# planted tank



## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

ok i guess i have already screwed up, i was reading some on here, i have live plants and fish already in tank, but the bottom of the tank is only gravel,nothen else at all........ do i need anything else, also my lights are 2 bulbs 15 watt each, they are on 12 hours a day, i have no c02 or anything else, i give once a week the plant food


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## mec102778 (Feb 17, 2011)

Is it working or are the plants dying? if it's working then it's working, I believe most plants like a softer substrate for their roots but that doesn't mean they wont grow/live in only gravel.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

it depends on the plants.If its moss or java fern or anubias then they will be fine
heavy root feeders are the ones in need of the nutritious substrate.


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

they are dying off slowly, i dont have any moss yet, once my driftwood is ready im gonna put some on it, the plants i have no idea i have pics in my gallery if you could see them that might tell ya i dont know, what should i put in with the gravel thanks for the help


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Probably from a lack of light, not the gravel. Just a guess.


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

what bulbs should i run in there, they are the ones that came with it, 15 watt bulbs is all i know that is just what it says on them


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I would go to your lfs and look for some grow lights. If they have the spectrum on there, look for 6500-10000k bulbs. Somewhere in that range.

How long are you leaving them on for?


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

sounds good probley be this weekend, just about 12 hours total 5 at night till 5 ish in the morning when i leave for work


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Rob72 said:


> what bulbs should i run in there, they are the ones that came with it, 15 watt bulbs is all i know that is just what it says on them


are the bulbs 15w incandescent. the screw in long skinny tubes.

If so then replace them with 11-15w spiral, ("pig tail") incandescent replacement bulbs. 6500k from wall mart.

Bob


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I did a little more reasearch and looked at the pictures of the tank. The 15 w are flourescent and the tank is a 55g.

With that I recommend you replace the lights with a 2 tube utility fixture with 2 t-8 (32w/tube) of t-12 (40w/tube). You can get the fixture ad home depot for $11 or so and the 6500k tubes for $6/2 tubes.

The plants I notice are slow growers plus the lucky bamboo will not grow submerged.

I would recommend you add 10-20 bunches of anachris, 10-20 vals, 10-20 small potted types and a single amazon sword centerpiece. (Actually some of your existing plants can substiture for those.)

If you make those changes you should notice an almost immediate change in your system.

If you spend a little more time and drain the tank and use 1" peat moss, 1" play sand, and your existing gravel on top, you probably would notice a great change in the tank. I plant the plants with the water just wetting the substrate. Then fill the tank with water poured over a dish. That will prevent initial loudiness.

But even just changing the lighting and plants will make a huge difference.


my .02


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Rob72 said:


> ok* i guess i have already screwed up*, i was reading some on here, i have live plants and fish already in tank, but the bottom of the tank is only gravel,nothen else at all........ do i need anything else, also my lights are 2 bulbs 15 watt each, they are on 12 hours a day, i have no c02 or anything else, i give once a week the plant food


BTW you didn't screw up.

Many many successful tank are setup with just gravel and plants.

I have "my" methods, others have other methods.


So just try and see what works for you.

that way we can hear about the rob72 method. *old dude

my .02


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

beaslbob, thanks for the info ill go this weekend and get the lights and fixtures, does it matter since i have 2 light strips, my tank has the bar that goes from front to back in the middle of the tank,


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

beaslbob, another question for ya...........use 1" peat moss, 1" play sand, and your existing gravel on top.......so use the peat moss like for plants in the garden is that right then play sand on top then gravel, just wanna make sure to do it right this time


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## jerichodrum (Mar 23, 2011)

A friend of mine has just gravel in her tank Rob72. never has had a substrate and her plants have to be trimmed every month.

I think if you do decide to go with beaselbob's method you will like the result. I went with peat and gravel and I am seeing growth in a week.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

That many plant you're definitely going to have to go online to a place like aquariumplants.com. Petco/Petsmart will usually not have a single Val and you get lucky if they have Anacharis nowadays. Petsmart has this new plant system and the slection has gone way down. Petco has never had a plant I wanted. So, I hope you have a good lfs that carries plenty of plants. If you do end up going to aquariumplants.com, you may as well branch out a little further and get things with some color, ones better suited for the back and sides (taller), middleground and foreground specific plants as well. Just be sure to mix in plenty of fast growers.


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

sounds good thanks for everthing


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Rob72 said:


> beaslbob, thanks for the info ill go this weekend and get the lights and fixtures, does it matter since i have 2 light strips, my tank has the bar that goes from front to back in the middle of the tank,


Just work something out to the tubes are above and not touching the center brace. On my 55g marine I just used 2x4's at the ends to hold the fixture up. *old dude

my .02


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Rob72 said:


> beaslbob, another question for ya...........use 1" peat moss, 1" play sand, and your existing gravel on top.......so use the peat moss like for plants in the garden is that right then play sand on top then gravel, just wanna make sure to do it right this time


I layer from bottom to top, 1" peat, 1" sand, 1" gravel. Wet each layer to just fill with water, level and clean then add the next layer.

I also recommend using the big bales like 2'x3'x2' of spaghnum peat moss for $11 from building supply stores. The smaller house plant bags don't seem to work as well because the have fertz added.


my .02


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

sounds good ill get to work on it and all, how did you mount the 2x4's to the top of the tank.......do you have any pictures of the tank that you did that to, it might help me figure it out if you dont mind showing and all and again thanks for all your help


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

i did some searching and all and came up with a few ideas then i seen this, 
Odyssea T5 High Output Lighting

would this work good for the tank and the price is not bad i dont think 
let me know


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Is this a 55g tank?


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

yes its 48 inchs long


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Rob72 said:


> sounds good ill get to work on it and all, how did you mount the 2x4's to the top of the tank.......do you have any pictures of the tank that you did that to, it might help me figure it out if you dont mind showing and all and again thanks for all your help


I just laid the 2x4 on the ends then the fixture on top. Hopefully you can come up with something better. *old dude


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

i got the spaghnum peat moss today and my driftwood it looks good it has the slate mounted to the bottom it is soaking now, the sand ill get monday
the question is should i put the gravel that is in the tank now back on top or should i just clean it all out and not use, what works the best. the new light should be in next friday i ordered this one Odyssea T5 High Output Lighting

now all i have to do it find some new canopy glass covers to cover the top of the tank, hope it did this right and again thanks to everyone for there help and advice, i think i finaly might get the hand of this


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If it is a 55g, that light fixture should work for you. You will have to play around with lighting periods and adjust as necessary to combat algae.


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

ok sounds great thanks


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