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Can I Have Live Plants In My Tank?

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Offline Natasha

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Can I have live plants in my tank?
« on: August 06, 2013, 04:37:57 PM »
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Hey,

I just wanted some advice on whether it would be possible or wise to have live plants in my tank?

I'm new to this (I'm currently cycling my first tank) so may ask some questions that sound daft, please forgive me :)

I live in Bristol and so have hard, fairly alkaline water (I don't know if this makes a difference).

I have a Juwel rio 180 tank with T5 lighting and the standard Juwel internal filter that came with it.

The bit that I think will make you all scream at me is the fact that I have fine sand substrate, about 0.5mm diameter.

Any advice is welcome please  :D
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Offline SteveS

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2013, 04:50:02 PM »
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Yes you can. Have a look at this. If you stick to the plants marked as "easy", and add some root tabs to the sand, you shouldn't have any problems finding a group of plants with which to start.

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Offline ColinB

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2013, 05:03:57 PM »
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Quote from: Natasha on August 06, 2013, 04:37:57 PM
The bit that I think will make you all scream at me is the fact that I have fine sand substrate, about 0.5mm diameter.

Any advice is welcome please  :D

Nothing wrong with that at all..... Bronze Cory cats (here) would love both your substrate and your water!
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Offline Natasha

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2013, 01:58:09 PM »
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Hey guys,

So I've spent ages looking through all the various layout suggestions. Seeing what looks good and trying to get some inspiration, figure out which layouts won't need any CO2 and work out what I hope I will be able to keep alive :D I've come up with this one:

http://www.tropica.com/en/layouts/layout-16-(128l)/description.aspx

What do you think?

Tasha  :)
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Offline ColinB

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2013, 04:23:57 PM »
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That looks lovely - good choice! 8)
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Offline Resa

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2013, 06:34:23 PM »
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Hi Natasha,

I really like that! Beautiful planting but still some nice open swimming space.
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Offline Natasha

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #6 on: September 16, 2013, 12:16:17 AM »
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Hey,

Where could I get wood like the pieces of wood that the plants are attached to in this layout? My local MA only has bogwood. Do I need to get it specifically from an aquatics store?  :-\ Help please

Tasha  :D
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Offline jesnon

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2013, 09:29:29 AM »
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Hmm that does look like bogwood to me? That MA usually has quite a good selection of wood - bogwood and the thinner strands of wood that look like sticks right at the back of the shop, as well as lots of bits of rock. If you've not been to The Aquatic Store yet they have a good range of plants and wood in from time to time. If you have a more clear picture of what the wood looks like then you can post it on their Facebook page and ask if they have anything similar (https://www.facebook.com/groups/theaquaticstore/) - they're quite helpful like that!

The two pieces of wood I have in my tank were from the MA (http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,420.0.html)

How's your tank coming along since the cycle completed? Hope to see some photos of your completed tank soon :-)
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Offline Natasha

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2013, 10:55:41 AM »
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Hey Jesnon,

Sorry if I'm being daft :-[ I thought bogwood had tannins or something in it that made the water murky?

Tank is still empty at the moment as I'm trying to sort out the plants before getting fish but it's quite awkward when you don't drive!

Tasha  :D
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A Selection of Fish in my Fish Community Creator Tanks
Lake Tebera Rainbowfish (4) - Celebes Rainbow (4) - Panda Cory (4) - Dwarf Rainbowfish (4) - Glass Bloodfin (6) - Lemon Tetra (6) - Platy (6) - Zebra Danio (6) - Glowlight Danio (6) -
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Offline jesnon

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2013, 01:32:37 PM »
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Ahh yes - bogwood does have tannins in that will make the water like tea if you put them straight in your tank, but if you leave the wood to soak in a bucket of hot water that you change as often as you can then eventually the tannins will have leaked out enough that your water in your tank will be fine - I also put my bits on the hob in a saucepan and simmered them for a few minutes as well as changing the water in the bucket about once or twice a day (or more if I was at home all day). After about a week in a bucket changed daily you should be OK to go! Once the bucket in the water is clear your tank should be fine, it might still look slightly browner for a little while but your filter should sort it out quite quickly :-)

Ooh I know it's a nightmare when you don't drive! Luckily my boyfriend can, but it means you're restricted to when they want to take you! If you live in the centre the X39 stops outside the MA and it wouldn't be too long a journey with your fishies and plants!

