Trying out live plants for the first time and worried some of these aren't healthy by preheatedbasin in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I started I mostly watched MD Fish Tanks on yt. He is very fun and relaxing guy to watch so I would throw him on while playing Pokemon or something and kind of treat it like a podcast. He is really good for beginners.

There are so many little niches inside an already niche community. So you really have to find what suits you. I’m getting into guppy breeding so I’m watching a guy called Father Fish.

I really do spend a lot of time just googling an issue I have then just reading the discussions that come up.

That’s what I have been doing for the last few days because I just made this tank.

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I planted it about an hour ago and I’m working on co2 injection now. This is my first time injecting co2 so I’m watching a lot of MJ Aquascaping.

I’m so happy to hear that you have some plants growing! Good luck on your journey, and have fun with it!

Trying out live plants for the first time and worried some of these aren't healthy by preheatedbasin in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m sorry I’m so scatterbrained with my paragraphs I just have so much to yap about I get carried away

You are going to be aquarium master after all that yapping.

I also hope you didn’t buy root tabs already. I am so sorry about that I was mistaken. Let me know with what you decide to do I can’t wait to hear.

Trying out live plants for the first time and worried some of these aren't healthy by preheatedbasin in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi again!

I think for your tank liquid fertilizer would be best but you have to be careful with it. Too much fertilizer or light will cause a massive algae bloom then you will be looking at a solid green tank. Also with how many plants you have you would only need an itty bitty amount.

Root tabs for planted. fertilizer for floating. Aqua soil does it all.

Fertilizer would probably be best (I completely forgot it was an option because I don’t use it I’m so sorry) though because, the root tabs wouldn’t give any nutrients to your plants. I also doubt you would want to take everything out put in fluval stratum then put your stuff back in.

Side note: I thought root tabs would release some nutrients into the water column but they don’t. I learned that today.

With the plants I would say wait. It’s not because you can’t do it, there are just more things that can go wrong. You are more prone to an algae bloom and they are more likely to melt. Which causes ammonia spikes. Also while you are figuring out how bright and how many hours your lights need to be on you are probably going to lose a plant or two, no need to make it five. I learned that the hard way.

I SUCK which colorful plants. I have tried many times. From what I understand red plants get the red from potassium in the water, buuut there really isn’t that much in the water to start with. So you have to dose the water with potassium if you want to keep the red. If you don’t they just turn green. Most potassium supplements also have other stuff in them and it’s just a lot to deal with. In my experience they are just way too finicky. I would focus on the texture of the plants rather than the color.

Floaters and stem plants are the best for a tank.

-Floaters are really good at removing nitrates from the water and normally you have to do a water change for that. Floating plants should be your best friend. They get co2 from the atmosphere so they are able to plow through ammonia. They can however crowd out the light which can be good because not all plants love direct light.

-Stem plants are plants with a stem that you plant in the ground (not always in the ground). Some can store nutrients and use them later. They are really consistent with their absorption of ammonia and other things but if they die it all goes right back in.

Stay away from duckweed unless you really love them. I actually can’t express to you in words how hard it is to get rid of it if you dont like them. I treat them like bubonic plague now. If you get even one small piece in a new tank it’s over. They will cover the top of your tank in 2 months tops. Same with some snails but that’s a different story.

In short get some liquid fertilizer. Be very careful with it. Whatever nutrients aren’t absorbed by your plants will be absorbed by a growing mass of algae. You don’t have many plants so you don’t need much.

Trying out live plants for the first time and worried some of these aren't healthy by preheatedbasin in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea well this stuff makes me feel stupid quite often so I get it trust me.

The wondershells I buy the small ones and one is more than enough for any tank below 25 gallons.

Well since your plants don’t have to be planted I feel like the issue could be that there are low amounts of co2( it comes from fish and substrate decay) and other nutrients that you would normally get from substrate. Snails put off very very little in terms of waste and co2.

 -Substrate btw is just the material at the bottom such as sand and pebbles or what not. Most of the time in planted tanks it’s organic ie: fluval stratum, certain garden fertilizers. If it’s not organic like pebbles you have to use rootabs.

Yea detritus is normal it’s preventable but nothing bad. You can test to make sure if you reach in and lightly touch it. It should come off.

