# Crypt Only Tank!



## cowsrfunybb25 (Nov 21, 2015)

Good Morning everybody!

I have a 29 gallon that use to be my cichlid tank bit ran into some issues with it and had to tear it down Its just the standard 29 gallon nothing fancy about it. I have recently been having an obsession with crypts... so why not set up a crypt only tank??(that is if my dad allows me to set up another tank..) 

I've seen tanks that have a island kind of thing with rocks and or driftwood in the middle with crypts or other plans growing out from the rocks. The look of a darker tank with dark sand, black background and darker plants with a bright species of fish has always sought my eye. 

For the lighting would 2 ~20ish inch long tube(name fails me) bulbs at 6500k be too much lighting for a crypt tank? or should i just go with a couple CFL bulbs over the island?

Does anybody have any experience with the flourite black sand? 

Should I go with a HOB filter or a canister?

Please post pics of your crypt tanks!!
Thank you all!


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Well for your lighting the tubes that you use is going to make a big difference but 2 t5 or even t8 would probably be good enough. CFLs could work too.

Canisters are nice cause they are out of the way but a hob will be just fine too.

What species of crypts are you planning to grow? What's your water parameters like? What stock are you planning to keep? Co2?

Here is my 75g crypt tank, I have 23 different kinds of crypts in this tank. Also have some other plants to help with the look of my scape (not really happy with it but the tank was only setup at Christmas).



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## cowsrfunybb25 (Nov 21, 2015)

That tank looks really good!
Im not sure about what species I have a couple in my main tank but I don't know what kind they are. My LFS sells "assorted crypts" I was going to buy some of those and then have someone identify them. 
What species do you recommend that would be "easier" than the others?
For fish I was planning on a school of dwarf rainbow fish.
There will be no Co2 and try to keep ferts to minimum other than substrate.
I might try this in a 10 gallon first just to get a hold on crypt keeping then once i have more experience and they are bigger and propagated set up the 29.
I'll test water parameters tonight.
Thanks!


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Wendtii varieties are pretty safe. Spiralis and crispatula for long thin leaves se to be pretty easy. If your water is on the hard side you can grow usteriana and pontederifolia easily. 

Se crypts prefer hard water and some soft, so best to try and get the ones that suit your tap water best.

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## cowsrfunybb25 (Nov 21, 2015)

Should I have anything in the substrate for them? 
I see you have a power head, is that just because of a large tank or do they like some water flow?


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Powerhead is to keep good flow, I run high co2 levels and dose the water column so I need to ensure its being distributed properly. Also because of the moss carpet you want to keep gunk moving to be picked up by filter and not on your plants.

I have 40 peppered Cory's which do an amazing job and cleaning up crypt leaves through the day. This keep algae off. 

I don't use anything special in my substrate, its just inert pool filter sand, no root tabs or anything. I found that it simply didn't do much because I dose the water column.

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## cowsrfunybb25 (Nov 21, 2015)

Ok that makes sense. What do you dose?


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

I have a 3 liter glass jar I use to mix up my macros (nitrates, potassium, and phosphates). Also does a tiny bit of csm+b randomly, I do this on days other than the days I does my macros. Pretty close to ei dosing method 

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## cowsrfunybb25 (Nov 21, 2015)

OK.. would dosing excel and flourish help at all? Any other things on the seachem line I should dose?


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Dry ferts are far more cost effective than the seachem stuff.

Excel can cause some crypts to melt, so I don't use it. I would rather not use any co2 than use excel. But if your not running co2 than just make sure your lighting is not too much.

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## jcmv4792 (Jul 15, 2015)

philipraposo1982 said:


> Wendtii varieties are pretty safe. Spiralis and crispatula for long thin leaves se to be pretty easy. If your water is on the hard side you can grow usteriana and pontederifolia easily.
> 
> Se crypts prefer hard water and some soft, so best to try and get the ones that suit your tap water best.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk


Is crypt wendtii a hard water species? What about becketti petchi, lucens, and undulata?


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

All of those I am pretty certain do well in nuetral water. I have had wendtii growing in softer water but not as nice, does better with a higher gh and kh as with most crypts. Most crypts in the hobby will do better at nuetral to hard water. But many cam still grow fairly well under non ideal conditions given a good amount of time to adapt.

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## Timmy!! (Jun 26, 2014)

I only have experience with wendtii and balansae but they are some incredibly hardy plants. I had them in a 20 with dual t5's and excel and they grew really well. The balansae got way to big for the tank, literally grew from the back, up to the surface and draped back down to the substrate in the front. I love crypts, I'm planning to do another crypt tank again soon. Not sure if my parameters have much to do with it but they are:
Ph 7.5, gh 10, kh 8


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## jcmv4792 (Jul 15, 2015)

Timmy!! said:


> I only have experience with wendtii and balansae but they are some incredibly hardy plants. I had them in a 20 with dual t5's and excel and they grew really well. The balansae got way to big for the tank, literally grew from the back, up to the surface and draped back down to the substrate in the front. I love crypts, I'm planning to do another crypt tank again soon. Not sure if my parameters have much to do with it but they are:
> Ph 7.5, gh 10, kh 8
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk


Those parameters are near identical to mine. ph 7.8 kh 7 gh 10. Good to know!


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

Never had a problem with Excel and Wendtii varieties, even at 2-3x daily amounts.


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