# first planted aquarium



## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

so i took my 29 gal and stripped it of the black on white gravel substrate i had in there prior, and replaced it with black aquarium sand. i also added the appropriate amnt of API's Pure Laterite. i added my plants after adding the final layer of sand, my river rocks, and driftwood/faux driftwood. 

here is what i added: 
3 x amazon sword
3 x java fern (tied to real driftwood)
2 x wisteria
3 x red ludwigia

the water is still kinda cloudy as i just finished abt an hr ago. 

also i have API's fertilizer tabs in the sand and API's leaf zone 
i am concerned about my CO2 levels though. my tank is well aerated and my water circulation id decent but not strong. any thoughts would be very helpful!


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

congrats on your first planted tank.

the eventual fish should provide enough co2 for the plants.

keep us posted.

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Sounds like you got a great start. I'd recommend you find a decent spot for one of the Amazon Swords and maybe find another tank for the other two. An Amazon will takeover a 29g, although it may take a year to get there. Three of them will make this occur at a much quicker rate. Here is my 29g with one Amazon:


I wouldn't be too concerned about your CO2 levels unless you have high light on the tank? With just normal water movement CO2 as well as oxygen gets into the water and it is also provided by fish, plant decay, etc. You could always add a DIY CO2 bottle. They are fairly effective for your size tank. If this is something you want, then go for it. Plant growth is greatly improved with CO2, than without. Post your light info and I can tell you whether or not you "need" CO2.

I would wait for your plants to start growing a little before adding fish. They are only effective against normal cycling issues if they growing and using up nutrients as they do so.


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

thanks B! since my tank is already established, i removed >50% of the water (postponed last cleaning to plan for this) and held the fish in another 2 gal. when i added the substrate and plants there was 10 gal of dirty, smelly water in the tank. the fish were added after planting was done, and water was replaced.


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Post your light info and I can tell you whether or not you "need" CO2.
> 
> I would wait for your plants to start growing a little before adding fish. They are only effective against normal cycling issues if they growing and using up nutrients as they do so.


i have a zoo med Flora-Sun. 17 watts T-8, 5000K.

fish are added. see my 2nd post.

i want the back corners densely planted, so i think i will keep 2 swords in tank. would 1 be good for a 20 gal?


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

also here is a pic of my tank i just took. the cloudiness is from adding new substrate. i rinsed it in a bucket with a slow fill rinse system for 2 hrs.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Cloudiness is just from filling the tank. It will clear without you needing to do anything. I would keep feeding to a minimum while it cycles.

How many fish did you add?

You can put an Amazon in a 20g, but the eventual takeover will occur.


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

i figured as much with the cloudiness. the fish i added were the fish i originally had in the tank: 2 leopard ctenopomas, 5 tiger barbs, 1 dojo loach, 1 4 lined pimodella. my pleco stayed in the tank while i did all this.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You are bound to get at least a mini-cycle. I would test for a few days and make sure the ammonia levels are staying down. Once the plants are growing they will help, but plants do not consume ammonia nearly as fast as some may think and you may still need to do a water change.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Also, you may want a tad more light. The plants you chose could do okay with that much light as they are low light plants, just hard to say. Some definitely will...Sword, Java Fern should.


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

so here is my tank on day 2. i went to LFS with my co-worker and tank buddy and he was gonna get a sword, so i took the advice offered about them earlier in the post and gave one of mine away. i also bought 2 new fish (on sale) a very young three spot gourami and a bolivian ram. the gourami was $1.50 and the ram was $2.99. (i'm gonna talk about these guys in the "what fish did you buy today" forum) 

anyway, when i got home from work, i noticed that two of my three ferns were free floating off my driftwood. i decided to plant them instead. 

i also moved my airstone to the other side of the tank for better circulation. see the bubbles coming out of the croc skull? i love that effect!


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## bigcountry10 (Sep 24, 2011)

JRman83 is right, I got a dwarf sword about a week ago and already have two runners. Every morning I wake up and the runners have grown a few centimeters. I'm hopeing for a nice grass bed by the end of the year.


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## Hawk1018 (Apr 12, 2012)

I have not seen any growth in my sword in 2 weeks...although I have very little light. the things working in my tank are crypts, Hornswort (growing fast), anubias are growing and itallian vals are growing.


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

losses: 4 lined pim. adopted out to new tank family. friend has 100G amazon biotope w/ 2 other similar sized pims, angels, and discus.

new additions: AquaClear 50, QuietFlow 20 (replaces QF 30- moved to 20 gal); 5 cory cats (transferred from 20 gal), 1 more bolivian ram. 

ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10 ppm. doing a 10 gal water change tomorrow

noticeable growth on java ferns and ludwiga. swords are taller. wisteria is taller.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

ElChef194 said:


> ...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


the classic planted cycle is 0 ammonia 0 nitrItes with a possible initial bump up of nitrates. After the aerobic bacteria build up the nitrates drop down.

So sounds like the plants are consuming the ammonia being generated preventing the ammonia spikes.

I would not do a water change under those conditions.

my .02


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

well i just did one, before seeing this. i only did 5 gal though. however when i looked in my bucket, i saw my algae eater, dead. i must have sucked him up last time or something... i am really bummed out.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Bob wouldn't do a water change period....don't worry about what he said. Its against his ethics.

A cycled tank will keep ammonia reading a zero much faster than plants will. I have dosed ammonia to 2ppm in a fairly heavily planted (established plants - slow and fast growers) uncycled tank and ammonia remained for over a week. In a tank that has all the beneficial bacteria established will have ammonia at 4ppm gone in about 36hrs. It is not to say that plants won't consume ammonia, but they don't do it faster than the bb. Plants also consume ammonia during the light cycle, the bacteria do it 24/7-365.


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## ElChef194 (Dec 25, 2011)

hey y'all. i added new plants and decor. check it out in my video: 29 gal planted - YouTube


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## Martha689 (Jun 2, 2012)

sounds good


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## Lunch Box (Jun 11, 2012)

Looks good!


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