# Starting a new planted tank



## LizzyP (Jun 21, 2012)

I convinced hubby into letting me do a divided 10 rather than 2 smaller tanks. You know...to "save space" :wink3:

I'm incredibly nervous. I tried (and failed) at a planted tank a few years ago. http://www.bettafish.com/30-betta-fish-care/117151-new-setup-couple-questions.html

I got some crazy algae, all my plants died and I fought with the sand every water change. But, I learned that I planted plants that shouldn't be and I think I overdosed on fertilizer giving the algae from Hell, and I was vacuuming too close to the substrate. I ended up dumping the entire thing out and doing a bare bottom, incredibly boring tank with silk plants. Sigh, what a waste.

My plan is to start with a 2.5 gallon to make sure I can actually keep plants alive before I go and start this divided tank. That way if it doesn't work out I won't have to start all over and if it does work out maybe I can sneak another betta in the house 0

So far the plants I'd like to start with are duckweed, water wisteria, water sprite, java fern, Brazilian pennywort and anubias. From what I've read these plants seem to be the easiest in terms of fertilization and not needing to add Co2. I plan on tying a lot of these plants down to either the divider or if I can find any small pieces of drift wood for the 10 gallon or leave them floating for the test tank. Any of these plants definitely need to be planted other than the java fern & pennywort?

My questions are, what kind of substrate should I use and what kind of lighting? In my last tank I think I used too much light which in combination to the fertilizer overdose really made the algae bloom. I think for my test tank I'll just use a clip on light to save some money.

This post got way longer than I anticipated, thanks for reading this far! If anyone has any other tips please let me know. TIA!

Lizzy


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Don't get duckweed, you will never get rid of it. That's all the advice I can give, because I'm still (after 6 months) struggling with my plants, LOL.


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## LizzyP (Jun 21, 2012)

Lol, I know a lot of people don't like duckweed but I think it's so pretty. What are you struggling with in your tank?


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

My plants melt, all the time. I also had a snail explosion, and I can't seem to keep fish alive for more than a year.  Luckily I haven't had any algae, yet. I'll be getting a Finnex Stingray as a Christmas present to myself, LOL. That worked wonders on my 5.5, but the 30 in. for my 20 GL is a little bit expensive.


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## LizzyP (Jun 21, 2012)

ThatFishThough said:


> My plants melt, all the time. I also had a snail explosion, and I can't seem to keep fish alive for more than a year.  Luckily I haven't had any algae, yet. I'll be getting a Finnex Stingray as a Christmas present to myself, LOL. That worked wonders on my 5.5, but the 30 in. for my 20 GL is a little bit expensive.


Feel your pain on the keeping fish alive. I had my avatar betta for like 3 years (from Walmart, go figure) but every other fish I got died from various problems within a year, also. That's kinda why I want to do some planted tanks to maybe give them a better environment? I'm not sure....

Sorry to hear about the plants melting, maybe the light is too close?


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Maybe. It's a low-powered, crappy, Aqueon light though, LOL. Good luck with your tank! <3


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

I have an unconventional tank setup, a bare bottomed 3.2 gallon tank with lots of plants. My favorites are java fern and anubias. I also have bolbitis and water wisteria. All of my plants are free floating or held down by suction cup rings. No need to plant the java fern. I have a Finnex Stingray light and I use Flourish Comprehensive, 4 drops twice a week. For surface floating plants I love salvinia minima, the leaves grow in chains so they are easier to manage and not as messy as duckweed. I have frogbit too, but they seem to melt on me.

It is so easy to clean without any substrate!


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## Tourmaline (Nov 23, 2015)

Another good option I'd recommend is temple plants, mine have grown like weeds in basic LED lighting. Mine are Temple Compacta specifically. This is the planted tank I'm most proud of, it's a 5g, the hood has a bulb and it has a 10w 6500k bulb in it right now. It has regular sand substrate, 3 swords, lots of Temple compacta, a Java Fern somewhere in there, two large Anubias, lots of Water Wisteria, and some Anacharis. The sword on the right is having a bit of a hard time converting because it was one of those tube plants, I'm hoping it'll recover.

As a floater I recommend floating Water Wisteria, I also recommend Dwarf Water Lettuce, it grows really nice roots and they're pretty large so they're easier to manage than both Salvinia Minima and Duckweed.


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## trahana (Dec 28, 2015)

I have a planted 40g with an unusual setup. A self-made custom tankstand, a self-made clear corrugated plastic with two shop lights hanging over them. My experience with Plants is be Careful of buying floaters. I bought a bundle of plants and the Dwarf Water Lettuce carried cyanobacteria, the WORST algae to plague an aquarium. It lived inside next to the stem and spread from my 40g to the other tanks. After culling many plants and after many months of fighting it, I no longer have cyanobacteria in my 40g. But, I also no longer have floating plants, I had to remove all of them. 
If not for the cyanobacteria, Dwarf Watter Lettuce are beautiful and easy to care for, mine had small, iris-like white flowers. The Roots were so long they touched the bottom, and the betta loved swimming through them. 
I also have various sword plants(including cute little pygmy chain swords), anubias, pygmy grass that my Betta loves, and java ferns. All doing wonderfully.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

Something with which I have had excellent results is the Finnex FugeRay Planted + PLUS. The best prices I've found are at eBay. The additional red spectrum seems to really give the plants a boost. The programmable model is the 24/7, but I stay with the standard model.

