# Questions about my planted, sunlit tank



## SilentPlanet (Jul 18, 2012)

Hi everyone. A few weeks ago I decided to experiment a little with a spare tank I had laying around, here's the info about it. 
-It is a *20 gal long that I put a good 2 1/2 inches of finer gravel in.
-It's got a nice marineland Bio wheel filter
-lots of longer grassy plants (don't know the name) and some cool rocks
-I put two bamboo plants in the tank
-Let it cycle and added a couple dwarf powder blue Gourami and six bloodfin tetras
- It's directly in front of a window facing west, allowing it to be lit naturally.

Now My questions:
1: Will the bamboo survive in the tank? It's the kind that most people grow in a vase with water and marbles. Most of the leaves are out of the water (they stick out about 12 inches or so). I've tried doing some research and some say yay and others nay...
2: Do you see any potential issues with having it naturally lit? I have a white curtain that I can pull down ti block direct sunlight if needed. I live in WA so I'm not too worried about the sun warming up the tank too much.

Thanks!*


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

Iffy on the bamboo, at least 75% needs to be out of the water I would estimate. As long as you are comfortable with using it and it not overheating I see no issue.


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## frogwings (Aug 26, 2011)

I apologize for my negative input ahead of time, but: My experience with bamboo ~ it never really looks good. I took it out of a small tank I had as it did not benefit the tank and its occupants and the leaves were ratty looking. As for the direct sun light, watch the algae. It will have a field day growing in that west facing window. Your long summer days will only add to that. Winter days will be another challenge since the direct light it will get will be very short and you may need additional lighting. All the overcast days may be a problem as well. I lived in WA ~ I think I would opt for a different location and additional lighting if I had had a tank then. 

PS: I wish we had never left WA ~ we lived out on the peninsula and it was the most beautiful place I have ever been!


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

+3 on the bamboo.

My 55g is on the back porch and received 3-4 hours of more of more or less direct sunlight each day. Using the methods in the link to my signature below.

I did have cloudiness issues and had to cover the tank sides with black plastic. It took 3 weeks the first time and as usual there was no real improvement then in 2 days it cleared up.

And promptly clouded up again in a couple of days. So I covered the tank again and it took a week to clear. Then after uncovering the tank it became even clearer and has reamined clear for the last few weeks.

So it can be done but you do have to be proactive when or if it clouds up.


Tank has 2 comet type goldfish.


my .02


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Bamboo isnt truly aquatic so it will indeed rot in the tank. I therefore also suggest removing it. You can find lots of other true aquatic plants and all of them look nice in my opinion.

I cant really advise on the natural lighting,all my tanks have hoods. Do watch for algae in case its too much light and not enough plants.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Bamboo needs indirect light, strong sunlight can burn it. I have a couple solar tanks, but only very small ones. They spontaniously generate algae as the sun changes over the months. During the spring and fall I have nothing but green water, but during the summer and winter, with more stabilized light conditions, the water is crystal clear. I would add more plants, and be ready to rip your hair out because of algae. A team of otos and amano shrimp might help, but watch your stocking.

As a side note, I'd watch those gouramis like a hawk. They're in the same family as bettas, and some people say they fight as bad as any betta. 

Side note number two: yay, someone else from WA. Where you from? I'm in Ellensburg, but I go to the west side fairly often


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## SilentPlanet (Jul 18, 2012)

Thanks for everyone's input! About my bamboo, I was examining the plants yesterday and both of them have started growing more leaves/stalks, even though the smaller one is almost completely submerged! I'm gonna leave them in there for now, but will keep a close eye on them in case they start rotting.
As for the dwarf gourami, I've kept a few different kinds of gourami, and never had much success with pairing them in the same tank, even with a male and female. I've never kept dwarf gourami before, but they are supposedly more "peaceful" than larger ones. I thought they would be a good size for the tank, not to mention their hardiness. I like what I am seeing in their behavior so far (even swim around together like angelfish) , but they aren't as active or pretty in my opinion as some three-spot I have in other tanks.
Oh and I live in Lynnwood, which is like 15 or 20 miles north of Seattle. I love living here because it never gets too warm or too cold and there are so many kinds of activities you can do in WA (hiking, fishing, snowboarding, swimming etc...)
And about the algae... last night I bought a small rubber lip Pleco for the tank. They only get about 4 inches I was told so my tank would be fully stocked. Don't know if the 4 inch thing is true or not because I have a spotted Plec in another tank that is getting HUGE but maybe it's a different species completely. 
Overall though, the new tank is looking pretty healthy so far!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If the tank has only been running for 3wks it is unlikely that it has completed the nitrogen cycle. Unless you have added ammonia and done a fishless cycle?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> If the tank has only been running for 3wks it is unlikely that it has completed the nitrogen cycle. Unless you have added ammonia and done a fishless cycle?


Althought the bacteria may not have built up to consume the ammonia and nitrite, it is entirely possible the plants are consume any ammonia the bacteria have missed therefore preventing ammonia spikes. And therefore there is not stress to fish.

my .02


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> Althought the bacteria may not have built up to consume the ammonia and nitrite, it is entirely possible the plants are consume any ammonia the bacteria have missed therefore preventing ammonia spikes. And therefore there is not stress to fish.
> 
> my .02


From the sound of what's in the tank, it doesn't seem like there is enough plants to make a strong difference. Could be that they used substrate or media from a cycled tank, which would make the cycle faster, but plants alone wouldn't be making a difference here. 

