First planted tank stocking suggestions

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
F

fishe

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 4, 2012
1,044
1
36
NY
Ive decided to make my soon to be empty 29 gallon into an oppurtunity to do my first planted tank. I have a penguin biowheel 55 gallon filter, and i will get a co2 reactor, the only thing im having truble with is the light. I have a 25 watt flouresent light and checked all of my LFS and cant find a 36" over 25 watts.... So onto the stocking, i was going to do
2x south american leaf fish
1x african butterfly fish
3x cory cats
1x pleco
And a school of something, not sure what cuz the leaf fish have big mouths( bleeding heart tetras??)
For plants
Java moss for a carpet effect and amazon swords and some others i can find at my lfs

Are these fish and plants compatible, any suggestions??


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
not sure about being overstocked, but what kind of pleco are you keeping?
I've heard that bristle nose plecos are plant safe but even then I'd be worried about them destroying the java moss
as far as lighting, you'd probably be fine with a single t5 ho, but I'd do more research on that if I were you
don't forget about what kind of gravel you have as well, and possible ferts if you are going to use them (which I would if you are going to be using co2)
 
Not sure about pleco yet, but definatly one of the smaller speceis. For lighting i was trying to find something in the 50+ watt range but i can find a 36" light with more than 30 watts??? For substrate i was gonna use Caribsea eco complete plant substrate


Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
You will probably need to switch light fixtures to get to the wattage you are looking at, although the plants you listed will do ok in low to moderate light. Compactflourescent or T-5 bulbs will get you to the wattage you are looking for.
 
I have a rubberlip pleco in my planted tank and while it doen't harm the plants I haven't seen it in 2 months. I wouldn't buy a pleco again since it's eating up stocking capacity and is never seen.
 
I use eco complete in all my tanks, and I've had pretty good results thus far so I'd say its not a bad choice
as far as lighting, the watts per gallon rule really only applies to simple incandescent or florescent lighting
if you bought a compact florescent or t5 ho or even t5 no (high output and normal output respectively) fixture you should be able to have plenty of light intensity for your plants, I've also heard of people using t8 as well but I'm not familiar with the technology
I'd also suggest that when you buy a bulb that it says something like 6500K (which is relating to the spectrum of the light) but I'd do more research on that if I where you, cause I've been researching lighting for planted tanks extensively for the past week and all the technical things involved make my head hurt lol
as far as the pleco, just be sure to do your research and look to see if anyone has kept it in a tank with plants successfully
I know some plecos like to completely destroy certain plants if not all plants, and might be a little rough on smaller plants
if you want the pleco for algae eating purposes, I'd suggest getting either a bristle nose pleco or skipping the pleco altogether and getting like 6 ottocinclus (though I'm not sure how that'd work with the leaf fish)
alternativly, I've found nerite snails to be amazing at algae control (they also can't reproduce in fresh water, so you won't be getting a snail invasion) but the only downside is that they tend to lay their hard little white eggs everywhere, but I'd rather that then algae anyways but thats just me
 
Maybe its just me. But I don't think you'll need CO2 for java moss and swords. The swords would benefit from some root tabs, but other than thatI cant see the CO2 being of use. As for light, off the top of my headthey are both low to mid level lighting requirements - I may be wrong, butmy swords do okay with 2x 30w lights and the tank is 135g (2ft deep).

As for stocking I would think it may be too much for the size of the tank. But I am no expert on Leaf fish...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom