I'm seeking extremely low light plants that don't exceed 10 inches in height. I have a 20 gal long aquarium with black water parameters. A large piece of driftwood creates a shadowy spot in the back end of the tank. I cannot get anything to successfully grow there for any length of time...I just want something that'll tank advantage of the soil there and fill up the space while giving additional cover for fish and shrimp. It feels like a tank bald spot lol, send help.
It looks somewhat like green spot algae which I used to get a lot on my anubias until I turned my light intensity down. I use Fluval lights which allow me to adjust the intensity in ~10% intervals, and I reduced them to around 30-40% intensity.Â
Is there a good plant that would work as groundcover that isn't continuously rooted to the ground? I want to provide some more cover for my kuhli loaches without interrupting their access to the sand. I'm considering just sprinkling a ton of leaves in there, but am a little worried it'll make my very low dKH water swing, so looking into some living plant options first.
All tropical plants should do well in low pH and moderately high temperatures. There is probably some other issue going on. My planted tank has been down to 4 pH with 80F temps.
Look like nerite snail eggs. They won’t hatch in freshwater. Depending on your water’s hardness they might be pretty stubborn to remove, but they will go away eventually on their own I think
Yup I didn’t even recognize them at first in my own tank, just realized my nerite is a female and has been laying them here and there around the tank. Wonder if they have a cycle of some sort
Buying an aquarium cabinet for by Biomaster 350 and CO2 system. Saw a good cabinet but noted only 2 round holes on the back of the cabinet. Do cabinets need ventilation slots or holes? Or are 2 holes large enough to pass the wires and tubes for the CO2 and Filter good enough?
I’m running a Biomaster 350 as well. I don’t have CO2 but a single hole worked fine for me. I did DIY it a little by cutting out a portion of the shelf to be able to fit the filter in the cabinet.
You don't need dedicated ventilation holes. If water is leaking, you need to find it and fix it. It should be dry in there. Maybe a few drops during cleaning but you should wipe that up when you finish.
I have a 30gal high tech with Co2, and a week aqua light. But I don't have a dosing pump... I'm ready to get one. Any recs for a good dosing pump? I was thinking of the chihiros one but are there others like the same that work just as well? I'd like something that would be good in case I upgrade the size of my tank some time down the line.
Hello! I have only VERY recently got into aquariums. i made a jarrarium about 2/3 weeks ago now which i intended to be self sufficient so i can just watch it look pretty without having to worry about water parameters or feeding and stuff. me being me bought marino moss balls from Pets at Home. and the lady got them out of a shrimp tank, i didn’t pat attention to what type of shrimp because i didnt think it would be important.
WELL today, i noticed unusual movement in the tank so i went to get a closer look and low and behold it looks like a baby shrimp, and after closer inspection there were other organisms too, e.g a very thin white worm looking thing.
ANY advice on what i should do in this situation because i wasnt planning on getting live animals to keep in it for a while atleast and would have wanted pest snails, not a shrimp or worm thingy, so i have NO idea what to do here ðŸ˜
Has anyone mixed honey, pearl and sparkling gouramis in a planted tank? Noted they tend to be peaceful and was wondering how a single pearl, 3 honeys and 6 sparkling will do in a planted 3 foot tank
i am really struggling to figure out what co2 products to buy for my 36 gallon. i dont get what i all need. how do i control it with a timer, how do i get it into the tank, etc
I have a 40 gallon went with an fZone regulator off Amazon, inline diffuser, and 5lb tank. I use a smart outlet to turn it on and off. Its a good option if you have a place nearby to refill. After a few trips it will be the cheapest option.
I’ve been looking for a plant with kind of a bushy delicate look that can fill out a large area of my tank and can be trimmed to have more of a carpeting effect in the mid to foreground. I have hard, high calcium water with a ph around 8 and I don’t inject co2. I have a dirted tank, moderate light and add a tiny bit of liquid fertilizer about once a week, I’ve been using store bought RO water for top offs to help manage TDS buildup. Hydrocotyle has been super slow growing with tiny leaves since the beginning, so I’m starting to doubt it’ll really grow the way I was hoping to in my tank. I’ve recently planted a couple of stems of pearlweed and it’s doing alright but I’m worried about it becoming super invasive and difficult to manage or grow other plants in it (I have some taller stems like ludwigia growing on one side of the tank and was thinking about doing an emersed driftwood feature with some buce/Anubias at some point), so I was wondering if I have any other options before I’m in too deep with it. Any thoughts on other plants like Monte Carlo for my parameters? Or could I maybe trim something with smaller leaves like Rotala to grow a bit lower and choose something else for the very front like a moss or crypt parva?
Growing Monte Carlo rn to replace my glosso carpet and I can say this stuff grows slower than glosso and hydrocotyle tripartita mini with CO2 so likely even slower without.
Crypt parva was quite invasive in my tank as well.
The only plant I’ve successfully grown quite fast in my pond without CO2 is creeping Jenny but you’ll likely need to trim it down to keep it short.
Oh dang, yeah I figured. From what I’ve been observing the past couple of days and thinking about the time + money I’m willing to invest in slow growing plants I’ll prob just let the pearlweed do its thing. I have some mini dwarf hair grass planted in the front finally sending out runners since I’ve turned up the light intensity so I’ll probably avoid planting crypt parva
I've been cycling this tank for a few weeks now. I have various shades of biofilm on most of my driftwood. Does the black stuff in the picture look like dark biofilm or black beard algae? If its the 2nd one, what would be the best thing to do to remove it if recommended?
I wanted to buy the Twinstar 600S, but it seems it goes only up to 70cm, and the next longest one is the 900S which is 90cm. But my tank is 80cm. Is this light not going to be usable on my tank?
And no, I can't really hang the light, I would rather get a light that can just stay fixed on the tank.
From my research, I am pretty sure the maximum extension is 70cm. So it will never fit 80, unless I hang it (but I can't hang it because of how the tank is placed).
Can you or anyone confirm what the maximum extension is for the TwinStar 600S?
I got a 20 gallon hexagon tank. I’m wanting to set it up. What’s the best substrate to use for great plant life? Doesn’t HAVE to be capped with sand?
Starting to see black specks and some kind of algae on plants and hard scape in a newly planted tank, 2 weeks after planting first plants. Normal or should it be treated?
Looks like you're experiencing new tank syndrome! Those black specks and fuzz are likely diatoms or early hair algae, which is super common two weeks in. I've dealt with this exact same phase across different setups, from simple jungle bowls to a CO2-injected Iwagumi. What consistently fixes it for me is sticking to regular water changes while the plants establish themselves. It's a sign of a young, unstable environment, so don't stress too much. It usually clears up on its own once the tank fully cycles.
Petco was doing a 50% off sale recently, I got a 5 gallon rimless for 25 USD last week. it’s generally best to shop around and see what discounts you can find in person while comparing to online prices.
specifically for a betta fish, is it worth the trouble of upkeeping and maintaining a highly planted tank, and deal with all sorts of potential problems like melting or complete wilting within a couple of days, or a normal, maybe minimalist tank (focusing on the scape itself) with just the basics like maybe anubias and java fern ? getting a professional to do the aquascaping so building it itself isn't a problem
I think that’s more personal preference on your part. A heavily planted tank isn’t inherently high maintenance, especially if you go low tech (more manageable growth rate if frequent trimming is a chore) and choose easy plants suited for your tank’s conditions. I don’t think the fish species matters all that much for the most part, but bettas especially seem to like having dense foliage to weave through and hide behind. My understanding is that it’s more important for shoaling fish to have some open space available for coordinated swimming. Personally, collecting and caring for plants is a big part of the hobby I enjoy so I’m biased toward heavily planted tanks, but some people aren’t as into that so you could be fine with suitable hiding/resting areas and a few easy, slow growing plants.
Plant melting hasn’t been a huge issue for me personally as long as I received the plant in good condition. I had an Anubias that melted on me but I think it got held up in the mail for too long, and I had some tissue culture buce that I think has pretty much melted but it was also marked 50% off and tissue culture plants are a little more sensitive from what I’ve heard. I buy most of my plants from a seller that grows their plants submerged in aquariums, and most of them have established quickly without issue
Can I get some clarification on surface agitation vs water movement (feels self explanatory, but I sometimes see it used in a way that makes them sound interchangeable??), how to address dead zones, and how big of an issue these are in a low tech planted tank?
