Advice on Aquascaping and Equipment

[Singin4Cnu]

Hey guys,
Im new on here and I just wanted to get some advice on how to arrange the plants that I have. Im not sure what they are but there are five short amazon swords behind the driftwood and to the far right is Wisteria. The setup is a 29 gallon. I have a chemical Co2 system and an aquaclear 70 gallon 3 stage filter. The lighting is from a GE daylight F20 bulb in the hood. It is 1025 lumens, 20 watts. I hope to get a Hagen Glo Ho fixture soon, but Im not sure if its necessary with the plants I have. Please give me some advice on lighting and arrangement. Btw this tank has 5 cardinal Tetras, 2 baby Discus(Not sure what kind), a few corys, and a clown loach.

 

[evercl92]

I can't tell for certain, but the plant in the middle of the last picture looks like an anubias specie. They don't do well with the rhizome (thick part, where the roots come off of) buried under the substrate. Tie it to the driftwood with fishing line or a zip-tie, and the plant will eventually wrap it's roots and anchor on.

Bring the shorter plants behind the anubias forward, in the mid to front of the tank. Those are cryptocorynes, and don't usually get very tall.

The wisteria should prob move to the back, as it gets tall (I once pulled a 3ft tall bush of it from my tank), and grows quite quickly.

Hard to tell exactly what the plant in the back left is for sure, but it's obviously rather tall. Separate out the individual plants, and space them 2inches apart in the back. It will allow more of each leaf to get light, and it will allow it to fill in nicer.

If you are able, try to get some better pics of the tall grass-like and the plant in the last pic.

 

[Singin4Cnu]

Ok I will do that here in a minute. As for the lighting, should I go to a stronger High Output Fixture or should I just invest in some good substrate?

 

[evercl92]

Well, you have a couple issues. 1. did you remove the carbon from the filter? Carbon has been should to actually remove some trace elements (that plants use) from the water.

2. Though lighting is your limiting factor right now, increasing it to CF or T5HO is going to pretty much require you to get a better method of CO2 diffusion. While the hagen ladder is pretty decent, it won't be near efficient enough if you have higher light output. To get better CO2, you're going to want to get rid of the HOB filter - probably move to a canister. It causes too much surface disturbance, which out-gasses the CO2 from the water. Higher lighting is also going to necessitate a fertilizer schedule, where you'll need to add trace elements, potassium, nitrogen, and (maybe) some phosphate.

So, you can see, increasing light is going to have a ripple effect on the rest of the tank setup.

3. A good substrate is always a good starting point. Most of the nutrients are available only to the plants, and not algae. Did you have a substrate in mind?

I prefer black substrate, I think it gives the best contrast to fish, plants, and aquascape. If you have a Lesco near you, see if you can get Soil Master Select. It's kinda dirty, so you'll need to rinse it really well - but it's cheap. 50lbs for $16 usually. Other options are Fluorite, Eco-complete, Aqua Soil, etc.

Oh, and BTW, go to the store and get a sheet of black or dark blue (or anything dark) posterboard, and get a background on the tank. Makes a world of difference.

 

[Singin4Cnu]

Ok, I got some pics. You mentioned moving the Wisteria to the back but it already is in the back corner. Something I noticed as I was taking pics was that the bottom leaves of the Wisteria aren't looking as good as the top. Could that mean that I need to get better substrate or is that a lighting issue?

 

[Singin4Cnu]

Ok so I guess a new light is not a good idea since I dont have much money to upgrade everything else. I guess my light is sufficient then? Also you mentioned a few substrates, which would be best to not change the chemistry of the water but still be good enough for the plants? I also dont really have money to get a canister filter.... or was that just a suggestion for if I had to upgrade Co2?

 

[evercl92]

Ok so I guess a new light is not a good idea since I dont have much money to upgrade everything else. I guess my light is sufficient then? Also you mentioned a few substrates, which would be best to not change the chemistry of the water but still be good enough for the plants? I also dont really have money to get a canister filter.... or was that just a suggestion for if I had to upgrade Co2?

Given the new pics, kinda looks like the tall grass you have is a cryptocoryne as well. Perhaps balansea.

Is the light sufficient? maybe. Could it be better - or course. You could upgrade the lighting, without going CF or T5. Just add another fluorescent, or find a fixture that will fit that houses multiple bulbs. You'd be amazed what Home Depot and Lowes carry...

Canister was suggestion with the CO2 issue, as to not outgas as much, and to diffuse it better.

Substrate - depends on how much you want/have to spend. Check here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_supplies.cfm?c=3578+3746 for substrates, ferts, and such. I like eco-complete. Dark, pretty good on nutrients. I've moved to the Soil master select that I mentioned though. It's cheaper, just about as effective. The only issue with it is that it absorbs KH, so you have to check it about once a week, and add baking soda to counteract it.

The wisteria leaves are probably a lighting issue. It often gets too bushy for it's own good, and blocks itself. Try spreading it out some, that should help.

 

[Singin4Cnu]

If I get something from Lowes or Home Depot, will I need a plastic shield or is the evaporation not gonna hurt anything? If i put the light right over the water without the plastic barrier its much brighter. Would it be ok to out the one i have right over the water?And for the Co2, I dont have money for a canister so I cant do that. If I dont have to upgrade should it be ok the way it is? One more thing, its ok to spread the wisteria in single stems?Sorry fo so many questions Im just trying to make the most of what I have. Btw Im in college so that what the huge lack of money is from. Im lucky I got a 29 gallon in here as we are only supposed to have tens.

 

[evercl92]

I'd really only worry about splashing on the lights. If it did, you could get a piece of plexiglass, to put over the top of the tank. Be sure to get thicker plexi, thinner tends to warp / bend with the heat.

Your CO2 should be fine for the lighting you have, and even doubling what you have (sticking with fluorescents).

You should spread the wisteria (and any other stem plants you get) into single stems. They'll grow much better, more leaves will get light, etc.

Don't worry about the questions, I had to start somewhere too...

 

[WyldFya]

The stickies will help you out quite a bit with information. The tall plant does look to be either a crypt or an aponogeton. Still hard to tell from the pic. I would not up the lighting, as you don't need to. For a substrate, I would highly recommend the use of flourite, as it has the longest life, and a good balance of nutrients. If you can get the aqua soil from ADA, that is even better, but more expensive.

Now for the discus, I'd recommend moving them to an un-planted, bare-bottom, tank. The planted tank discus combo often leads to stunted discus. From the pics, I see that your discus are already quite stunted. If you wish to keep them in that tank, I'd up your water changes to 50% two to three times a week. Also, at that size, I'd be feeding them several times a day. Based on the pictures, it appears that you have two cobalt blue discus, or one cobalt and a blue diamond.