TL;DR - You might not have a fully cycled tank yet unless you used stuff from an older tank that's been cycled. Plants will help a bit, but watch your levels.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

beaslbob said:


> Althought the bacteria may not have built up to consume the ammonia and nitrite, it is entirely possible the plants are consume any ammonia the bacteria have missed therefore preventing ammonia spikes. And therefore there is not stress to fish.
> 
> my .02


Sorry, maybe you should look at the stock level. 7 fish in a 20g....doubtful plants could keep up during a cycling tank and have 0 ammonia with as little plants are in this tank. If the bio-filter has developed enough (very highly likely in a 3wk old tank) then that would be the reason no ammonia exists.

I have dosed a fully established *heavily* planted, uncycled, tank and watched how long ammonia is still present. You would be surprised at how long it takes to use it up...over 10 days at only 2ppm - 20g tank. Maybe you should conduct that test yourself.


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## SilentPlanet (Jul 18, 2012)

Again, thanks for everone's input. 
When I set up this tank, I bought a new filter, but put that filter on a different well established tank and used its old filter on the new tank, to help with the bacteria and all that kind of stuff. I also swapped out some rocks from other tanks too, so there is used media in the newer tank for sure. The abundance of plants in this tank are probably helping a lot, because there are about 18 separate bunches of some kind of aquatic grass that I got from petco and petsmart. I also have the two bamboo plants with several large stalks in each one, and a plant that I believe is called an amazon sword or something like that.
Honestly at this point though, I'm not too worried about my fish dying from amonia problems since tetras and especially the Gourami are very resilient. In my experience, gourami are pretty hard to kill with water conditions!


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Sorry, maybe you should look at the stock level. 7 fish in a 20g....doubtful plants could keep up during a cycling tank and have 0 ammonia with as little plants are in this tank. If the bio-filter has developed enough (very highly likely in a 3wk old tank) then that would be the reason no ammonia exists.
> 
> I have dosed a fully established *heavily* planted, uncycled, tank and watched how long ammonia is still present. You would be surprised at how long it takes to use it up...over 10 days at only 2ppm - 20g tank. Maybe you should conduct that test yourself.


I started a 10g with 6 neon tetres and 5 glo fish. With tap water useing dechlorinator. Set it up with plants and added the fish immeditely. Lost one neon tetra the next day. The rest lived for over 2 years when the tank was torn down.

my 10g had a reproducing population of 30-50 guppies with 6-10 adults for over 8 years from the original cycle trio.

my 20g long had a population of 20-30 platies and 5 silver hachetfish for over 3 years before being torn down.

I have had similiar results in 1/2 dozen cities in the US as I moved around in the air force.


So now we have a new tank with fish, plants, and no measureable ammonia.

That seems to line up with experience silent planet is having.

Still just my .02


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

You two, can you not hijack someone's thread for a discussion you've had many times before? It's rude.

@Silent, I'd love to see pics of your tank, it sounds nice.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

beaslbob said:


> I started a 10g with 6 neon tetres and 5 glo fish. With tap water useing dechlorinator. Set it up with plants and added the fish immeditely. Lost one neon tetra the next day. The rest lived for over 2 years when the tank was torn down.
> 
> my 10g had a reproducing population of 30-50 guppies with 6-10 adults for over 8 years from the original cycle trio.
> 
> ...


You don't follow your own posted methods? You only add 1-2 per week I thought? Then I could see plants keeping up. Regardless, I am sure the bio-system is mature enough to handle ammonia after 3wks - even in a planted cycle. No way to test that, huh. I only know what I saw when dosing ammonia to a well established planted tank - established plants anyhow. I tested every day.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> *You don't follow your own posted methods*? You only add 1-2 per week I thought? Then I could see plants keeping up. Regardless, I am sure the bio-system is mature enough to handle ammonia after 3wks - even in a planted cycle. No way to test that, huh. I only know what I saw when dosing ammonia to a well established planted tank - established plants anyhow. I tested every day.


Not in that particular tank. And sure waiting a week would be even safer. Which is what I recommend. But even "breaking" all those "rules" the fish survived and thrived.

After the initial month or so I do add more then a couple of fish sometimes. And as always don't add food for a week or so.

But before a newbie gets to that point it is important limit the fish and bioload until the bacteria have built up. But it is a whole lot safer and the bacteri build up is not nearly as important when plants are consuming the ammonia the bacteria miss. *old dude

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I would agreee with that. But, as the bio-system matures it becomes much more efficient at processing ammonia than the plants will ever be. Plants also only consume during periods of light, the bio system doesn't care. 4ppm in ammonia in a mature, unplanted tank can be to 0ppm in 36hrs. I posted my experience with just plants and ammonia.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> Not in that particular tank. And sure waiting a week would be even safer. Which is what I recommend. But even "breaking" all those "rules" the fish survived and thrived.
> 
> After the initial month or so I do add more then a couple of fish sometimes. And as always don't add food for a week or so.
> 
> ...


You two, can you not hijack someone's thread for a discussion you've had many times before? It's rude.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> I would agreee with that. But, as the bio-system matures it becomes much more efficient at processing ammonia than the plants will ever be. Plants also only consume during periods of light, the bio system doesn't care. 4ppm in ammonia in a mature, unplanted tank can be to 0ppm in 36hrs. I posted my experience with just plants and ammonia.


You two, can you not hijack someone's thread for a discussion you've had many times before? It's rude.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Thanks for your opinion - twice.


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Direct sunlight can promote a lot of Algae growth. Even in the NW direct sunlight can easily elevate your aquarium's temperature and Algae growth, especially if the sunlight comes from the West.


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## frogwings (Aug 26, 2011)

SilentPlanet: When all is said and done, only time will tell. Good luck!


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