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Tips for planting in a tank full of water

Chrisdia

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30 Mar 2022
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London
Hi,
I would like to add some more plants to my tank . Particularly something for ground cover and possibly a couple of dwarf Anubias (not yet decided). I would like to know if anyone has some plant suggestions and also if it is possible to plant whilst the aquarium is full of water (any tips or video suggestions for the best way to do this if it is possible). My Amano's appear to be sensitive to changes in water so I am worried about removing a large amount water in one go.

If I do need to remove the majority of the water, I'm guessing its best to keep most of the water taken out and put it back into the tank so that effectively when the water goes back in it will be like a small water change?

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
  • Lighting - x1 Fluval Halogen bulb and x1 6500k cool white led bulb
  • Filtration - Fluval Edge HOB, pre-filter sponge, foam, biomax and carbon (I am considering the benefits of adding some more filter sponge to the filter)
  • Substrate - Fluval plant and shrimp stratum
  • Decor - Natural wood from LFS (possibly azalea wood) and glimmer wood, x1 Almond leaf
  • Fertilisation - NT Labs Plant boost (Using sparingly as prior to adding shrimp, daily dosing seemed to be causing an algae outbreak)
  • Liquid Carbon - NT Labs Liquid CO2 boost (stopped using since I added the shrimp)
  • Livestock - x2 Amano shrimp
  • Planting - x1 dwarf crypt, limnopjila heterophylla, and Aponogeton ulvaceus (which I think will be too big for the tank)
  • There is also a small airstone
 
if it is possible to plant whilst the aquarium is full of water
Yes no problems there. I do it all the time. Just use a pair of tweezers. Those tweezers can be your fingers or chopsticks if you don't have proper aquascaping tweezers ;). Look around in youtube. There are literally 1000's of videos on aquascaping. If you are going to add epiphytes you can attach them to rock or wood either with super glue or with some fishing line. Don't go and burry the rhizome or they will rot.
My Amano's appear to be sensitive to changes in water so I am worried about removing a large amount water in one go.
That is strange. Amanos are actually known to be rather robust shrimps. It all depends if the water you are changing is equivalent in terms on parameters to the incoming water.
If I do need to remove the majority of the water, I'm guessing its best to keep most of the water taken out and put it back into the tank so that effectively when the water goes back in it will be like a small water change?
There is absolutely no need for that if the only purpose is to simply add a new plant. Just get your arms wet, nothing will happen, don't worry, I promise ;) Maybe simply removing 1 or 2 cm of water if the tank is up to its brim. This will prevent overflow, but that's about it. No need to empty the tank.
 
Ive just recently planted my tank, all i did was empty about 1/4 of the tank, turn of all the filters so the water was calm so i could see the bottom clearly, (I have a large tank though) use some tweezers to grip the bottom of the plant and place in substrate., thats it really, i'm a complete beginner to the planted world so if i can do it. Regarding your worry about your Amano's, i found them to be very hardy, but if the incoming water is the same make up as the tank water then nothing to worry about.
 
Hi there,
Don't forget to add dechlorinator/ water conditioner to the tap water before you add it to your tank & bring the new water temperature up to close on the tank temp. I only change a bucket full per water change & raise the temp with a kettle of boiling water.
 
Hi and welcome to the community.
If this is the 23l tank from your other post I will suggest to swap the Amano shrimp for Cherry shrimp.Amanos get quite large and need a roomier tank(I always had problems with them escaping smaller tanks than 60l in volume)
You are correct about the Aponogeton it will get too large for the tank.
Plants to consider for such a small tank
Cryptocoryne albida brown
Cryptocoryne legroi
Cryptocoryne Beckettii(Petchii)
Cryptocoryne lutea hobbit
Anubias pettite
Microsorum pettite
Riccardia chamedryfolia
Fissidens moss
Bucephalandra species that stay on the smaller side

Also please do start a journal of your tank with loads of pics(videos) so members can give you good advice and guide you trough your journey.
Regards Konstantin
 
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I have amanos and I always do 50% or more water changes and they don't die, you need to adjust you temperature if you fill it.
About the plants you can plant always as long as you level the water so you don't flood your floor when you put an arm in.. I think most people here 're'plant in filled tanks.
 
Yes no problems there. I do it all the time. Just use a pair of tweezers. Those tweezers can be your fingers or chopsticks if you don't have proper aquascaping tweezers ;). Look around in youtube. There are literally 1000's of videos on aquascaping. If you are going to add epiphytes you can attach them to rock or wood either with super glue or with some fishing line. Don't go and burry the rhizome or they will rot.

That is strange. Amanos are actually known to be rather robust shrimps. It all depends if the water you are changing is equivalent in terms on parameters to the incoming water.

There is absolutely no need for that if the only purpose is to simply add a new plant. Just get your arms wet, nothing will happen, don't worry, I promise ;) Maybe simply removing 1 or 2 cm of water if the tank is up to its brim. This will prevent overflow, but that's about it. No need to empty the tank.

Thanks so much for your reply. I'm learning to let go of the need to get things perfect first time round. The plant cuttings that I had tried to plant usually just floated up to the surface which made me think that if I tried to plant new plants in a semi full tank that I will have the same issue. Thanks for the reassurance, I will give it a try and see how I get on.

Re: Amanos, I have since done a few small water changes which did not seem to have the same effect as the first one I mentioned. When I tested the tank water and tap water I noticed that the readings were different. Taking on the advice from here I adjusted the water temperature, changed my dechlorinator/water conditioner and used RO water to closer match the tanks PH level and that seemed to work. No erratic behaviour after a water change although I did get some moulting from one of them.
 
Hi and welcome to the community.
If this is the 23l tank from your other post I will suggest to swap the Amano shrimp for Cherry shrimp.Amanos get quite large and need a roomier tank(I always had problems with them escaping smaller tanks than 60l in volume)
You are correct about the Aponogeton it will get too large for the tank.
Plants to consider for such a small tank
Cryptocoryne albida brown
Cryptocoryne legroi
Cryptocoryne Beckettii(Petchii)
Cryptocoryne lutea hobbit
Anubias pettite
Microsorum pettite
Riccardia chamedryfolia
Fissidens moss
Bucephalandra species that stay on the smaller side

Also please do start a journal of your tank with loads of pics(videos) so members can give you good advice and guide you trough your journey.
Regards Konstantin
I'm inexperienced in these things and curious; how are the Amanos escaping from smaller tanks?

Thanks for the plant suggestions I will check them out. I love the idea about the journal and pics. I will check out info on journals. Not sure about posting pictures yet though, I really don't think mine looks as good as some of the amazing aquascapes I have been seeing.
 
Don’t worry about it ‘matching up’ to other scapes. If you are enjoying ur journey and ur tank, that’s what matters.

A Journal can be really helpful. It gives you somewhere to log what you’ve been doing and when and see how ur tank has progressed, as well as a way of getting useful help and advice.

I read back on my journal often to remind myself how long a particular plant has been in or when I made an adjustment to something as well as reviewing pics to compare plant growth etc.

I’d encourage anyone to do a journal but people newer to the hobby, even more so, it really can be a useful tool.

Be brave, we’d love to see it and folks here are always happy to lend a hand. 😊
 
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