Aquariums
- Thread starter seedcorn
- Start date
Chickie'sMomaInNH
Garden Master
i do have 3 koi and a pool comet in mine but i don't keep it stocked with plants because the fish would tear them apart every time i've tried. i can't wait to get the pond done and the fish moved out there next summer. i'd love to have a tank set up again with some more tropical fish but i fear winters could be tough on them if we loose power for too long and the water temp drops. we don't get big storms often that knock out power for longer than a day, but they have happened. i did have tropical fish when i was a kid. i had Oscars, striped convicts, swords, mollies, and i think a few guppies. i do remember having a few fighting fish too.
- Thread starter
- #3
seedcorn
Garden Master
I am doing the happy dance. Love otto's, finally got 5 to live. Trying to thin guppies out. Feeding them to bantams who give me manure for garden garden gives me produce, which I use for fish. Circle of life. Just wish I could grow plants in aquarium but I'm not willing to spend $$ or time.
Fairly tank crazy here.
3k Koi pond, 110g, 40g and 20g tanks currently running.
I've had everything from DIY 3in cube tanks up to a 125 long.
All freshwater, all heavily planted. And all sorts of fish.
3k Koi pond, 110g, 40g and 20g tanks currently running.
I've had everything from DIY 3in cube tanks up to a 125 long.
All freshwater, all heavily planted. And all sorts of fish.
Chickie'sMomaInNH
Garden Master
i do know if you're going to do plants you want to be sure to have decent lighting for them. my 55 gallon tank hood has been a pain in the tush and only 1 side is working. i kept replacing the hoods just to have this same issue. i'm still having this issue even at a new house. so i gave up turning on that light. fish don't seem to mind it being off. in fact they hide in the end that is dark.
i'm sure you can check around online for some decent suppliers of plants for fish tanks. i know there are tiny water lilies you can get that will survive in aquariums during the winter. i have a mini in my other pond that i ordered too early one year to go outside. so i put it in the tank and my fish left it alone long enough till it was safe for outside. see if you can get some coontail or hornwort. those are considered oxygenators for ponds but can also be used in aquariums so the fish have places to hide. this is actually one of my pond plant suppliers but they carry some nice plants. http://www.lilyblooms.com/submerged-pond-plants-c-1_7.html
just make sure you check to see if a plant can't be shipped to your state. some are considered invasive or non-native and banned.
i've never ordered from this one before but it gives you an idea of pond/aquarium plants that should be good. http://www.pondplants.com/aisle39.html
there are a few plants that you can also bring in from outside. i know that creeping jenny and pennywort will grow nicely in an aquarium. so if you know anyone with those growing wild in their yard i'd ask for some! i have tons of creeping jenny in the muddy part of our yard but right now it is buried under at least a foot of snow.
here's a cool site that talks about what wattage you want for the size of your tank if you want to keep plants going in them!
http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=aquariumplants
so i gave up turning on that light. fish don't seem to mind it being off. in fact they hide in the end that is dark.i'm sure you can check around online for some decent suppliers of plants for fish tanks. i know there are tiny water lilies you can get that will survive in aquariums during the winter. i have a mini in my other pond that i ordered too early one year to go outside. so i put it in the tank and my fish left it alone long enough till it was safe for outside. see if you can get some coontail or hornwort. those are considered oxygenators for ponds but can also be used in aquariums so the fish have places to hide. this is actually one of my pond plant suppliers but they carry some nice plants. http://www.lilyblooms.com/submerged-pond-plants-c-1_7.html
just make sure you check to see if a plant can't be shipped to your state. some are considered invasive or non-native and banned.
i've never ordered from this one before but it gives you an idea of pond/aquarium plants that should be good. http://www.pondplants.com/aisle39.html
there are a few plants that you can also bring in from outside. i know that creeping jenny and pennywort will grow nicely in an aquarium. so if you know anyone with those growing wild in their yard i'd ask for some! i have tons of creeping jenny in the muddy part of our yard but right now it is buried under at least a foot of snow.
here's a cool site that talks about what wattage you want for the size of your tank if you want to keep plants going in them!
http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=aquariumplants
- Thread starter
- #6
seedcorn
Garden Master
Thank you for the advice. Love plants in aquarium, I just kill them. Too little lighting? Moneywort could be plan. I do have great luck with hornwort. Only plant I haven't killed. Work with plants but aqua failure.....good thing I don't have to make living in hydroponics.
You'll have top post tank size, type of lighting, types of plants, hours of photo period and what, if any, ferts you add for anyone to help with you plant growing issue.
Also, bulbs should be changed out every 8-12mo for best growth. Though, I don't bother, mine still grow well anyway.
Also, bulbs should be changed out every 8-12mo for best growth. Though, I don't bother, mine still grow well anyway.
Jared77
Garden Addicted
Another confessed aquarium geek.
I've done the high tech pressurized CO2 injection set ups that I swear you could watch the plants grow.
I recently broke down my 55 gallon tank with canopy over with 2, 48" T8 fixtures http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-F...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051 that I mounted into the canopy to increase my lighting. I had DIY CO2 http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...cts/14453-diy-co2-guide-pictures-recipes.html going and it was a great set up. Had angelfish, rummynose tetras, cardinals, and pygmy cories. Was a fun set up. Easy to keep, was enough light to grow many species of plants and did the job fine.