On a side note make sure you're still dosing a little ammonia to keep all your bacteria nicely fed before you get your fish!
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Offline SteveS

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #10 on: September 16, 2013, 02:08:09 PM »
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Quote from: Natasha on September 16, 2013, 10:55:41 AM
Sorry if I'm being daft :-[ I thought bogwood had tannins or something in it that made the water murky?

It doesn't make it go murky, but it does give a brown coloration to the water. This can be used to advantage in a layout or you can use the technique Jesnon details to remove it.

A good source of wood, and lots of other stuff for planted tanks, is the Green Machine.
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Offline Natasha

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #11 on: September 23, 2013, 10:50:35 PM »
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Hey,

I've planted my tank and put in the bogwood with the plants attached, how long should I leave it to get rooted in before I get fish?

(Is this another silly question? :-[ )

Tasha  :D
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Offline SteveS

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #12 on: September 23, 2013, 11:51:30 PM »
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You can get fish when your filter has cycled. The age of your plants has no relevance.
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Offline Natasha

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #13 on: September 25, 2013, 09:12:13 PM »
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Okay, thanks Steve  :)

(So it was a silly question :-[ oops)
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A Selection of Fish in my Fish Community Creator Tanks
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Offline Resa

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #14 on: September 25, 2013, 10:51:44 PM »
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Hi Tasha,

No, it wasn't a silly question....I've asked much dafter ones than that :) ....and actually, still do!
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A Selection of Fish in my Fish Community Creator Tanks
Panda Cory (11) - Otocinclus (2) - Platy (3) - Dwarf Rainbowfish (7) - Dwarf Gourami (2) - Red Phantom Tetra (5) - Salt and Pepper Catfish (2) - Otocinclus (2) - Guppy (male) (4) - Dwarf Gourami (1) - Platy (6) - Dwarf Rainbowfish (5) - Panda Cory (6) - Otocinclus (2) - Salt and Pepper Catfish (6) - Dwarf Gourami (1) - Platy (5) - Guppy (male) (4) - Otocinclus (2) - Panda Cory (6) - Platy (3) - Dwarf Rainbowfish (5) -
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Offline Natasha

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #15 on: October 04, 2013, 06:50:53 PM »
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Hey,

I got my first fish today!  ;D

I'm very excited about this and have been sat in front of the tank watching them and trying to work out differences between them so I'll know them apart  ::)

I have some pictures where shall I put them?

Tasha  :D
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A Selection of Fish in my Fish Community Creator Tanks
Lake Tebera Rainbowfish (4) - Celebes Rainbow (4) - Panda Cory (4) - Dwarf Rainbowfish (4) - Glass Bloodfin (6) - Lemon Tetra (6) - Platy (6) - Zebra Danio (6) - Glowlight Danio (6) -
Note: The user may not necessarily own these fish, these are tanks that they may be building or researching for stocking purposes

Offline jesnon

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #16 on: October 04, 2013, 09:30:00 PM »
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Hi Tasha - how exciting! What did you go for? Pop them in the gallery section :-) ha don't worry all of my tiny fish have individual names and I can tell them apart, my boyfriend thinks I'm a little strange ha
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Offline Natasha

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Re: Can I have live plants in my tank?
« Reply #17 on: October 05, 2013, 11:42:28 PM »
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Hey Jesnon,

I got some silvertip tetra, they're really pretty little things  :D
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A Selection of Fish in my Fish Community Creator Tanks
Lake Tebera Rainbowfish (4) - Celebes Rainbow (4) - Panda Cory (4) - Dwarf Rainbowfish (4) - Glass Bloodfin (6) - Lemon Tetra (6) - Platy (6) - Zebra Danio (6) - Glowlight Danio (6) -
Note: The user may not necessarily own these fish, these are tanks that they may be building or researching for stocking purposes
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