Does a planted tank really needs all of this stuff

[Juand15]

Hello Guys well today a friend gave me a bunch of moss, JAVA fern, and other 2 types plus some other plants that the names i don't know it and i have argonite for gravel. the plants that i have before seem to do fine but with this new plant i don't want to lose any do i need to change my gravel or is it fine and how often should i add fertilizer??

any advice i will appreciate. Thanks by the way no Co2 system is a 30gallon tank and is full of babies.

 

[mgamer20o0]

java fern and moss dont need any gravel at all. both to fine on rocks or driftwood. matter of fact java fern will rot if you bury the rhizome. what are the other two? can you find out? pics? gravel should be 2-4 inch.

 

[Ace135]

You dont need anything for moss or java ferns. I have them in a tank with just lights on and they do just fine.

One thing you could do for the other type of plant (i'm guessing it's in the gravle) is by some plant tabs

http://www.pets-warehouse.com/aquacart/plants.html

These work wonders. It's not going to give you the same effect of CO2, but it's worth picking up and using. But it all depends on what type of plant you have.

 

[Juand15]

ok i will snap few pics in a couple of minutes !!

 

[Juand15]

 

[mgamer20o0]

you should get those java fern out of the gravel. some of the plants look really torn up. i think i see some vals and water spirte also with duckweed floating.

 

[Ace135]

Like Mgamer20o0 said, pull hat java fern out of the gravel. You could attach it to the rock (or driftwood) you have with all the moss on it.

Some of your plants look like they are in really bad shape so it might be beyond saving them.

With the Val and the Water sprite you can throw the plant tabs under the roots like I was saying. Though are very easy to grow and the tabs will make sure they have all the nutrition they need.
Also with the Val and many aquatic plants the crown (the area where the roots and the leaves / stem meet) should not be covered by gravel.

This article has some good information on low light low care plants that you can add in.

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_lowlight.php

And I’m going to guess you don’t want to do a total overhaul on your tank, but if you ever do grab a bag of Flourite Plant Substrate.

http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=10070

This stuff also helps to maintain what you need to keep you plant healthy. You do not need to use a whole bag. I normally do a 1:3 ration mix with a gravel of similar colour with it.


Just for tank health I would suggest that you take some of the plants that are dying or could die soon and try to put them in a tank where they won’t rot or produce extra waste when they die.

 

[Nate77]

And I’m going to guess you don’t want to do a total overhaul on your tank, but if you ever do grab a bag of Flourite Plant Substrate.

http://www.arcatapet.com/item.cfm?cat=10070

This stuff also helps to maintain what you need to keep you plant healthy. You do not need to use a whole bag. I normally do a 1:3 ration mix with a gravel of similar colour with it. .

Can't he mix pure laterite in an already established tank?

 

[Ace135]

Can't he mix pure laterite in an already established tank?

He could. Would have to wash the stuff before hand just to get out the cloudiness it can cause.


Either way I think he would have to pull up some of his plants to have it mix well enough around them.


Edit: Also I don’t know if your convicts would eat shrimp, but it would be worth maybe picking up 5 or 8 ghost shrimp to help eat some algae that grows on your plants.

 

[Juand15]

mm guys thanks for the help the fish u see here are going out and this is going to be a community planted tank i got the plants yesterday from a friend for free.

if u can please tell me which are the plants i need to get out of the gravel i dont know them by name thanks and i will be putting sand and take out the Argonite before i do this is there anything better than sand for the plants??