Fw planted tank care

GHOSTLY · Feb 2, 2022

Yes I know I know. This is a saltwater forum generally but the other forums were quite useless and I know there's lots of fw enthusiasts here so I have a few questions. I kept low maintenance plants before (rotala, and saggitaria subulata) and after a while my tank was covered in gha and I couldn't kill it so I want to try again but a more high maintenance tank like what I had before with baby tears. The main questions

How and what should I know getting into a high tech planted tank (co2, ferts, etc)
How should I plan my light schedule (using a chiheros light)
How much flow should I have
How can I make sure I don't get algae

GHOSTLY · Feb 3, 2022

Light

tinyfellows · Feb 3, 2022

I am just coming over to saltwater from high tech planted tank and I think the biggest thing to know about maintenance of the tank is it’s not just trimming off the tops of plants when they get tall but it’s pulling plants up and trimming the tops (healthy leafs and stems) and replanting. Whenever I got big hair algae break outs it was due to lack of trimming. As far as dosing I would dose every day so if you are used to auto dosing from saltwater that will be a breeze for you. You defiantly want high flow with high surface agitation so you can run higher co2 so you reach maximum level saturation faster.

Poochaku · Feb 3, 2022

Absolutely everything you need to know can be learned at https://www.2hraquarist.com/

I am also a big fan of his fertilizer. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

Lowell Lemon · Feb 3, 2022

There are some freshwater planted forums that are quit good. That might prove a good way to research the subject
.

GHOSTLY · Feb 3, 2022

tinyfellows said:
I am just coming over to saltwater from high tech planted tank and I think the biggest thing to know about maintenance of the tank is it’s not just trimming off the tops of plants when they get tall but it’s pulling plants up and trimming the tops (healthy leafs and stems) and replanting. Whenever I got big hair algae break outs it was due to lack of trimming. As far as dosing I would dose every day so if you are used to auto dosing from saltwater that will be a breeze for you. You defiantly want high flow with high surface agitation so you can run higher co2 so you reach maximum level saturation faster.

I had massive gha and never gtrimmed. What was tour schedule for trimming

tinyfellows · Feb 3, 2022

GHOSTLY said:
I had massive gha and never gtrimmed. What was tour schedule for trimming

When I was on top of the tank and it was looking good I was trimming every other week.

afrokobe · Feb 3, 2022

GHOSTLY said:
I had massive gha and never gtrimmed. What was tour schedule for trimming

you could try some FW vibrant. that worked well for my fw tank. If you don't like chemicals, you would most likely need to do manual removal / clean with h2o2. Then you'll need to figure out the CO2 balance. Most likely you either don't have enough CO2 or your lights are too strong which is causing the algae growth.

I honestly find high tech planted tanks more work than reef tanks. I hate trimming plants and pulling moss out of random parts of the tank.

GHOSTLY · Feb 4, 2022

I'll be doing a dry start with heavier c02

GHOSTLY · Feb 4, 2022

Problem with h202 is that its going to be a shrimp tank

afrokobe · Feb 4, 2022

GHOSTLY said:
I'll be doing a dry start with heavier c02

what are you planting for the dry start? if you like moss and doing dry start, look into the yogurt moss method for getting moss on the rockscape. Keep in mind you will have some melt once you go submerged from when your plants transition

GHOSTLY said:
Problem with h202 is that its going to be a shrimp tank

you can still use h2o2 with shrimp. I know a lot of shrimp tank keepers use Söchting Oxydator to increase oxygenation.

jdiefenbaugh · Feb 4, 2022

afrokobe said:
I honestly find high tech planted tanks more work than reef tanks. I hate trimming plants and pulling moss out of random parts of the tank.

This is a fact. I was burned out on reefing around 2010 and decided to do a FW planted, and it was more work than any reef tank I've ever had (which is a lot). Swords flowering 12" out of the water, and I couldn't give plants away fast enough. I think I was done within a year. And I knew basically nothing about planted tanks, just wanted to see if I could
fake through one for my new child.

This was a 250W MH, with CO2, and dry ferts. I used reef equipment that was laying around, and ran off an old AC jr. controller.

Rewd · Feb 4, 2022

This is a great thread! Because when my reef is ticking me off, I move over to my planted tank and feel serenity.

I have a Chihiros WRGB2 that I run 8 hours per day with a 30 minute ramp up and ramp down. Get a CO2 solenoid with a plug so you can attach it to a timer. Also, a high quality dual STAGE (more then dual GUAGE) regulator is advisable, but I've had good luck with cheap single stages myself.

CO2 clicks on 1 hour before lights on and clicks off 1 hour before lights out. Right now I utilize a drop checker to measure co2 concentration but I'm thinking about buying a Hydros Control 4 to actively monitor pH instead of relying on the drop checker.

Get yourself a high quality aquasoil (I love Tropica), good trimming tools, and good fertilizers. I buy dry ferts from GLA and make my own cut other all in ones like tropica and aquarium co-op are good too.

GHOSTLY · Feb 4, 2022

afrokobe said:
what are you planting for the dry start? if you like moss and doing dry start, look into the yogurt moss method for getting moss on the rockscape. Keep in mind you will have some melt once you go submerged from when your plants transition

you can still use h2o2 with shrimp. I know a lot of shrimp tank keepers use Söchting Oxydator to increase oxygenation.

Eleoxhsris a, eleocharis parvula, rotala hra, Montreal Carlo, and a red plant i forgot but is medium care. I'm aware jt will melt a bit

GHOSTLY · Feb 4, 2022

Rewd said:
This is a great thread! Because when my reef is ticking me off, I move over to my planted tank and feel serenity.

I have a Chihiros WRGB2 that I run 8 hours per day with a 30 minute ramp up and ramp down. Get a CO2 solenoid with a plug so you can attach it to a timer. Also, a high quality dual STAGE (more then dual GUAGE) regulator is advisable, but I've had good luck with cheap single stages myself.

CO2 clicks on 1 hour before lights on and clicks off 1 hour before lights out. Right now I utilize a drop checker to measure co2 concentration but I'm thinking about buying a Hydros Control 4 to actively monitor pH instead of relying on the drop checker.

Get yourself a high quality aquasoil (I love Tropica), good trimming tools, and good fertilizers. I buy dry ferts from GLA and make my own cut other all in ones like tropica and aquarium co-op are good too.

Can I see your tank? That was going to be my schedule too

GHOSTLY · Feb 4, 2022

Rewd said:
Get yourself a high quality aquasoil (I love Tropica), good trimming tools, and good fertilizers. I buy dry ferts from GLA and make my own cut other all in ones like tropica and aquarium co-op are good too.

Ill be getting a mix of Florida black and stratum. What ferts?

GHOSTLY · Feb 4, 2022

Also I'll be using root tabs

edd59 · Feb 4, 2022

+1 on more maintenance then a reef i had both. i had a 120 planted co2 discus tank, trimming and replanting bi weekly. and 40 gal weekly water changes, discus like clean water. always monitering co2 or you will kill your fish, and they dont like co2 cause ph is fluctuating daily.