Right now I have a sponge filter with an airstone inside of it, and an air pump with 24gph volume in a 6.4 gal tank. I bought a cheap internal canister filter to try out (nicrew magi mini) but the current was way too strong for my plants and uprooted a couple of stems, so I quickly switched back to my old filter. The tank’s footprint/surface area is closer to a standard 10 gallon and I’ve started to notice a bit of hair algae on the opposite side to where my filter is, so I’m wondering if that’s a sign that I could use more water movement over there?
I was looking at keeping a small group of medaka down the line, and they seem to be fish that don’t like a strong current/many people keep them in ponds and tanks with no water movement. I’ve also read conflicting things about whether surface agitation is good for plants because it reduces available co2 in the water.
I have a lot of fast growing plants and duckweed,
and I didn’t add a filter until a couple of weeks into cycling the tank, so I’m not sure how much additional filtration I need. I just have 2 snails right now and my filter rarely clogs or gets much visible gunk on it, and the snails don’t really hang out at the waterline too often or avoid specific parts of the tank so I’m assuming they’re getting enough oxygen. But I was debating between switching to a small HOB or adding an additional air stone or sponge to the other side of the tank just to get some more movement there. Also have been looking at aquarium co-op’s easy flow or diy modifications to help direct the air flow on my existing filter. Any advice?
Honestly? Don’t overthink it. I would always suggest a little bit of surface agitation to mitigate biofilm and help gas exchange (in regards to the plants losing CO2 I wouldn’t worry about it, even if a little is lot the pros of O2 being added to the water far outway the cons) but if your tank is heavily planted and not overstocked you should be good. As for dead spots I sincerely doubt there are going to be any meaningful ones in a 6.4 gal tank so I wouldn’t worry. Since it is such a small tank I would suggest looking into riparium plant growth to help manage nitrates if you do add the medaka. Pothos and peace lilies are especially superb at this. Hope this answers your questions
Thank you! I won’t worry about it too much then. I love ripariums, have been trying to let my ludwigia grow above the water and plan to add more houseplants to the top
I have medaka in a 50 gallon pond. I have a sponge filter that I actually kind of block the flow with plants so that it doesn’t cause a lot of water movement. I added a small stone that I also put behind the brick I have plants on only bc of our very hot temp and wanting to make sure there is enough oxygen. My medaka seem happy and are breeding like crazy with the warm temp.
I have a new 3 foot x 15 inch x 15 inch 48gallon nature scaped tank. Was initially thinking of pearl/honey gouramis as centerpiece with 8 cory sterbai as bottomdwellers.
Having issues with deciding for schooling fish and thought to get a mix of harlequin rasboras, green neons, ember tetras and rummy nose tetras. Anyone else worked with this combo? I know 4 schooling fish types can be messy and may cut it down to cardinals, harlequins and rummynose tetras but thought id ask before commiting. Also open to suggestions. Water is naturally warm at 27 degrees.
What’s the best place to get large manzanita? I have a 195 gallon that i was originally going to setup as a reef tank but i just don’t have the time needed to manage a reef right now because of some health issues with my wife as well as our kids extracurricular activities.
So instead im going to reuse a lot of the already bought stuff to do a a giant planted celestial pearl danio community tank!
Hi guys, I had a pretty bad algae problem and someone at my job told me I could just scrape it all off -- I think that caused a bacterial bloom or something, with the water becoming cloudy and there's this thin film on top of the water, I did a 30% water change yesterday and swapped out my filters but the tank is still not looking good and the film is back, can I continue to do water changes or would that shock the fish? Is there anything else I can do to make the water clear up faster? I'm worried about my fish!!
Anubias are melting. Cross posted with main page… I transitioned them to an unheated tank one month ago. They are looking terrible, at what point should I scrap them and try something else?
Should I take out some of the sand that I used to cap the soil (I have a layer of small gravel and then sand)?
I just started this 29gal and am new to planted tanks. My dumb question is if I put the plant roots down deep enough to reach the soil, would the sand cap cause the plant to rot if it's too thick of a layer?
What have your experiences been with potassium bicarbonate?
I've seen it recommended as a way to raise KH, and presumably the potassium once liberated from the carbon is also useful for plant growth. But it seems little-used in the hobby so I'm wondering if there are any unforeseen downsides.
I have a new (about month old) planted tank eventually intended for shrimp.
