• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

First Time Plant List

D

DRillo

Member
Joined
12 Jul 2011
Messages
52
Location
Clevedon
Hi All,

I am almost ready to order plants for my first adventure in aquascaping and am looking for feedback and advice on my plant list.

Some info about the tank
45x27x30 - 36L
External Filter
Pressurised CO2
2 x 27w Lighting
ADA Amazonia (new)

Hardscape will consist of light coloured stones and dark coloured wood, still shopping!

The plants
Utricularia Graminifolia
Vesicularia Dubyana
Vesicularia ferriei 'Weeping'

Bolbitus Heudelotii
Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'

Myriophyllum mattogrossense
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Microsorum pteropus

When I write it down it looks like alot of plants for a relatively small tank but I want to have lots of detail.
I have tried to select fairly low demand plants and plan to stagger the planting.

Im sure trial and error is the best way to learn but any feedback would be much appreciated.
 
way too much lighting for the tank size and the plant selection. you will either ended up with a jungle if you are lucky or a tank full of algae if you are unlucky.
 
I know others have mentioned the lighting so all I'll say is a 3rd that!

As for the rest it all sounds good, the UG is an ambitious choice no matter what you level you are at, but that doesn't mean you should try it, but if you want to plant once and not go backbon yourself and replant something else of it doesn't take, which is sometimes the best thing to so with aqua soil( it tends to turn to mud if you mess to much with it) then consider hc or glosso or my new faveroute hairgrass :D

Where are you sourcing the plants mate?

Could you share the flow rate on the filter?

Cheers
 
filter will be a Fluval 105 @ 480lph - although I will be using an inline heater which will drop that down abit. Was maybe thinking of a 205 but that seems like overkill @ 680lph.

I had no idea this cheap ebay lighting was too much, I could just run one of tubes at a time and alternate them?

The plants are all from online UK stores - mainly TGM
 
Hi, looking at that light i wouldnt worry too much for now, firstly you have the option of 1 or two bulbs so if it is too much turn one off... its quite common to have med/low light most of the day then a 2 hours high light boost midway through the photo period.
Also it doesnt have any reflector so 30-50% of you light will be lost. Do you know the temperature of those bulbs? its worth checking as most ebay economy units come with rubbish bulbs thats sole purpose is to allow the aquarist to see into his tank not grow things. I run 2 x 24W T5HO on a 35l without any problems for 8 hrs a day... maybe im lucky?

TGM plants are the best but expensive, especially if you are setting up. I tend to use them now as the plants they send are larger and gives them a better chance to compete in a heavily planted established tank as they always come with good roots.. When setting up i find plantedtanks.co.uk quite good. Just be sure to buy extra so you can choose the best ones as they are sooo cheap and mention to them that you would like more established plants not new cuttings as they are quite helpful. Just another option...

Good luck, post pics when its set up...
 
The fact the light doesn't have reflectors will help, but I really wouldn't start with 2bulbs or staggering lighting for a mid day burst.

The filter is fine, I was running a 105 with Lilly pipes and inline heater AND inline diffuser :) so you should be ok with what you have mate.

The plants you get from tgm are going to be really good...reeeeaaally good haha. I see what Iain is saying though, it's a hard choice to make, and theres been loads of threads comparing shops, i usually go with pets at home, and them re use plants I've had for a while or advertise for plants wanted on the forum....you won't find moss at p@h though but just fyi in the future. How much weeping moss are you after? I could send you some? I picked some up at adc in the west end.

Cheers
 
The light does have a reflector of sorts, sorry about the poor image quality. The reflector doesn't look very efficient so hopefully if I start out with one bulb and make sure I have good CO2, flow and Ferts I wont be the not so proud owner of an algae tank.

DSC00449.jpg


I did notice the difference in price between TGM and theplantedtank, i guess you get what you pay for.
However I dont really want to be buying already well established plants as that takes away half the fun of growing them. I think a mixture of the two would be good.

How much weeping moss are you after? I could send you some? I picked some up at adc in the west end.
Click to expand...

It would be great if you could send me any spare you have, I dont want loads of it, just looking to get some attached to a couple of branches. Although I wont be in a position to have the tank up and running in the coming weeks, but im sure I read somewhere that moss will do well in a jar of normal tap water as long as a 100% water change is done daily?
If you want to PM me your paypal details we will sort something out.
 
No problems mate it's growls well in my tank so pm me next week or so an I'll send you some, it does ok in a jar but then yorkl have to wait for it to get used to high co2 and stuff and transition, or so I've been told.

Better of it going from my high tech straight into yours.

That light looks really nice, cheap too.

Make sure you remind me about the moss though, unless you'd tater have it now, ibdont mind.
 
Sounds sensible to wait until my tank is up and running, will drop you a PM - thanks for your kind offer.

So I have spent the day trimming down my plant list.
I think its all too easy to get carried away, looking at all the amazing tanks on here and forgetting that you need to build up an experience first before diving in and buying ever plant that will fit into a tank.

I have kept aquatic plants before but never in a high-tech tank. So I have taken 50% of the plants off the list. The easier to grow ones can go in and once I have mastered the basics I can always add new plants or start a fresh.

So I am looking at hairgrass as a carpet, 2 types of moss and ferns as the main attraction as below, thoughts?

Eleocharis Acicularis
Vesicularia Dubyana
Vesicularia ferriei 'Weeping'

Microsorum pteropus
Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'
Bolbitus Heudelotii
 
Yeah the revised list is cool, make sure you get the right kind of hair grass. i had 2 in 1 tank one grew very low and the other tall. one I got online and other in pets at home.

Don't be shy, plant like p.helferi and stuary are cool plants that like higher tech tanks but there in no way challenging, same IMO with b.japonica so don't be afraid of these plants mate, I don't want to feel like I put you o by saying that UG is hard.

I'll send you a couple of peices of amazon frogbit to help with the initial few weeks.
 
No it didnt put me off at all, I have a tendency to get carried away and rush into things.

All this is quite new to me and at the moment is quite daunting, just need to get stuck in and have some success, starting with UG was probably not the best way to do that.

Thats what I like so much about this forum, helpful people who dont flame every comment a newbie makes.

One triumph of the evening though was getting my pressurised CO2 to work without blowing myself up or breaking anything. I was quite nervous setting it up as I had never done anything like that before but there is so much info on here it was always going to be a success.

DSC00411.jpg


DSC00410.jpg
 
Maaaate!! I had that same diffuser an my gf droppebit by 'accident' when I left it in the kitchen after a clean :(
Is it a real do!aqua or eBay replica?

This forum is by far re best I've been on, what ever in interested in I join a forum or it, most put me off but this one actually brings you in and helps, Ive made some actual good pals from the forum and I feel like the guys and girls in havnt met in person would be just as easy to get on with as they on here.

Congrats on the co2, I'm (almost) an electrician and working on or near electrical power doesn't get me half as hot as when I change co2 cannisters haha

Cheers
 
afraid its a AE Design one from aqua essentials, nice though.
The tank is do!aqua.

lol I didnt tighten the reg to the bottle enough, jumped a mile when I opened the valve.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top