# Low techish planted tank



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I think you'll be fine regarding lighting.
I run three 32 watt T8 bulbs in discontinued Aqueon triple tube fixture on my low tech 55 gal.
Were it me,I might also purchase some dry fertz (macro nutrient's) .


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks for the reply
Would i need the extra dry ferts with the osmocote plus root tabs coming ? 

What is the benefit ? Sorry for the questions just new to this


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Plants take in nutrients from/through their leaves as much as through the roots.Plus any plant that you normally wouldn't "plant" and rather tie it to a rock or piece of driftwood
will receive little benefit from root tabs even though they do leach some nutrients into the water.
"Koi Angelfish" ? Clown Loaches get up to 8". Petshop fish are juvies.
Seems to work out better(for me) when I Google fish/plants that I like before I buy
them. Probably works out better for them also.
That is actually enough light that you may need to cut the hrs of it some to prevent algae. Just the two bulbs in that Diamond plate fixture is usually enough.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

brokeplanter said:


> Thanks for the reply
> Would i need the extra dry ferts with the osmocote plus root tabs coming ?
> 
> What is the benefit ? Sorry for the questions just new to this


 
Root tab's won't benefit the plants like Java fern or Anubia which aren't rooted but will work well for the plant's that are rooted like swordplant's and other's rooted in substrate.
Never hurt's to add a pinch of macro-micro nutrient's after weekly water change or every two week's.
My 55 gal get's 1/2 tsp KNO3,1/2 tsp KH2PO4 (macro nutrient's) and 1/2 tsp CSM+B or flourish comprehensive (micro nutrient's) after each weekly water change.
I based my low tech tank's loosely on "Tom Barr's NON CO2 method"
I still perform weekly water change and am pleased with them.


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

Heres a pic of one of my koi angels 
The clown loachs that i have are maybe 2" 
I wanted to add 2 more angels and a school of roseline sharks and that would be it for fish 
Any thoughts 
Im gonna read through tom barrs lowtech article 
Ill also pick up some comprehensive and the other ferts you mentioned 
Thanks for the advise greatly appreciated 
Any other thoughts ???? Maybe what i should look out for.... On a side not i am getting a little gba on my driftwood. Is this normal being a new tank ?

Bump: Also fogot to mention my lights are on a timer for 6 hrs is that enough or should i do loner duration


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## Cyro (Jan 8, 2010)

I would stay at 6 hours for a while and see how growth is. If in a few weeks everything is good and you haven't been taken over with algae you could increase it a little.

The lower the light the slower things can turn bad


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks cyro i will keep my lights there and adjust accordingly.. Can someone answer my fish stock list question i have 

Currently pair of angels 
Pair of rams 
2 clown loaches tiny 
2 sae

I wanted two more angels 
And a school of roselines 
Would that be ok 

Also seeing the plants that i have in the photos, any recommendations for more plants ???? 
I was thinking more crypts and anubias. Any thoughts


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## Cyro (Jan 8, 2010)

Right now, with the clown loaches, you are going to be VERY over stocked. If you were to remove the clowns you could get away with 2 more angel fish or 3 denison barbs. Your current stock is here: 

http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?AquTankName=&AquListBoxTank=Choose&AquTankLength=48&AquTankDepth=12&AquTankHeight=21&AquListBoxFilter=Rena+Filstar+XP3&AquTextFilterRate=175+&AquListBoxFilter2=Choose&AquTextFilterRate2=N%2FA+&AquFilterString=clown+loach&AquListBoxChooser=Clown+Loach+%28Chromobotia+macracanthus%29&AquTextBoxQuantity=2&FormSubmit=Add+%3E&AquTextBoxRemoveQuantity=&AlreadySelected=200909300078%3A2%3A%3A%2C200909300207%3A2%3A%3A%2C200911030933%3A2%3A%3A&FilterMode=Display+all+species&AqTempUnit=C&AqVolUnit=gUS&AqLengthUnit=inch&AqSortType=cname&FilterQuantity=2&AqJuvMode=&AqSpeciesWindowSize=short&AqSearchMode=simple

As for plants I tend to really love anubias, easy to care for, do not really need anything other then to NOT be planted in the substrate, attach them to drift wood or rock.