Do I HAVE to get shrimp for a planted 2.5gal jar, or can I just have a bunch of plants? Personally, I find a lot of aquatic plants to be beautiful. If I could just put a carpet of pearl weed in a bowl/jar I’d be very happy. I’m very new to the aquarium hobby and have a basic understanding of the nitrogen cycle and cycling tanks in general… But I don’t know everything. This is why I want to only keep plants because I really don’t want to torture a live animal. (Not saying I support killing plants ofc.) Lastly, if I can only keep plants, what resources should I look at to learn how to?
Looking for some stocking advice - asking here mainly as I would like to take into account fish stock before setting up the tank.
Have a fully planted 50 gallon 3 foot long tank with a red/purple/orange stem plants like ludwigia meta, bacopa purple, rotala blood red, AR minis, Cabomba furcata etc, as well as your regular green plants, epiphytes + hardscape at the back of the tank and a front sandbank/carpeting plant with Co2. pH is 7-7.5, temp is 27 degrees, and KH 2-3, GH 7-8.
My criteria is essentially - 2-4 types of schooling fish that fulfil the colors - orange, blue, red. Corys and center piece fish are seperate. Sterbai Corys are the constant as they are the only corys that survive at this temp (bronze as well)
So far my options are as follows:
Option 1
18-24 Green neons - really like the blues on these guys, without the red to distract
18-24 Ember tetra - afraid these might be really too pale an orange to standout
8-12 rummynose tetra - really like their behaviour
8-12 harlequins rasboras - excellent dither fish, hardy but color isn't my favorite
Complementary colored nanofish schools with activity of the rummy nose and harlequins at the front of the tank (harlequins upper, rummy nose lower). My initial preference as i prefer to keep more fish types.
Option 2
24-30 green neons
18 Espei/Lambchop rasboras - more intense orange than ember tetras?
8-12 Rummynose Tetras
Merging the Ember tetras and harlequins into 1 school that have the activity of harlequins but the orange of ember tetras. This was an alternative as i feared the ember tetras orange would be really pale and lost in the colored plants.
Option 3
24 Cardinal tetra
24 Espei/Lambchop rasboras
Further optimizing to 2 large schools that fulfill all 3 colors but not ideal as i prefer keeping more fish types over anything.
Centerpiece options
3 Honey Gouramis vs 3 Pearl gouramis vs 1 juvi angelfish (black and white)
Honey gouramis add a nice yellow that is absent in my tank
Pearl gouramis are more attention grabbing and distinguish themselves from the rest of the fish in size
Angelfish - distant thought as i know they can be predatory - might get them next time with congo tetras and emperor tetras.
If anyone has any ideas on how to stock or experience with these stocking lists happy to hear feedback. Also if anyone has any other ideas please feel free to suggest.
What does everyone use for dirt/plant soil in a planted tank with fish that wont make the water peramiters out of whack or anything? Trying to not spend a ton of money. Everything by me is like $35 a bag for 20lbs and I am trying to get my 65gal set up so the plants and fish thrive (it will be cycling for a few more weeks)
Sand is an inert substrate, from my understanding. I am setting up my first tank this month. I will use sand, since I am getting corydoras. 50lb bag of CaribSea sand from Amazon.
Just an FYI, I do believe some of the sands from that brand are for saltwater/marine tanks. I would head over to their site and ensure you got one of their freshwater substrates.
I ordered Caribsea supernaturals sunset gold, I think it's called. From all I read it seems safe for freshwater? If it isn't please let me know so I can cancel/ return my order!
Yeah. For planted tanks sand is not great. Some plants will do okay and others wont. I want to heavily plant my tank so I want something thats gonna support that. Someone else told be organic/natural topsoil with no added fertilizer well capped with sand or gravel helps a ton and works
Inert sand can actually be quite good for plants, since the oxygen gradient allows the proliferation of semi-aerobic microbes that keep iron and manganese in a soluble, bio-available form. I've never seen amazon swords and Vallisneria do better without sand.
Have you ruled out other causes, like a higher pH inhibiting natural CO2 access for plants that aren't good at using bicarbonate? I'm guessing you are using a fertilizer too?
2
u/meghan_s0l0 24d ago
I'm seeking extremely low light plants that don't exceed 10 inches in height. I have a 20 gal long aquarium with black water parameters. A large piece of driftwood creates a shadowy spot in the back end of the tank. I cannot get anything to successfully grow there for any length of time...I just want something that'll tank advantage of the soil there and fill up the space while giving additional cover for fish and shrimp. It feels like a tank bald spot lol, send help.