First Plantted tank, Having problems (pics)

[NateO0072]

First Planted tank, having problems (pics)

Hey, I am having some problems with plants and have some general questions, but first here is my setup.

This is my first planted tank, it is a 20 gal with florite as a substrate and a nova extreme (T5 HO) lamp designed for marine use. The bulbs are actinic and 10,000°K so these lights are not ideal and maybe causing a problem for my plants. I use a hang on 20 gallon filter and 150 watt heater (had some ick problems so I went over kill). Additionally I have two pieces of large mopani wood. My current inhabitants 5 snails (can’t remember type), 5 Tetras, two java ferns, a sword, and a couple of other plants I have no IDs for. This is my setup and I plan to change the light soon, to another T5 fixture suited for freshwater plants with about 48 watts of lighting.

Here are my questions:
I have had a hard time with excessive tannins in the water. How long before the Mopani will stop generating tannins?

I have a snail infestation of smaller black snails, they do not seem harmful is there any negative effects of having these snails in my tank?

My plants especially the sword seem to be reacting negatively and seem to be dying. Is this from my lights? Or another problem? See pictures; all plants seem a little brown except the java fern who seems to be doing well.

I am thinking of adding a Bushynose pleco (L-144A) or a Royal Pleco (L-191) would these fish do well with this set up? Would they eat the plants excessively? I hear the Royal pleco is hard to keep but has one of the best dispositions of all the plecos is this true?

my final question is on plant recommendations for the future, I plan to have about 48 watts of lighting. I was thinking Baby Tears, four leaf clovers, micro swords, Japanese fans, Borneo Fern, Pink Hippo Grass.


Thank you for your help and input.
Nate

 

[jcardona1]

first off, what are you doing for co2? if youre not adding pressurized co2, 2wpg of T5HO lighting is extreme overkill and you will have algae issues. i had 2wpg on my 55g with lots of co2 and i still had algae problems. if youre not adding co2, i would ditch the light and get a regular output fixture.

with that much light you should be running a full blown co2 setup as well as a comprehensive nutrient dosing routine

as for the swords, did you just plant them? the leaves will usually melt off after being submerged and will then grow back...

 

[NateO0072]

Yeah I had a feeling that T5 might be over kill but I want the plants to do well and i figure the extra algae can go to the bushynose. CO2 is a nice suggestion and I know it would help considerably with the plants, but to setup an injection system is simply too complicated for my fish raising needs. Thanks for the advice, I hope not having CO2 supplementation is not to detrimental to my plants.

Nate

 

[jcardona1]

it will be, as the lack of co2 will cause an algae farm, taking over your plants. if you dont plan on doing co2, you really do need to scale back the lighting, considerably. you need to stick with easy to grow, low light plants that dont have demanding needs. in a planted tank you need to maintain a strict balance between your lighting/nutrients/co2. if you dont, all hell will break loose. and in that tank, its only a short matter of time before it happens, trust me

 

[chonhzilla]

it will be, as the lack of co2 will cause an algae farm, taking over your plants. if you dont plan on doing co2, you really do need to scale back the lighting, considerably. you need to stick with easy to grow, low light plants that dont have demanding needs. in a planted tank you need to maintain a strict balance between your lighting/nutrients/co2. if you dont, all hell will break loose. and in that tank, its only a short matter of time before it happens, trust me

I had a 29gal about a year and a half ago with 2 wpg with ferts BUT without the use of CO2. I was successful for about 4 weeks. After that I had the break the damn thing down and start all over from nothing. I also got some nice BBA too. All scrapped. Go CO2, even if its DIY or turn back that lighting or you'll end up like I did.

 

[NateO0072]

I think you guys might be right. What type of reactor would you recommend I want to do something simple DIY, but then I’m worried about over all investment and rate of diffusion do to DIY.

 

[jcardona1]

for your size tank and DIY co2, i would go with a small cheap glass diffusor. theres lots on ebay...

 

[velanarris]

Aquariumplants.com has a nice one for about $30, (up to $45 now), but you'd be able to make a DIY version rather easily. It's basically a glass bottle with a sponge for a bottom and a powerhead on top. Water is pushed into the bottle apparatus by the powerhead, CO2 enters from the top via tubing right next to the powerhead and the water flowing from the powerhead smashes the bubbles against the sponge. The CO2 loss is minimal and this system also acts as a clumsy sponge filter.

http://www.aquariumplants.com/product_p/r500.htm

 

[VOYTEK]

The echinodorus that you got there looks like it has a magnesium deficiency ... Make sure you give it some root-food aka some plant "tabs".


Yes, 10K is not good for freshwater plants. aim btw 5 and 7 k.


Do partial water changes - do not use RO.

As of Mopani ... did you try to boil it ? Maybe that will make is softer and will make it loose its "juice" little faster.

As of CO2 .. in your case I would ONLY do it if you plan on getting more plants ... and if you don't want to spend a fortune at first try a 3$ CO2 set up using fermenting yeast in a bottle, and instead of a diffuser you can simply shove the tubing into some powerhead or a filter ...


Good luck !

 

[jcardona1]

Yes, 10K is not good for freshwater plants. aim btw 5 and 7 k.

not true, 10k works great for plants. you dont wanna go above 10k though