# 300L tank is still empty one year down the line... Aquascape help



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

I would look through a site that sells stem plants and pick what you like. Theres only one way to learn what works for you and thats by trial and error. Very few people set up a fantastic tank their first time. It will take some learning by mistake. Just take the plunge and get started. Look for easy care stuff at first. You seem to have descent lighting so these are a good place to start. Try crypts, mosses, anubias, and ferns as well as a few stems to see which ones will grow for you.


----------



## trackhazard (Aug 24, 2006)

I would take a look through the various galleries of planted tanks out there and pick out something you like and try to replicate it. This will give you a good base from which to branch out and explore your own style once you get the hang of things.

-Charlie


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Well first of all, welcome to TPT! Glad you unlurked yourself! :icon_smil

You really don't need to let yourself get overwhelmed. There's no "right" or "wrong" to a planted tank. You don't have to start off with an aquascape at all... there's certainly something to be said for just starting out with a few plants, seeing how they do for you, and learning from there.

In general, it's helpful to divide a tank into 3- have a background for tall plants, a midground for medium-sized plants, and foreground for small/carpeting plants.

Lighting is one of the key factors that dictates what plants may work, though. What kind of lighting do you have over the tank?


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

lauraleellbp said:


> Lighting is one of the key factors that dictates what plants may work, though. What kind of lighting do you have over the tank?


 Looks like 2 T5s from the pic. Can you get us details on whether they are HOs or NOs? Or what type of bulbs they are (10K, 6700K, Etc...)?


----------



## Edman30 (Nov 15, 2010)

Trail and error. Also you gotta know what water parameters your looking for cause some plants require different parameters. Do more research on what plants you like and there needs.


----------



## simonettarigo (Oct 3, 2009)

Ok, WOW... I was not expecting these many replies so fast, looks like I found the right place! roud:

I have two T5 lights, 54W each, PlantGro from Arcadia... no idea if it is HO or not.

Here was my original plant list, and some of the questions I cannot answer and which are stopping me from making progress:

LIGHT: how much light (watts/gallon) do I have? the tank is 300L in theory, but in practice it is (measured from the outside) a 47'' by 23'' by 17'' and no idea of how many liters, or gallons for the matter, this is.
I have no idea how many effective gallons I have and how many watts per gallon. Also, do I go low-tech or high-tech? 

FOREGROUND: do I carpet the whole aquarium, or do I leave a few areas just with sand? if the latter, how do I choose which parts to carpet and which instead to leave open? Also, what do I use? Echinodorus tenellus, HC or glosso?

BOGWOOD: I have two pieces, one that is pillow-shaped with two small "legs" (like a spider leg) come out from the bottom. It would be good to put something on top of the pillow, but what? I was thinking Java moss, but I read that it just proliferates and takes over...
The other bogwood is like a pair of bull horns, so I need to decide what I put on the branches (left, right) and at the base... also, how much of the wood should show vs. be hidden? Amano seems to be hiding most of it.
Also, what do I put around the bogwood? 

Plant list: the Discus collection from Plants Alive (a bunch of standard discus-friendly plants) plus some java ferns, anubias, pogo, and HC.

The idea was to have a combination of fast growing plants (amazon swords, vallisneria, bacopa, hygrophila) and slower growing ones.

I was thinking of using the combination of Ready Now and clay balls to generate C02 in a natural way, or dose some excel in the tank to see if I could get by without pressurised CO2... has anyone tried ReadyNow?

Thanks for any extra help!
Simonetta


----------



## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

You can attach the java ferns to the bog wood and they are a little easier to control the spread than java moss.

Your not stuck with whatever plants you decide to put where, if you decide you don't like it move them about


----------



## thewife (Jan 26, 2011)

IMO, it's easier to get something started and going if you have a specific goal in mind. 

"I want a beautiful planted aquarium" is not specific enough. 
"I want a nature style aquarium" is a little better, but still not specific enough. 
"I want a driftwood nature style aquarium without rocks" is getting better. 

Quick design principle you may want to look into:

Convex or Concave or Isosceles (this is the overall shape shape of the layout). 

Once you've got a shape down, you can get into styles. Amano [Nature Style], Iwagumi [Nature Style], Dutch, Tonina (subcategory of Dutch), Jungle, Collectoritis (big grin), biotopes; and then there's something which I think of as architectural, but if it has an official "name" I don't know it...this is basically where you recreate terrestrial environments in an aquarium. Felipe Olivera has a really impressive tree with a creek, then there are several impressive mountain scapes like Glacier Valley. 

