[thefisherman]

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie planted tank dude. First I wanted to thank plantedtank.net, its members and community. You guys are soo awesome!

I have a screw in 5500k/1400 lumen bulb in there that my plants absolutely love... but I don't think my tetras like the brightness. I tried shading with floating hornwort and moving the light farther away, which they sem to like better.

I'm kinda torn because I want my tetras to thrive but I don't want to stunt my plants. I'm looking for a leafier floating plant atm for some shading but I don;t want my red plants to suffer, please help!

best,

R

ps. I hate the little CFL my nano came with, the light quality is poop! don't make me go back

 

[Buff Daddy]

Nice tank... They have shade when it's bright. Just provide some time for natural/room lighting by putting the light on a timer to break up a long photo period. Something like 4on-3off-6on. All of my tetras are lower-level, shade-huggers, too.

Oh yeah, prepare for algae... It's coming. You could put a mesh-screen over the top or a glass cover. Light from that window may be a pea-soup generator.

 

[ycbs]

I don't think the brightness is the problem. I don't think the rummynose tetras like the cramped quarters. They are one of the more active swimming tetras. I have a school in my 75g and they are almost constantly swimming back and forth the length of the tank. Besides congo tetras, the rummynose are the most active tetras I have kept. They are much more active than the neons, cardinals, emperors, blue emperors, blue tetras, black neons, green fires, and glowlights I've kept.

This is a Fluval nano, right? Looks like it with that background. I have an Ebi. I have a couple of dwarf gouramis in there and a couple of threadfin rainbows. Personally, as far as tetras go, I would only stick to the smallest, least active ones, like neons for a tank this size.

 

[zergling]

Give them a few days to adjust, but ycbs might be correct with the tank being too small for them.

IME, it takes a couple of days for glo-lights and cardinals to adjust to my high-light tank. My pencilfish, however, takes a lot longer -- at least 2 weeks before they start venturing out of the shade regularly -- goes for nannostomus mortenthaleri, rubrocaudatus, and beckfordi.

 

[thefisherman]

yes i have the fluval flora... i left the background in place cuz i didn't want to clean adhesive off the glass. my shrimp seem to love rockclimbing that thing tho so i'm glad i left it lol.

thanks for the tip buff daddy, i also considered staggering the photo periods, but I'm afraid my red plants might turn green. (same reason why i decided not to introduce anymore floaters other than the hornwort)

this first tank of mine is more about the plants and I decided (just now lol) that I want to keep the foot on the pedal and give these plants as much light available. plus i love the full spectrum quality of light, it makes me feel happy lol.

...but of course i want my tetras to be happy too. as i've read more and ycbs makes such an important note; the rummynose are very active and I am realizing need more space! so i am back to the drawing board and considering a lowlight black water setup with some slow growing green friends (anubias, crypts, etc. from my first tank) as a new home for my little tetras! i'm thinking a 12gal 38" long X 12" deep X13" tall edgeless glass setup... or i can get another fluval nano tonight at my LFS.

omg I'm going to go broke! lol

thanks again for your thoughts!

 

[bruinhd]

I have the same issue, I'm going to try and make a tree with driftwood and Christmas fern. Hopefully that provides them with enough shade...

 

[thefisherman]

ya so i just shared wonderful my idea of creating a new tetra home with the wife and... lets just say the project its on hold (luv ya hun...gulp).

so umm...granted I still agree that i need a larger tank, in a school, for them (rummynose) to truly thrive and be happy, in the meantime i will:

- take buff daddy's advise and stagger photo periods (plus dont worry shades never open on that window, plus its a northern exposure)
- look for a dwarf lilly pad type floater to fix in one corner cuz the hornwort ain't cutting it.
- and move my daylight bulb a little bit farther from the tank to diffuse the light a tad but still reach the bottom of my tank

- and lastly a question: what about using blackwater expert? or a filtered peat? to tint my water... does tinted water take away from a plant's photosynthesis ability?

 

[Buff Daddy]

If you want tetras that aren't so active, look at serpaes. They can be nippy, if the school is too small. Five is a nice number. They are wonderful shades of red! Glowlights are not as aggressive, and are pretty golden...

Blackwater does impact photosynthesis. True blackwater isn't a lush growth habitat. Take a look at mongobay.com for biotope info.

Some people hate duckweed, but I like it to control shade in my Ebi (doesn't have a lot of surface flow). You can just scoop it to control coverage area. You have to scoop it like every other day, as it grows fast.

 

[thefisherman]

thanks for your input again buff daddy. i was at my LFS last night looking at blackwater extract (liquid) and pura amazona media (substrate). i ended up buying the media with the intent of filling the empty chamber in the filter and (try to) gradually convert the water. i promise you i stared at my tank long and hard last night (daylight bulb off of course) and the substrate media can is still on my desk, unopened.

the hardest thing about this hobby i am finding out is the self-dicipline required to let nature take its course and not to act on impulse (unless theres a water emergency of course!)

my tank is just shy of a month old and the tetras have spent less than a week in the tank. although the chemistry of the water is stable, the tank (as much as i don't want to admit) may not be fully established; as are my fish.

so i think i'm going to let the little guys do their thing and hopefully get used to their new home. before i add a new species, i am looking forward to introduce a couple more rummies to keep them company (maybe this weekend!). i've read they're more confident in a group of at least 5. and then let my plants grow as lush as they can hopefully creating a natural canopy for the fish (im afraid of duckweed, especially since i have hornwort and some other plants who look like they are about to explode with all the nutrients and light i've been providing lol, but dw is definatelty an option)

of course if it seems too heavily vegitated i will have to do some gardening, trim and prune some plants. Or i'll just have to make space by removing plants. i figure my plants will fair better in a tank move rather than the fishies.

i will definately keep you posted!