Keep us posted and have some fun!


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

Lekoguy, I have heard that the Fugeray Planted Plus is too strong for low to medium light plants, that is why I purchased the Stingray. It also has the red spectrum.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

It was just some additional info for Lizzy.


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## LizzyP (Jun 21, 2012)

trahana said:


> I have a planted 40g with an unusual setup. A self-made custom tankstand, a self-made clear corrugated plastic with two shop lights hanging over them. My experience with Plants is be Careful of buying floaters. I bought a bundle of plants and the Dwarf Water Lettuce carried cyanobacteria, the WORST algae to plague an aquarium. It lived inside next to the stem and spread from my 40g to the other tanks. After culling many plants and after many months of fighting it, I no longer have cyanobacteria in my 40g. But, I also no longer have floating plants, I had to remove all of them.
> If not for the cyanobacteria, Dwarf Watter Lettuce are beautiful and easy to care for, mine had small, iris-like white flowers. The Roots were so long they touched the bottom, and the betta loved swimming through them.
> I also have various sword plants(including cute little pygmy chain swords), anubias, pygmy grass that my Betta loves, and java ferns. All doing wonderfully.


How did you end up getting rid of it? I'm worried about algae but where I plan on putting the tank, the room has no windows. My last tank with the crazy algae was in a kitchen with lots of natural light plus the light I had on top. 


For you all with the stingray lighting, do you just use glass hoods on your tanks? One fish is a real jumper and definitely needs a covering.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

I use a glass cover.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

When I was trying to decide between which Finnex to get I contacted Finnex with the plants I grow. They suggested the Finnex Stingray for low-light plants in tanks with a dept of less than 14". I have the Stingray on all of my tanks and they are great. Shipping is $5.00 unless it's gone up. This site is a part of Finnex. I have both open and covered tanks and use a timer: Eight hours on; 16 hours off.

Stingray

None of the plants you mention need to be planted. Instead, you can buy plant weights. I use these and am very happy. These are double thick and hold down the biggest bunch of plants.

25 NEW Aquarium Soft Lead Weight DOUBLE THICK - Live Plant Fish Anacharis Anchor | eBay

For rooted plants I use the general purpose and the Iron tabs:

RU TABS Root tabs aquarium fertilizer plant ferts substrate clay micro macro | eBay

For floating/non-rooted I use Seachem Comprehensive (not Excel).

BF Member KitKat1967 sells the best Frog Bit, Red Root Floaters and Dwarf Water Lettuce. She also has wonderful, heathy Mystery Snails. I agree with ThatFishThough: Say No to Duckweed; just when you think it's gone it comes back with a vengeance.

The Green Habitat is developing a new site. When it's up and running Betta Fish members will receive a 20% discount and free shipping. I will have the code so you'll need to PM for it. I'll make the announcement when the site is ready. The new site will have lots of BOGO on Anubias and other plants. I've been buying my plants from them and I'm really impressed. They are also on eBay as "thegreenhabitat."

Live Aquarium Plants Online Store

For my Narrow Leaf Anacharis I buy from:

BamaPlants.com, Home of Aquarium, Bog, Pond, and Carnivorous Plants all Grown in the USA


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

Thanks for the recommendations, I just ordered some of those plant weights! :thumbsup:


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

YVW.

San Francisco isn't near Monterey Park, is it? I'm not sure but TGH may allow store pickup.


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## LizzyP (Jun 21, 2012)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> When I was trying to decide between which Finnex to get I contacted Finnex with the plants I grow. They suggested the Finnex Stingray for low-light plants in tanks with a dept of less than 14". I have the Stingray on all of my tanks and they are great. Shipping is $5.00 unless it's gone up. This site is a part of Finnex. I have both open and covered tanks and use a timer: Eight hours on; 16 hours off.
> 
> Stingray
> 
> ...


Wow, thank you so much! I've had one mystery snail in the past in the 5.5 gallon fail. My mom loved him/her. I don't know anything about them. I fed him sinking tablets and that's just about it. Could a 10 gallon hold 2 bettas and 2 snails?


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

Whoa - Only one Betta can be kept at a time in a single tank.

You would have plenty room for a number of snails


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

LizzyP said:


> Wow, thank you so much! I've had one mystery snail in the past in the 5.5 gallon fail. My mom loved him/her. I don't know anything about them. I fed him sinking tablets and that's just about it. Could a 10 gallon hold 2 bettas and 2 snails?


You are most welcome! 

I don't see why you couldn't have two in a 10 gallon. I have one in each of my 5.5 and one in a 2.5...the one in the 2.5 may have to move if he gets too large.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

Say What?

Two Bettas in a single tank?

No Way!


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## BettaBeau (May 14, 2014)

I believe she means that they are in a ten gallon divided tank.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

That would make all the difference.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

BettaBeau said:


> I believe she means that they are in a ten gallon divided tank.


Yep, stated so in first sentence of OP.


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

Oops - Sorry!


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