Cabomba grows tall and pretty
plants for a very tall tank.
:help:Been a long time since I posted. Its been hectic this past 6-8 mo. Anyway, I have am taking my goldfish tank a new direction since my last fancy tail died a few days ago (5 years after getting him). I have aquired 2 male and 4 female guppies for the tank. It is an Oceanic 50 Gal octogon tank. It has a footprint of about 2 foot, but is about 3 foot tall. I was wondering if I could get guppy grass to grow in this tank? I would like it to be a lightly planted tank. It sets in our dining room and is exposed to indirect sunlight, and I also have just a basic single bulb flourecent hood on the top of it, so it would definately be a low light tank. What would be some good plants to have in it if guppy grass wouldn't be for the fry to hide in? Thanks for the help.
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I have guppy grass in my 6g Fluval Edge (with LED lighting upgrade) and it does very well, even in the spots the artificial lighting does not reach. The rest of the tank gets indirect sunlight so I'd guess it would work in your situation. I dose no ferts and do not heat the tank.
Guppy grass is fragile and breaks often so that might be the one hurdle to getting tall stems.
Guppy grass is fragile and breaks often so that might be the one hurdle to getting tall stems.
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Tall driftwood absolutely covered in anubias and moss would look fabulous in that tall of a tank.
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Also found this interesting article and picture - http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/aquascaping
Something like this piece of driftwood but standing up where the long pieces go to the top of the tank instead of sideways and then covered in all types of anubias -
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Also found this interesting article and picture - http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/aquascaping
Something like this piece of driftwood but standing up where the long pieces go to the top of the tank instead of sideways and then covered in all types of anubias -
I have a java fern thats 26 inches and bushy heavy ferts and c02 to get it there in 3 months
I don't have the resources or room to do a co2 setup at this time, although once I can set up my large tank I will be doing a co2 setup on it. As far as driftwood, I live close to Truman lake here in Missouri. Could I get a nice driftwood piece from the lake and use in my tank? If so, what would I have to do to get it safe for it. Also, how did you get your plants to climb the driftwood like that?
I don't have the resources or room to do a co2 setup at this time, although once I can set up my large tank I will be doing a co2 setup on it. As far as driftwood, I live close to Truman lake here in Missouri. Could I get a nice driftwood piece from the lake and use in my tank? If so, what would I have to do to get it safe for it. Also, how did you get your plants to climb the driftwood like that?
I've been surfing google images for you for the last 2 hours, those were the only ones I could find that semi showed what was in my head. Those aren't my tanks but they are extremely beautiful.
To attach anubias or moss to driftwood you can use cotton sewing string. As they grow they will attach to the driftwood and the cotton string will deteriorate/disappear with time with no ill effect in your tank. As it grows you can clip and re-tie in different areas on the driftwood. Anubias is a slow grower so would take time to cover it all after the intial investment but it will grow, just takes patience and maybe enough to cover the bottom half to start so you don't ever have to mess with the very bottom again except for clippings.
You could also just use rocks on the substrate and not actually plant anything down there - just plant up the driftwood to make it easier for you to take care of.
Yes, you could absolutely find your own driftwood and then just clean it well before you use it. I'm not 100% sure how you'd clean an extremely large piece maybe by rotating in a cheap kiddie pool, scrub and drown parts of it at a time.
Surprisingly few pictures of tanks with what I had in mind but anubias is one of my favorite plants. if I had enough of it and the patience I'd love to do an all anubias/buce tank on driftwood like this.
Jungle val! Beautiful, wide grass-like leaves that grow to over 48" long. My tank is 24" deep and the val lays in loops on the surface. An excellent plant for tall tanks.
Glue them on with Crazy glue (gel).
Water sprite, vals, Ambulia, Green Temple, Anubia barteri, needle leaf java fern come to mind plants wise.
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Water sprite, vals, Ambulia, Green Temple, Anubia barteri, needle leaf java fern come to mind plants wise.
