Upgrade, change of substrate for plants?

[ameliaaahx]

So, I'm going to be upgrading my 45g community tank to either a 65g or 118g depending on what I decide to do with my severums.

I want plants, and this time instead of just throwing them in and hoping for the best I want to set it up right. My first hurdle is substrate. I have white silica sand that I want to use but was wondering if I should first line the tank with some kind of fertilizer. If I go this route, how do I then stop the tank from ending up as a mess with the fert mixed all through the sand?

I was thinking either this:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animal...-563022478.htm

Or alternatively something like this, which I thought might be cleaner:
http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animal...-563260055.htm

The lighting is Juwel T5 Hi-lite, although I'm not sure which range the bulbs are. I think one is Hi-lite Day and the other is Nature. I'm not sure if it's ideal for growing plants but it's built into the hood of the tank so I'm reluctant to change it. I've had a brief look at CO2 injection but it mostly looks to technical for me.

Any other tips or suggestions for having a successful planted tank would be great. :)

[talldutchie]

Those JBL balls is what I use at the moment and I'm running a smaller juwel rio tank but with the same lighting. (see link in sig). I do supplment with small doses of liquid co2 and a general liquid fertilizer. (about 50% of manufacturer recommended)

The "potting soil" should be avoid if you got diggers. Otherwise it will just stay at the bottom. I never dared doing that because I was afraid of an anaerobic built up but recently I've seen some aquariums that did make it work so it seems a real option

[ameliaaahx]

Thanks dutchie, that's very helpful -- how successful have you found the Juwel lighting with the JBL balls at growing plants? Last time I tried growing plants in mine (without ferts or anything) I found that stuff grew but then started to develop holes in the leaves and stuff.

I like to mix up my sand when I do water changes to keep it all fresh and I'm nearly certain it'll eventually just end up a mess if I go with the potting soil so I'd rather the root balls if they actually work.

Plus great to see another Juwel-user. I adore my Juwel, such a gorgeous tank. Even if the filters they make are average (IMO). I run a second canister on my 4-foot Juwel.

[Cermet]

Here is a really great site on plant 'feeding':

http://www.rexgrigg.com/ferts.htm

and this one on water minerals is critical for both healthy plants and fish:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html

and finally, one on lighting - this is only important if you are interested in higher light levels:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts....ng.html#lumens

Relative to algae - if you run ferts, be very careful - an imbalance can quickly lead to lgae growth: know what plants need and the best way to get it to them.

[talldutchie]

Thanks dutchie, that's very helpful -- how successful have you found the Juwel lighting with the JBL balls at growing plants? Last time I tried growing plants in mine (without ferts or anything) I found that stuff grew but then started to develop holes in the leaves and stuff.

Check the tank thread in my sig. Holes is typically potassium shortage

I like to mix up my sand when I do water changes to keep it all fresh and I'm nearly certain it'll eventually just end up a mess if I go with the potting soil so I'd rather the root balls if they actually work.

They do but you might wanna go easy on the mixing and stirring if you plant. Are malaysian trumpet snails allowed in your country?

Plus great to see another Juwel-user. I adore my Juwel, such a gorgeous tank. Even if the filters they make are average (IMO). I run a second canister on my 4-foot Juwel.

Eyesores maybe but effective eyesores in my experience. Yes, juwel makes a good and complete package. Still don'\t understand why they aren't on the north-american market. Maybe the difficult legal climate over there.

[ameliaaahx]

Thanks Cermet, those threads are very informative, if not a little overwhelming! It'll take me a while to get through all that reading material.

Dutchie that's a stunning tank, obviously the Juwel lighting + JBL balls combination is a good one! I love your driftwood, I've been looking for something elegant and branchy like that for so long but all I seem to be able to find is big ugly chunks. I've often seen people putting leaves in their fish tanks and your fish seem to love it -- is this safe? I would have thought they would just rot and disintegrate in the water.

[talldutchie]

Well, we only went trough all the wood in 3 different stores before finding this.

Leafs is save. Doesn't rot for ages. Think about it, most of these species come from streams where all sorts of things fall in. In this case it's only sinking wafers but still, it gets really busy in there at feeding time.

Juwel's dual t5 lights are good enough for most medium light species.