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Would this be to many plants?

2K views 19 replies 4 participants last post by  Opare 
#1 ·
I'm slowly working on setting up a ten gallon planted tank. I've had a few before but they really weren't ones in was to proud of and this time I really want to do it right. That being said, I'm setting this up for one single betta, I'll have an aqua clear 20, 50 watt heater and two 14 watt 6500k cfl bulbs. I plan to use ecocomplete and dose flourish and flourish excel ( any other fertilizer suggestions?)The plants I plan to get I'm ordering from plantedaquariumcentral, I've heard a lot of good things from them and I really want to get my plants from somewhere they're taken care of unlike my previous experiences [emoji28] [emoji28] so I plan to get 2 echinodorus parviflorus tropica, some pearl grass, about four-five Anubis Nana, creeping charlie, hygrophilia corymbosa siamensis, and to top it all off one dwarf lily. Is this too much? Any suggestions to maybe trade one for another, add something else, it take something out? As far as space goes I only plan to have some small spiderwood and maybe a few larger stones thats about it.My lights will be on for no more than 8 hours a day but if you think I should keep them on longer or less please let me know!! I'm open to suggestions and would love some help [emoji4] [emoji4] [emoji4] thank you

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#2 ·
Maybe go for another substrate rather than Ecocomplete, it is pretty much inert, you could buy black sand that would do the same business. ADA Aquasoil is always my preferred choice though.
You will need to supplement macro fertilisation as well as your micros (Flourish Comprehensive) and organic carbon (excel), which will be your NPK (Nitrogen yadda yadda). The Seachem fertilisers would also be not as cost effective as buying dry salts of the nutrients you need for your macros which would be KNO3, KH2PO4 and K2SO4. You can get a micro mix as a dry salt but I think the Flourish (Comprehensive) bottle is fine, especially if you already have it. How to dose those fertilisers, you could follow the PPS-Pro method or any other lean-low-tech dosing regime.
Regarding plants I can't really make suggestions scaping wise, without seeing hardscape and plans etc. But growing wise those plants should do fine in your setup. Don't really think it is too much either depending how much you plant of each species of course. You may want something for the foreground though. Maybe Staurogyne repens, Helanthium tenellum or Lilaeopsis brasiliensis.
Start out conservative with your lights maybe 5 hours, then increase the period as the tank matures.
You probably will have some questions as that was a lot of info, with admittedly not tonnes of detail I apologise! Hope this helps somewhat though.


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#3 ·
I also use ADA and never use other brand. So far very satisfied.
So far I dose kno3 and flourish comprehensive.
KNO3
Mix kno3 and water until no more kno3 able to dissolve ( beware the process make the solution cool, keep it at 25 degree Celsius) mix one part of kno3 solution with two part of water. Dose 2ml of final solution should raise 4ppm of nitrate and 2.5 ppm of potassium.

K2SO4
Mix k2so4 in water until no more salt can dissolve. Keep temperature at 25 degree Celsius. Mix one part of solution to one part of water. 4ml of final solution will raise potassium level by 2.8ppm.

KH2PO4
At 25 degree mix kh2po4 with water until no more can be dissolved. Mix one part of solution with four parts of water. 1ml of final solution should raise phosphate by 1ppm and 0.38ppm of potassium.

I use syringe for accurate measurements. I use the above method because I do not have good weight balance. Since I know the solubility of those salt I just do some calculations to bypass the need of balance scale.

I dose 1ml of comprehensive.

I dose 3 times perweek and do 50% water change.
I only dose roughly half of EI, you can always adjust your dosage accordingly.

Hope can help






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#4 ·
Thank you to both, its just I would use aqua soil if it wasn't so expensive!! Haha but I was also thinking about dry ferts except I feel like they'd be easy to overuse. I would love to use all the best, but my budget isn't going to allow it. Would seachems trace elements, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and iron still work for the plants I plan to keep?

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#5 ·
Well, if you want to save money, just use dry ferts. I also scared to overdose so that's why I mix them into solution, easier to measure. If I want to do adjustment I just adjust volume. Though EI theory always about provide nutrient in abundance and maintain at certain level.

Of course you can dose seachem macro and micro but that would be expensive in long term. The price difference can be many many times.
Example I use 1kg pack lab grade kno3 since 4 years ago and I only use half of it. It cost around 18 USD in my country.

Good soil is the matter of success or failure. Not necessarily ADA but good soil can save your time and money invested.

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#6 ·
Hmm ok, I wasn't so sure so I'm glad you cleared it up for me😊😊 however what type of soil would you recommend then? I really don't want to have a dirted tank as I feel its more trouble than its worth and I am a stickler for very clear water. Are there any options that aren't so messy? I don't mind spending maybe a little more if it means better long term success. I may even just use some black sand I have and then make my own root tabs with osmocote as I know I lot of people have had success with that.

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#8 ·
Oh ok, thats alright. But just for clarification it won't be harmful to use ecomplete right? I also really like the idea of getting staurogyne repens too, for that even I was thinking about getting CFLs that are a little strong like the Phillips 6500k 23 watt.

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#9 ·
Nah Ecocomplete isn't harmful, it's just more money than it's worth, glorified sand basically. Black sand and roots tabs would be a good cheap and easy route TBH. Root tabs not neccesary if you dose the water column sufficiently.
John was spot on with everything his said, the Seachem fertilisers are just super dilute solutions of the dry salts, so you might as well buy them, which is a lot cheaper, and make your own solutions. There are easy to follow guides online. You don't even need a scale (although a scale is easier than spoon measurements).
S. repens will do fine even in lower light conditions.


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#11 ·
Merck, sigma Aldrich...... Lol, I believe there are cheaper industrial grade alternative. Chemicals are chemical regardless of brand. Maybe there are brand in micro due to different chemical ratio such as csm+b or if I remember it right, never have the chance to get it in Malaysia

Since I'm a bit OCD about concentration accuracy I use solubility of salts to mix a solution of known concentration. The tedious part is calculation. The easier part is mixing. Just mix them until you can't add more, easy huh? And believes me, it's accurate.

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#12 ·
So if I get all the measurements out of the way I'll be good? Haha just for the most part at least I know theres so much that goes into it I'm just trying not to overwhelm myself. I was looking at some places to order dry ferts, would the ones from aquariumfertilizers.com work?

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#13 ·
I can't help you with purchasing, macro should be no problem as all of them are same, kno3, kh2po4 and k2so4.
Micro I never used dry fertilizers as I can't get it here in Malaysia. Maybe you can try yourself and see how your plant reacts. Maybe you can open a new thread after using it[emoji1]

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#16 ·
Haha, that one not work for me cos I got itchy hand. I like to replant again and again so that will disturb the layer of substrate. However I agree with him, substrate with fertilized clay or tab below will serve your purpose. Just don't pull up and replant too frequent

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#17 ·
Yup agreed that is a valid point. But it is possible to manage some plant relocation. Usually I took a little larger scissor and cut of the roots an inch or so into the substrate on the plant to be moved. Sure it will set back the plant a bit but never noticed an ill coming from it. But just ripping up a plant with a well developed root system will not turn out great.
 
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