If you know what style you want to go for and what shape you want, it's a lot easier to find inspiration and advice. When you see a great scape that appeals to you, write down what you like about it/don't like/why it caught your attention. 

After that point, you can look to your equipment to see if you need more/less. 

Bottom line: have a specific goal! everything else follows.

I'm particularly fond of architectural styles myself, and I felt really inspired by a particular scene from The Pillars of the Earth. lol, I'm kind of hush-hush about it, but I think it'll be relatively original if it works. Do I know every aquatic plant on the planet? Heck no! But I know what I'm going for, so it's easier to discern if this or that plant would work for my purposes, and if I have the right light etc. for it.


----------



## simonettarigo (Oct 3, 2009)

Pillars of the earth, sounds epic!!

So, I want a beautiful planted tank which can be seen from two sides (one long and one short). Bogwood and no rocks. 
What type of layout would work best in this situation?

Also, I have no idea how big plants are when they will arrive, nor how big they will become, and am worried about the replanting piece (i.e. causing a sand-storm in my tank).

But really, the crisis-paralysis is when I have to decide which plants to put where, especially the ones on bogwood, since then they will stick to it.

Anyway, thanks to everyone so far for all your great advice. And once again: there is that business opportunity out there (charge for designing an aquascape) and people like me who would happily take advantage of it :icon_mrgr

Thanks!!
Simonetta


----------



## thewife (Jan 26, 2011)

most plants have their average sizes listed when you go to purchase them, or you can look through the plant databases here and elsewhere. 

even if you put a moss on a piece of wood, you can generally remove it later if you want - so don't get too hung up about it. 

anyway, like I said, get really specific. Bogwood is a good start. Viewable from two sides...well...lol, it's glass. That'll happen anyway! Take a look at the different styles that I listed and then go from there. Trust me, that's the easiest thing to do...just having one of us TELL you "put this plant in and get this piece of wood" wouldn't really help you all that much.


----------



## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

We've got other Londoners here on the loop, maybe you can all form a local plant club!


----------



## houstonhobby (Dec 12, 2008)

Dude put some water in there. Then stick some plants in. If you don't like how it looks you can always move them.

Otherwise, just admit that you can't make decisions well enough to do anything. My wife is like that. We have not had a grill for almost a year because she can't decide which one to buy. She had a chair painting project going for 5 years or more because she could not decide what color.

Never dither over a decision. Each decision deserves some limited amount of consideration. Never more than an hour or two. Make it and move on.


----------



## ridethespiral (Aug 5, 2010)

houstonhobby said:


> Dude put some water in there. Then stick some plants in. If you don't like how it looks you can always move them.
> 
> Otherwise, just admit that you can't make decisions well enough to do anything. My wife is like that. We have not had a grill for almost a year because she can't decide which one to buy. She had a chair painting project going for 5 years or more because she could not decide what color.
> 
> Never dither over a decision. Each decision deserves some limited amount of consideration. Never more than an hour or two. Make it and move on.


this.

even when you get it right, you're going to end up trimming it and ruining everything LOL, and then you get to re-arrange, check, take pictures, and ask more opinions :icon_lol:


----------



## Buff Daddy (Oct 19, 2010)

Simonetta, This site gave me more ideas than I could process.

And this one has info on layouts, plants and aquascaping period!

This hobby is akin to getting a new hair style. If you don't like how it looks, it will change on its own accord, or you can do something else entirely. Relax and enjoy it.


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

simonettarigo said:


> I have two T5 lights, 54W each, PlantGro from Arcadia... no idea if it is HO or not.
> 
> Simonetta


OK so you're running 2x 54 watts of T5HO (if they're 54 watts, then they're HO bulbs) over an approximately 80 gallon (US gallon) tank. That puts you at a low-to-medium light level, depending on your actual fixture design (I'm not familiar with the Arcadia fixtures as it's not a brand sold over here?)

So that should guide you in your plant selections.

Your aquascape IS going to change and evolve over time. You're going to try different things, see how they work, edit, move, revise, and try something else. Don't lock yourself into anything. That IS the fun part, and what the hobby is all about. :biggrin:


----------



## simonettarigo (Oct 3, 2009)

Thanks, the AGA site is really helpful and I noticed a few layouts that resemble mine, so I will use this as my point of departure... once again, thanks to everyone for your advice... and sense of humor!

Now I just need to carve out some time over the weekend to go to my LFS (which is not that local anymore) and check out some plants. Onwards and upwards!!