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks cyro that site is very helpful.
I removed the clown loaches brought it back to my lfs and traded for 2 more angels 

Now i need to get my hands on anubias but cant find any locally


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## Cyro (Jan 8, 2010)

I have purchased every plant I have ever had from the For Sale thread on this site. Plants are always better quality then you would get at the store and shipping is a lot better then if you were to order them online. The last few groups of plants I have got were from butterscrimp and I have had a single one give me problems.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Cyro said:


> I have purchased every plant I have ever had from the For Sale thread on this site. Plants are always better quality then you would get at the store and shipping is a lot better then if you were to order them online. The last few groups of plants I have got were from butterscrimp and I have had a single one give me problems.


 
I get my plant's from online dealer's of same, all the time.
Have always received what I ordered and then some, and plant's arrive next day or two day's.
Have also purchased some very nice plant's at large retail stores as well.
Largest and best looking Anubia I ever saw was at Petco and is now growing up and out of my tank.
I understand your happiness with plant's purchased by fellow member's but doesn't mean the quality is lacking elsewhere ,and if you pay the shipping $$ you can get them overnight.


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## Jcstank (Jan 3, 2015)

I would put the lights on a timer and have just the single on for 1 hour, then the dual light on for 6 hours and the single off, then the single light on for the last hour with the dual lights off for a total photo period of 8 hours. I would also have the dual light raised to about 21" above the substrate and the single lower. If algae starts to take hold then raise the dual to 25" and put a lot of fast growing plants in there. I've used the liquid fertilizers and the dry fertilizers like the ones from NilocG Aquatics are superior to the liquid ones. 

I dose 3/32 tsp CSM+B micro
1/2 tsp KH2PO4 Mono potassium Phosphate 
1/2 tsp K2SO4 potassium Sulfate
1/8 tsp Iron Chelate 10% DTPA
1/8 tsp KNO3 or as needed to keep nitrate above 10

All once a week on the first day right after a 50% water change. I'll adjust the water hardness to 6-8 and the KH to 3.5-4 and dose 10 ml of Seachem Excel every day before the light comes on. This regimen along with a Planted + at 25" above the substrate on for 8 hours has been wildly successful for my 75 gallon low tech planted tank. My algae has subsided and the plants are growing so fast they are coming out of the water at the top. I do have fast growing plants like water sprite and water wisteria along with the many others I have. I feel like this combination is dam close to the sweet spot for me and so I hope in sharing this it may help you do the same.

I just switch from the liquid fertilizers on my 10 gallon to these dry fertilizers following a similar regimen as with the 75 gallon and the water sprite that seemed stunted up until this point are all of a sudden sending off shoots. I love these dry fertilizers!


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

jc thank you for taking the time to post. im really interested on the whole 2 separate timer
schedule you mentioned. I'm gonna give that a try in a week or 2 and see what difference it makes. Thank you all for posting learning a ton of stuff. On a positive note increasing my flow got rid of the bga on the driftwood i just had to siphon out the very last patch of it on my first water change last night. As far as I can see seems like my crypts, amazon sword and lace plant are growing super fast. Everything else is growing slow slow 
my parameters are gh 2-3 mayb it was kh but anyways 2-3 
ph 6.6
ammonia 0 
nitrite 0
nitrate 10 

do those numbers seem ok ?


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

Just got the osmocote plus root tabs 
I was thinking using 10 of them scattered around the 55 is that too little ? Too much?


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

Well i burried 10 osmo root tabs. Seems like so far so good. But anyone know if its normal that my plants have tiny bubbles coming from the leaves ? Its like little bubbles everywhere ??
I checked my parameters everything seems ok

Bump: On a side note plants are growing really fast it seems, not use to it coming from the reef side of things when 6 months and an inch of growth is amazing in certain coral
Gonna snap a couple of progression pics


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Tiny bubbles from the leaves is good. 

When the plants are thriving they produce more oxygen than will dissolve in the water, so it beads up on the leaves, then breaks loose as bubbles. 

Means you have good levels of all the things the plants need in something close to the right ratios. The plants are not deficient in anything.


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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

Thanks Diana .... I can sleep better tonight knowing thats normal... 
Heres a couple progression pics

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## brokeplanter (Aug 16, 2011)

so other than anubias which i will be getting, what other plants would you folks recommend that would look good in the tank with the photos i provided ?


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## harley1964 (Jan 22, 2012)

be careful with the root tabs, It is very easy for the nutrients your trying to give the roots of the plants to get into the water column, Then the algae with give you lots of trouble until you can get the water balanced back out. Just like a reef tank sometimes you want the water column as nutrient poor as the plants will allow since the less complex hair algae will explode. I have noticed that in my tanks a tiny bit goes a long way, the lighting, fish waste, fish food, can sometimes be enough to make the plants grow real well. I break the plant tabs into pieces and use long tweezers to shove the piece right at the base of the plant.


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