# What I've got so far..



## karrie91 (Mar 1, 2012)

Okay. This is a follow up thread to the one I did recently on the 15 gallon. I got off work tonight, and picked up a heater, some gravel and plants for the tank I just ordered. Just wondering on what opinions are. I wanted something that was going to make the dalmation mollies I'm buying to really stand out. I spent hours watching youtube videos last night for inspiration and really wanted a natural look.

Okay this is the tank I ordered:










along with it i ordered 2 packs of each of these

















And I picked up two bags of this gravel at work and a value pack of large plants. I decided not to go with live plants as I'm not confident in my beginner experience to try a planted tank.










Okay.. opinions? I haven't opened anything so I have no problem returning it at work. The girls at the service desk love me lol. I'll probably pick up a few more plants when I hit the pet store in a few weeks but I'm uncertain about getting some sort of cave decoration. Do mollies like to go in caves? Or would the plants be enough interest to them. Also do they like air stones/fast moving water? I've never owned dalmations and I would really appreciate some tips!


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

As long as you get proper lighting, live plants are super easy. In general anything in the range of 5000k - 10000k will work just fine. And most people will recommend <1 per gallon for low light. between 1 - 2 watts per gallon is medium light and greater than 2 watts per gallon would be high light. A lot of plants will grow in low light will little to no ferts necessary. Root tabs can help a lot with those plants. I don't use any ferts in my tank and all my plants are growing just fine. This includes java moss, java ferns, water wisteria, and willow hydro.

I would try out some of those, live plants are just such a great benefit to a tank eating up ammonia, nitrites, and such. 

I'd mix some plastic and real plants. At least to get you started, you will be able to make sure you can grow plants with the live and whatever lighting you choose and if they die off for whatever reason you still have the plastic plants for your fish to hide in.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Everything you got will work great, although I have to do a plug for live plants...they are not as hard as you might think. Perhaps start with a mix of live and plastic until you get your feet wet (haha) and work your way up. In a tank that size, live plants will really help you out in the long run.


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## Thor (Sep 24, 2011)

If you want more fake plants I have a couple silk and several plastic plants that I no longer use that I could sell you...

Although I agree with summer real plants are the way to go. I would try wisteria its very easy to grow.


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## SuckMyCichlids (Nov 5, 2011)

Definetly atleast worth a shot to try acouple low light, hardy plants to start with and see if its somthing you can do, if not just throw in some more plastic/ silk ones, also almost every tank will benifit from some sort of air stone to increase oxygen in the tank as well as help with a slight current


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## karrie91 (Mar 1, 2012)

Hmm sounds like I'll go for it! A mix of live plants and plastic wouldn't be bad. I'll start with easy care plants. I'm not sure what the light that the tank is coming with. I'm going to look at the product info. I know plants help increase oxygen level which will help prevent bg algae which is something I do NOT want in my tank. Still unsure about a cave. I know dalmatians tend to get bigger then other mollies and I'm not sure I want to risk them getting stuck in a cave. If I did it would be some sort of natural rock looking one. I'm really going for the natural look. Though I do got my eye on a little scuba diver decoration that would look neat.

All it says is it's a T5 florescent light. Not sure if that helps. So java fern seems to be a simple to care for one? Is there any plants I should avoid all together? And I assume I need plant food as well. If anyone wants to go in any more details about the plants I'm sure I can be swayed into adding some real plants to my tank.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

I have some small crypts, which are a nice low light plant if you're interested. They'd look nice with java fern. 

Root tabs are my favorite fertilizer type (plant food). Stick them 1-2" under the gravel, and you're good to go for 1-2 months. There's also liquid ferts, but I haven't had a chance to play with those yet


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## karrie91 (Mar 1, 2012)

What about sword plants? I like the look of them but don't know if they require special care? I like that they grow tall..


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## SuckMyCichlids (Nov 5, 2011)

You could look at cichlid stones for your rock cave


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

karrie91 said:


> What about sword plants? I like the look of them but don't know if they require special care? I like that they grow tall..


those are fine, they light root tabs and more light too. Be careful if you get them, that you get a small variety...some of the larger types can outgrow a 125!


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Just a note on the pebbles and shells. Real shells will raise the water hardness and pH, which can be a problem depending on the fish you have. The pebbles are very shiny, they could be polished with some kind of varnish that's not good for fish, if they are being sold for use in aquariums they should be okay.


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## Souxiekue (Sep 4, 2012)

Karrie, I was just wondering...can you please tell me where you ordered this tank? I have one just like it and just cracked it. The pet shop it came from doesn't carry them anymore, and (of course) I JUST paid someone to build me a stand! I'd love to order one. 

Thanks!
:goldfish:Susie


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

How many gallons is the tank? Mollies like room, plants, algae and hard mineral-rich water with a high pH. Shells are excellent for them. But they do like at least 20 gallons for 3-4 of them.


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