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Lots of good wood in Truman! If you have a boat, you can get some really prize stuff from the still standing stuff. The Clinton/ Deepwater end comes to mind when I think of wood but I'm sure lots of that winds up on the banks. If no boat, look over the shore and I'm sure there's good stuff. For a tall tank, I like the idea of hollow with plants sticking out of the holes up and down the wood. Look for the totally dry all the way through stuff and then do an overnight bleach water soak in a plastic trash can . Next day take it out, rinse it and when it dries, the chlorine will be gone.
Cheap and easy.
Cheap and easy.
Well, I have a boat.....if I can talk my dad into letting me use it lol. He retired last year and says he's gonna spend more time on the lake this year. I also have another question. How do I test rock to see if it is safe for my aquarium? I have some very interesting ones that I've picked up here and there that I thought would look good in my tanks.
The boat sound like a good way to go. While he's out chasing crappie, you can hut the wood! Just go for stuff that is up in the air so that it dries without rotting. Stuff on the ground gets bugs and rots too quick so I stick to the stuff that is off the ground.
For rocks, there are very few rocks that are likely to change your water much if it is the water I know from that area. Likely to be hard and alkaline already? Even limestone isn't going to change water much if it is full of limestone already.
If you do happens to have soft acidic water, there is a test to determine if some rock will change the water much. Alkaline rocks will fizz if you put acid on them. The stronger the acid, the more likely to fizz. But what you are proving is that the rock is alkaline. Other than changing your water readings, rocks are almost always safe.
For rocks, there are very few rocks that are likely to change your water much if it is the water I know from that area. Likely to be hard and alkaline already? Even limestone isn't going to change water much if it is full of limestone already.
If you do happens to have soft acidic water, there is a test to determine if some rock will change the water much. Alkaline rocks will fizz if you put acid on them. The stronger the acid, the more likely to fizz. But what you are proving is that the rock is alkaline. Other than changing your water readings, rocks are almost always safe.
ok cool, and yah, my water is hard water. I use well water from my dad's, as my city water has so much chlorine in it its nuts. Even treating it with prime doesn't work. Since I switched to using well water I havn't lost any fish. I will definately have to go wood hunting this spring and see if I can find a nice center piece for my tank. I'm going to try to get some pictures of the tank as it is now posted as well.
ok, how do I add pictures to my post? Can't figure it out grrrrrr
as you can see, I do have some algae growing. I need to clean off the glass one of these days in the near future. If I get a better picture of the algae, could someone help me identify it and let me know how to do away with it? Also, what type of substrate should I use when I plant this tank, and will I have to let it cycle again? It has been up and running continuously for 5 years or better.
Jungle val! Can grow to 5 feet but can be trimmed to any desired height with scissors, it will continue to grow from cut leaves just like your lawn.
I have guppy grass in my 55gal. I trim it down about half the height and it takes 1.5 weeks to be all the way to the top. It is a large mass about 12 inches square. No ferts no co2 just red wag platy poop. It grows like crazy for me.
Jungle vals! Tall, easy to grow, multiply quickly, are easy to find, and look good.
Also, you probably will want to replace your light - with a ~3 foot deep tank a single fluorescent bulb will grow a bunch of algae while your plants melt sadly away. You probably want at least a 2 bulb T5HO fixture to get enough light even with the anubias/driftwood method though more knowledgeable people might have different ideas. Just a thought.
Also, you probably will want to replace your light - with a ~3 foot deep tank a single fluorescent bulb will grow a bunch of algae while your plants melt sadly away. You probably want at least a 2 bulb T5HO fixture to get enough light even with the anubias/driftwood method though more knowledgeable people might have different ideas. Just a thought.
I was figuring I would need to replace my lighting, but getting a fixture that will fit the tank may be an issue, since it is an octagon shape. Any ideas for this? It sets in the dining room, so I want it to look good. It has a glass top on it now. When I plant it should I remove the glass, or will it be ok?
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