Depending on if they were stem plants or not I'd also put down some Flourish substrate tabs
I currently have a 2.5 gallon tank with a betta in it that I dose with Flourish Excel and Flourish to suppliment many of my trace ingredients. Its got a small LED light over it and it does very well also.
I would use hornwort for my fry tanks to help keep the water clean and give the babies a place to hide. Id also let duckweed grow over part of the surface of the tank to help suck up nutrients and keep the water quality good. Worked wonders for me.
Id seriously look at LED lights though Seedcorn if your running something smaller than a 48" tank or wider than 12". With LEDs though the watts/gallon is totally thrown out the window HOWEVER most fixtures that will fit the length of your tank will allow you to grow about 95% of the available plant species. They are very long lasting, cool to the touch, and are BRIGHT . Once I switched my 2.5 gallon over to them I'm a believer and when we move and I set up a bigger tank again I'm going to get them for that tank too. Its well worth it.
I've also seen set ups where people built their own canopy and wired in a couple of ceramic fixtures and screwed in CFL bulbs to increase the lighting over their tanks. All depends on how you want to tackle the problem.
I've done the high tech pressurized CO2 injection set ups that I swear you could watch the plants grow.
I recently broke down my 55 gallon tank with canopy over with 2, 48" T8 fixtures http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-F...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051 that I mounted into the canopy to increase my lighting. I had DIY CO2 http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...cts/14453-diy-co2-guide-pictures-recipes.html going and it was a great set up. Had angelfish, rummynose tetras, cardinals, and pygmy cories. Was a fun set up. Easy to keep, was enough light to grow many species of plants and did the job fine.
Depending on if they were stem plants or not I'd also put down some Flourish substrate tabs
I currently have a 2.5 gallon tank with a betta in it that I dose with Flourish Excel and Flourish to suppliment many of my trace ingredients. Its got a small LED light over it and it does very well also.
I would use hornwort for my fry tanks to help keep the water clean and give the babies a place to hide. Id also let duckweed grow over part of the surface of the tank to help suck up nutrients and keep the water quality good. Worked wonders for me.
Id seriously look at LED lights though Seedcorn if your running something smaller than a 48" tank or wider than 12". With LEDs though the watts/gallon is totally thrown out the window HOWEVER most fixtures that will fit the length of your tank will allow you to grow about 95% of the available plant species. They are very long lasting, cool to the touch, and are BRIGHT
. Once I switched my 2.5 gallon over to them I'm a believer and when we move and I set up a bigger tank again I'm going to get them for that tank too. Its well worth it.I've also seen set ups where people built their own canopy and wired in a couple of ceramic fixtures and screwed in CFL bulbs to increase the lighting over their tanks. All depends on how you want to tackle the problem.
- Thread starter
- #9
Jared77
Garden Addicted
I seem to find them in spurts. I really enjoy them. They are a pretty good little schooling fish and were very entertaining. They are one of the species I really miss keeping. My 2.5 gallon is fun but obviously it is kind of limiting.
Have you looked on www.aquabid.com for them? Its a lot like ebay where folks are buying and selling alll sorts of aquarium related stuff. Ive bought fish and plants on there. Shipping can be a bit pricey but I've found some really great deals on there with both fish and plants. Another option might be to google local fish clubs. I've found some hobbyists who may something unique or what your looking for especially if your into guppies. Those and killifish seem to have a cult like following which is a good thing when your looking for some!
Forgot to add be aware of where people are shipping from. I tried to order plants from a seller in the Phillipines. A few months after I ordered the plants I finally received an envelope from the US Customs Dept. with a letter stating the species of plant I was trying to have sent to me was on the banned exotic/invasive species list. They sent me a a copy of the receipt that I would have gotten from the seller. No plants though and I was out my money. It happens.
Most the times the plants are wrapped in wet newspaper and sealed in a bag and shipped priority mail. I've overnighted fish to my door too. Most sellers will explain exactly how they ship things and they do have feedback ratings so you know who your dealing with. I've had a number of plant people send you extras too be it more of the plant you wanted, or additional species. If nothing else go scroll through there its fun. LOT of good stuff on there typically.
Have you looked on www.aquabid.com for them? Its a lot like ebay where folks are buying and selling alll sorts of aquarium related stuff. Ive bought fish and plants on there. Shipping can be a bit pricey but I've found some really great deals on there with both fish and plants. Another option might be to google local fish clubs. I've found some hobbyists who may something unique or what your looking for especially if your into guppies. Those and killifish seem to have a cult like following which is a good thing when your looking for some!
Forgot to add be aware of where people are shipping from. I tried to order plants from a seller in the Phillipines. A few months after I ordered the plants I finally received an envelope from the US Customs Dept. with a letter stating the species of plant I was trying to have sent to me was on the banned exotic/invasive species list. They sent me a a copy of the receipt that I would have gotten from the seller. No plants though and I was out my money. It happens.
Most the times the plants are wrapped in wet newspaper and sealed in a bag and shipped priority mail. I've overnighted fish to my door too. Most sellers will explain exactly how they ship things and they do have feedback ratings so you know who your dealing with. I've had a number of plant people send you extras too be it more of the plant you wanted, or additional species. If nothing else go scroll through there its fun. LOT of good stuff on there typically.