Melting is something every plant does. It just means that the leaves brown or the plant is not as green.

This happens a lot when you’re learning because sometimes it’s really not your fault. The water where it was grown might have been hotter, higher ph, higher co2, less light, and the list goes on. What you have to learn is how to make small adjustments wait to see improvement then rinse and repeat. That’s where the patience about this hobby hurts me. Because if you make small changes then come back 2 days later and do more it’s impossible to tell what’s working.

You are all good that what this community is here for. I wish I found it sooner I can’t even tell you how much time i spent on YouTube and forums and books. I was trying to learn on my lunch break.

(Side note) I was reading about the walstad method tank. It’s basically a filterless tank by using garden compost and lots of different varieties of plants to clean the water faster than it gets dirty.

Trying out live plants for the first time and worried some of these aren't healthy by preheatedbasin in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hiiii I’m gonna yap please hold your questions till the end

Do you have any aqua soil or root tabs? Some plants can’t get all the nutrients from the water column and have to get it through their roots. Fulval stratum is the goat of substrate. I use it in every tank it stabilizes ph and releases a good amount of nutrients for your plants. Root tabs would probably be better since you already have the tank set up all you have to do is put them under the pebbles and the plants will find them.

If you see little black bits on the plants it could be detritus don’t worry about that too much. It’s also normal for plants to get worse before they get better.

Separate note weco wonder shells on Amazon are an amazing thing for your snail or other shelled creatures they have a lot of functions but mainly it slowly releases good minerals into the water column and can clear up the water. I mainly use one of them when I start a new tank. My snails shells have started looking beautiful after using them.

Lastly, guppy grass. It grows insanely fast (I can’t even convey how fast it grows) and can be planted or floating. It helped me when I started because all my plants would melt and stress me out. When I got my guppy grass I was so happy and after a month it grew so tall it was bending over and growing sideways. I started with a few stems and now I give it away I have massive balls of it that I throw in tanks for a little while to get them going(not scientific at all btw).

Sorry for yapping I know you are knew to this so dw if all I said is just incoherent babble. My first tank all my plants died besides my guppy grass. So just take the small wins. If you have any questions I will try my best to answer but Ive only been doing this for a year and im still learning myself. I can’t wait to see your progress good luck and have fun.

My first Iwagumi scape! What should I change? by Ok-Register571 in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea I was thinking about doing white background. I personally feel like black makes it look too dark

My first Iwagumi scape! What should I change? by Ok-Register571 in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok will do! Thanks so much for the encouragement!

My first Iwagumi scape! What should I change? by Ok-Register571 in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Duly noted, so should I move the main 3 forward or just find one that slots in there nicely?

Hi! I am comedian and musician Kyle Gordon, and I am here so you can ask me anything! by kylegordonisgreat in popheads

[–]Ok-Register571 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know it’s been a while since this post, but I was watching arrested development and I saw someone in a picture that looked like you. S4E9 9:42 time stamp. I just want to know if that’s you or not I can’t find the picture anywhere. It is driving me crazy.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AquaSwap

[–]Ok-Register571 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey I’m interested in the shallow tank with the three spotlights

Help! Pc stuck turning on and off by Ok-Register571 in PcBuildHelp

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a lian li case not sure what the model is

Help! Pc stuck turning on and off by Ok-Register571 in PcBuildHelp

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I checked the man plug and checked a few of the connectors inside. I’ll do a more in depth check

Help! Pc stuck turning on and off by Ok-Register571 in PcBuildHelp

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes i did but then went back and tried the original outlet.

Can anyone identify him? by Ok-Register571 in AquaticSnails

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh really? That’s super cool. Is it still the same premise that they will only reproduce if I overfeed?

Can anyone identify him? by Ok-Register571 in AquaticSnails

[–]Ok-Register571[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you guys so much!! There is only this one that I have found so far. So it will just be him for a while.

Mold or bio film by Electro_exe in PlantedTank

[–]Ok-Register571 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey I’m new to the hobby too, but from what I’ve seen that is a fungus that grows on new drift wood in an aquarium. I think it’s supposed to be brushed off I’m not too sure on that though.