jusdeb Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 :) Ive taken out all the fake plants from my 2 x 20 litres and decided to go planted . Ive put in anubia ,banan lilly , corkscrew val and small sword now I need to know if I have to add anything to the water to help them grow and mostly how do I go about tank maintenance ( gravel vacuum ) since I cant vacuum around the roots is it alright to leave parts not vacuumed , will the plants absorb any crap in the gravel,or will it just break down on its own .???Is there any benefit to having a planted tank in regards to the water quality??? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Plants will absorb all sorts of nasties from the water so they are definitely a plus to have. I don't gravel vacuum any of my planted tanks. The fish poop will fertilise the plants. There are quite a lot of resources on the Net about planted tanks. Google Takashi Amano and Diana Walstad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeni Posted October 13, 2007 Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Plants will absorb all sorts of nasties from the water so they are definitely a plus to have. I don't gravel vacuum any of my planted tanks. The fish poop will fertilise the plants. There are quite a lot of resources on the Net about planted tanks. Google Takashi Amano and Diana Walstad. This is a fairly good forum on planted tanks.. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ hth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted October 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2007 Thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Elflett Posted October 15, 2007 Report Share Posted October 15, 2007 You don't *have* to add anything - if you want them to grow faster/lusher and generally better, look at Seachem Excel (if it's not a big tank it'll cost you next to nothing, and is a good alternative to dosing CO2 - it's a liquid carbon source, and the plants need carbon to create growth...) and a good daily/weekly fert that will add trace elements too - I recommend TetraFin "Flora Pride" 'cos I've had excellent results with it - again, in a small tank, it's downright cheap to use... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jusdeb Posted October 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Thanx Stuart , I ll probably use one of those products until thay establish themselves and get some size to them . Then just let them grow at there own pace . So it wont cost much at all.....cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 what sort of lighting do you have on your tank? IME decent light levels (and the right spectrum) are the key factor in getting live plants to grow. The plants you've chosen (esp the anubias) don't need exorbitant light levels, but will still be assisted if you get the lighting right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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