if it's inexpensive and silent (not "ultra-quiet", I live in a studio and can't sleep with a pump buzzing away). In short low maintenance = good, high maintenance = bad. So, anybody have any suggestions for plants that would be good for me? Also, help on finding an inexpensive dual light strip would be nice too. Ken |
#2
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Newbie looking to add plants to 20G tank
Wow. Broad question. Where to start... ?
Ken wrote ... now I need some good practical advice from people with good practical experience. Will you settle for just experience? I'm willing to invest in a dual light strip... I'd like to avoid hooking up a CO2 system if I could, but will do so only if necessary and if it's inexpensive and silent That's a 15 US gallon tank, right? I'm sorry, I can't think in liters. If you can get a twin strip (2 x 20 watt), that's all the light you're going to need to get started with a lot of nice plants and, at that light level, CO2 is still optional. If you are interested in trying CO2, you'll have enough light that your plants will benefit from it and, if you experiment with a DIY setup, you won't have wasted a lot of cash if you decide you don't want to keep it up. A single soda bottle system fed into a diffuser of the intake tube to your filter is both inexpensive (things you probably already have in the kitchen + standard airtubing) and absolutely-not-virtually silent. BTW, the barbs won't eat your plants but the pl*co may make an occasional nuisance of himself scraping broadleaf plants. Mine eats anubias. kush "You can't have everything - where would you put it?" |
#3
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Newbie looking to add plants to 20G tank
Ken, adding plants is a wonderful way to go... There are a couple of things
to be aware of when dealing with plants... 1) Plants change your water chemistry a little (this is a good thing because they assist your filter in removing nitrate and other things, and they also add oxygen to the water 2) If you have halfway decent lighting (see kush's post), then you won't really need co2 for your tank... 3)make sure you get some liquid plant fertilizer for your tank after you add a few species, this keeps up the iron for your plants, and will help them grow tremendously. (this also removes the need for co2) *if* you do decide to add co2 (I do) you can do the Do-it-yourself (DIY) co2 generator for about $2, and produces no noise whatsoever... I want to add one caution to doing this however... co2 changes things like pH in your water... If you through a DIY co2 generator in your tank, then make sure you closely monitor the pH levels of your tank (co2 will cause pH to drop, but this is variable depending on your carbonate hardness levels) co2 is great for plants, and for a tank your size (about 10-15 US gallons), here is how I would make the co2 generator: get a 1 liter bottle (like a soda bottle) and drill a hole in the cap... Get some aquarium safe silicon and attach your standard 1/4 inch tubing to the cap using the silicon (just so the tubing pokes through the cap by about 1/2 inch) (let it dry for about 24hrs) make sure the tubing is long enough to go from where the bottle will be, and where it will go into your tank. (try and get the tubing to the bottom of the tank with a rock or something) put an airstone on the end of the tube that is in the tank (this breaks up the co2 bubbles so they diffuse into the water better) the concoction you put in the bottle consists of: add three cups cold water add 1 cup sugar add 1/2 tspn bakers or brewers yeast You should have to change this about every 2 weeks... Oh yeah, make sure that the bottle itself is in a secure spot so it doesn't get knocked over... that would be a bad thing -Jason "Ken" wrote in message om... I've had an aquarium for about 5 years now, with some success, but now I've decided to upgrade to real plants, rather than the plastic ones I've got now. So, I've read the faq, browsed the newsgroups and looked at what's available from mail order places, but now I need some good practical advice from people with good practical experience. What I have: 20L tank (20"W X 12"D X 12.5"H) external dimensions Light strip w/ 24" 20W light (yeah, I know this will have to be upgraded to about 60W total) Bio-wheel 170 Gravel of variable size, approx. 2-5mm (1-1/2" depth) 5 Tiger Barbs (1 - 1-1/2") 1 Red Tailed Shark (4") 1 Common Pleco (5-1/2") What I'm looking to add: As far as the plants go, nothing fancy, too difficult to keep or that will be eaten by the Barbs. I'm doing this because real plants look better, especially if they put out flowers (not necessary), not because I've decided to become an aquatic horticulturist. But it would be nice to have a variety. As far as equipment, nothing fancy either. I'm willing to invest in a dual light strip, but I'm not willing to put it together myself (beyond the usual "some assembly required") or spend mucho bucks on some fancy MH setup. I know I'm probably going to need some extra gravel of appropriate size. I'd like to avoid hooking up a CO2 system if I could, but will do so only if necessary and if it's inexpensive and silent (not "ultra-quiet", I live in a studio and can't sleep with a pump buzzing away). In short low maintenance = good, high maintenance = bad. So, anybody have any suggestions for plants that would be good for me? Also, help on finding an inexpensive dual light strip would be nice too. Ken |
#4
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Newbie looking to add plants to 20G tank
use a full bottomed lower profile bottle like a juice bottle and it won't
get knocked over. drill the hole in the cap small enough and cut the tubing on an angle and pull it through the hole with some needle nose pliers and you'll make a leakproof compression fit that doesn't require glue. have fun jtm -- Remove NOSPAM for email replies |
#5
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Newbie looking to add plants to 20G tank
"kush" wrote in message ...
Wow. Broad question. Where to start... ? Ken wrote ... now I need some good practical advice from people with good practical experience. Will you settle for just experience? I'm willing to invest in a dual light strip... I'd like to avoid hooking up a CO2 system if I could, but will do so only if necessary and if it's inexpensive and silent That's a 15 US gallon tank, right? I'm sorry, I can't think in liters. Actually, it's a 20 gallon tank, the l was for long. Does the light you suggested still work? If you can get a twin strip (2 x 20 watt), that's all the light you're going to need to get started with a lot of nice plants and, at that light level, CO2 is still optional. If you are interested in trying CO2, you'll have enough light that your plants will benefit from it and, if you experiment with a DIY setup, you won't have wasted a lot of cash if you decide you don't want to keep it up. A single soda bottle system fed into a diffuser of the intake tube to your filter is both inexpensive (things you probably already have in the kitchen + standard airtubing) and absolutely-not-virtually silent. Good to know, although I think I know of somewhere to get cheap bottled CO2 and the requisite fittings. BTW, the barbs won't eat your plants but the pl*co may make an occasional nuisance of himself scraping broadleaf plants. Mine eats anubias. kush "You can't have everything - where would you put it?" |
#6
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Newbie looking to add plants to 20G tank
That's a 15 US gallon tank, right?
I'm sorry, I can't think in liters. Actually, it's a 20 gallon tank, the l was for long. snip20L tank (20"W X 12"D X 12.5"H) external dimensions/snip Those are the dimensions for a standard 10 gal. I've got a 20 long and its 30 x 12 x13. Just wanted to help clear this up before things got weird. |
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