Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

HOWTO Start a plant/Fish aquarium.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • HOWTO Start a plant/Fish aquarium.

    I have a 12G Nano Cube aquarium with 2 angelfish in it. The aquarium is very bland. Beside some gravels and two holey stones, nothing else. I want to get into planted aquarium and still keep the fish. How do I go about getting it setup? What type of gravel do I need? Is CO2 setup needed? what type of plant do I go with? total cost? I am on a tight budget and don't want to go crazy and overboard, but want something decent. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

  • #2
    12 gallons is really really small for angelfish. My first suggestions would be to either buy a bigger tank or sell the angels and get a smaller fish.

    If you keep the 12 gallon tank, you'll get better information from others about planting it. As far as what kind of substrate, there are specialized ones for planting, but I'm doing okay with just regular gravel in two tanks.

    I have plenty of ideas on this, but nowhere near the experience of others on here, so I'll let someone else come along and give you better answers.
    Trogdor was a man. Or maybe he was a dragon man. Or maybe he was just a dragon. But he was still TROGDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!

    You know, fish are great. I love my fish. But what I really want is a monkey.

    Comment


    • #3
      There are tons of threads in the "Plants and Planted Fish Tanks" forum here on HFB. Give some of those a good read, and they'll give you a great introduction into planted tanks and more of an idea of where you want to go with yours. :)
      "Millennium hand and shrimp!"

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks guy... :)

        Comment


        • #5
          +1 on the angels. In the long run they will be too big for this tank.

          If you want to start simple a great way to get into plants is to start with anubias, mosses and aquatic ferns on driftwood. This can be arranged tastfully with no need of CO2, intense lighting, or special substrates. A very simple fertilizing routine can be applied, and the addition of algae eating livestock. Also, some hardy stems such has Hygro difformis or rosettes scu as cypts wenditii will do fine in a low tech tank.

          If you insist on angels I agree to get a bigger tank. One of my favorite angel tanks is a sand bottom with dwarf water lillys. Simple and really plays to the laterally compressed body of angles and discus. And if you have an open top tank you will get to see the flowers from the lillys as well.
          Houston Areas Aquatic Plant Society

          Comment


          • #6
            I would also recommend that you do some research on how quickly the plants will grow. Some grow more quickly than others. If you pick a slow grower (like I did) you will find yourself going back to the store to get more plants.

            Although I have not tried it yet, I am told big box stores like Walmart sell little bulbs that you can plant directly into gravel. I have not had a chance to try any of these yet.

            Make sure you get a low light plant too.
            Jarrod - Houston, Texas
            150 gallon - my African cichlid monster tank (I know it isn't a big as yours)
            17 gallon - Threadfin rainbows and corys lightly planted
            5 gallon - planted red cherry shrimp breeder
            3 gallon - planted red cherry shrimp breeder

            Comment


            • #7
              anything 'java' u will be fine without co2, including most cypts... prety much any plants with colors other then green (all shades) and some purple will require more light and co2...

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by jarrodaden View Post
                I would also recommend that you do some research on how quickly the plants will grow. Some grow more quickly than others. If you pick a slow grower (like I did) you will find yourself going back to the store to get more plants.

                Although I have not tried it yet, I am told big box stores like Walmart sell little bulbs that you can plant directly into gravel. I have not had a chance to try any of these yet.

                Make sure you get a low light plant too.
                don't get the bulb, the only way i've heard for it to grow is plant it in a pot first, then immersed then submersed... lots of work to do for almost nothing, failer rate is really high...

                Comment


                • #9
                  head to plantedtank.net if you want to buy some plants, great deal on all the time...

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks for the tip, mahoro. I also recently bought an assortment from aquaticplantdepot.com and I like what I got.
                    Trogdor was a man. Or maybe he was a dragon man. Or maybe he was just a dragon. But he was still TROGDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!

                    You know, fish are great. I love my fish. But what I really want is a monkey.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by jarrodaden View Post
                      I would also recommend that you do some research on how quickly the plants will grow. Some grow more quickly than others. If you pick a slow grower (like I did) you will find yourself going back to the store to get more plants.

                      Although I have not tried it yet, I am told big box stores like Walmart sell little bulbs that you can plant directly into gravel. I have not had a chance to try any of these yet.

                      Make sure you get a low light plant too.

                      Bought those bulbs at Walmart and only 1 out of 12 grew. It is ulgy though... I started out with those bulbs thinking that I will save some money, end up spending more... :(

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        how much light in terms of watts is ont he tank, and what rating is the bulb (6500K, daylight)

                        Answer that and we can go from there.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Usually those little "Walmart bulbs" are aponogetons. Nice when the get big. too big for a 12 gallon tank.
                          Houston Areas Aquatic Plant Society

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I have checked last night and the light in the 12G nano is a 24W with a 10,000. This should be enough lights for plants, right?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              it is in the right spectrum range and gives you 2 watts per gallon. You should be able to grow low light plants as well as most moderate light plants. Assuming it is positioned so that it cast fairly evenly into the tank, I see not need to swap it out unless you want to go high tech.
                              Houston Areas Aquatic Plant Society

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X