----------



## simonettarigo (Oct 3, 2009)

lauraleellbp said:


> OK so you're running 2x 54 watts of T5HO (if they're 54 watts, then they're HO bulbs) over an approximately 80 gallon (US gallon) tank. That puts you at a low-to-medium light level, depending on your actual fixture design (I'm not familiar with the Arcadia fixtures as it's not a brand sold over here?)
> :


Ok, this is what I was not sure about, because the tank is a 300, but the manufacturer said it held 250 liters, and once you put the sand in, the room for the water is further reduced, so I was really not sure how to count the wpg. Medium light sounds right, I might add a third bulb though.

I did put a reflector in, but the tank cover is made of a special reflective material so the manufacturer claimed it did not need any reflectors... ?

In general, my plant choice was already focusing on medium to low light plants, since I initially thought I would do a low-tech aquarium.

Now (and please don't laugh), my point of arrival fish is the discus, but that will be a long time from now. Plants Alive sells a Discus Collection, a bunch of plants that work well with high temperatures, and I did not see in there any that required too much light.

So, I think my plan will be to sort out the plants to go on the bogwood first, and then buy a plant collection and play around with the rest. Since the bogwood is big and it will be a pain in the neck to take out if I want to change the plants, this is the piece I need to get as right as possible. The rest I am more comfortable re-arranging.


I hope this makes sense... :biggrin:


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

You do not want to add more light to this tank. You are already on the border of needing a pressurized CO2 setup to keep up with the light you already have.

I'd stick with plants that are classified "low tech/low light" for now. Most plants classifed as "medium" or "high" light in actuality need CO2 more than light.


----------



## takadi (Dec 13, 2010)

When in doubt, put in carpeting plants. Always makes everything look better.


----------



## Buff Daddy (Oct 19, 2010)

simonettarigo said:


> I hope this makes sense... :biggrin:


As long as it makes sense to you... Enjoy! That's why we do it.


----------



## simonettarigo (Oct 3, 2009)

So, I went to the LFS yesterday, and checked out some plants, have a much better idea now of what should go where.

They were quite insistent though that I need to have a CO2 system, and since I read about a lot of people who do without it, I was a bit unsure whether they were just trying to sell me expensive equipment...

Their argument is that even low-tech plants do better with a little bit of CO2.

Would love any thoughts on this. I am sure it has been discussed already, so feel free to refer to another thread.

Thanks!!! :tongue:


----------



## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

simonettarigo said:


> So, I went to the LFS yesterday, and checked out some plants, have a much better idea now of what should go where.
> 
> They were quite insistent though that I need to have a CO2 system, and since I read about a lot of people who do without it, I was a bit unsure whether they were just trying to sell me expensive equipment...
> 
> ...


Pressurized co2 will greatly benefit any tank. Is it required for healthy plant growth? No. But if you can afford a good setup, then why not?

Also, a lot of plants can't be grown without co2... It just depends on whether you want to be able to keep the plants in that category or not.

I haven't read through the whole thread, but if you're just starting up in the hobby, then i'd skip the pressurized co2 for now. Experiment with low-tech setups before moving up to medium/high-tech.


----------



## mylittlefish (Oct 5, 2010)

I would consider two pendant halides 250W

for that size tank !

????? L W H ???







Ooops ......

I thought it was 300 Gallons


----------



## Buff Daddy (Oct 19, 2010)

simonettarigo said:


> So, I went to the LFS yesterday, and checked out some plants, have a much better idea now of what should go where.
> 
> They were quite insistent though that I need to have a CO2 system, and since I read about a lot of people who do without it, I was a bit unsure whether they were just trying to sell me expensive equipment...
> 
> ...


There are high-tech C02 and low-tech C02 possibilities. You can have C02 for a fraction of a high dollar setup, if you want to save money. Take a look at this thread. I agree that you should get your arms wet for a while before buying a C02 system. There are great plants to grow without it and experience is necessary.


----------



## simonettarigo (Oct 3, 2009)

*Additional question - this time on filter*

Is the Eheim Pro 3 2073 enough for this tank (Rena 300, will be less than 300 liters effectively)?

The advice I got on this thread was to go with a strong filter, to ensure sufficient water movement, so I am not sure if I should have gotten a bigger model.

Thanks for any additional help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## TRD_Power (Aug 6, 2010)

After about a year of jumping into a heavily planted, high light, Co2 injected tank, I learned that low light plants with some bogwood and rocks from the mountain rivers is easy as well as beautiful. All I have in my tank now are some Anubias, lace java fern, amazon swords, vals, and some willow moss. They all compliment each other very well. For a variety of colors, I just mix the rocks around  Green plants are good enough for me, haha. Get a low tech setup going first to learn and make sure you can keep those alive, then move on to something a bit more advanced. But, again, this is from my experience; yours may be a lot different  Good luck!


----------

