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Getting ready for my first planted aquarium....?
Hello! I'm getting ready for my first planted aquarium.
I decided to switch to planted because I love the way it looks, and I don't like the 'fake' look of plastic plants and decorations.
I got a LOT of Eco-complete substrate that is coming in the mail on Thursday, which is when I'm planning on putting it in my tank. I've never used anything but gravel and I'm kinda nervous about it... Icurrently have three guppies in my tank and the bacteria in that tank is fully established. If I syphon out the water and put the filter media and the fish in it while transferring the substrate will my tank still be cycled? Also how long should I wait after refilling in the tank to put my fish back in?
I also ordered a 20" double T5 light for my aquarium for the plants that attaches to the top. Will this suffice for the plants? Someone told me to use a T5 light so that's what I got.
Also, my Ph ranges at a steady 8.0. Sometimes a 7.8. All the plants I bought are beginners plants. Will I need to buy a Ph balancer to lower my ph for them to survive?
I also got scheams fertilizer for them. I've had good experience with their prime. Is this a good fertilizer?
1 Answer
- AmberLv 75 years ago
I have plants that do fine in my high pH. My jungle val loves it; my water sprite not so much.
Seachem is a great company for the most part. Their fertilizer will be fine.
If you have a small tank (sounds like yours is fairly small) then a DIY CO2 system should be fine. It'll help a lot. Citric acid is considered the better mixture.
You'd also need a drop checker. The drop checker just moniters the pH of the tank. The more CO2, the lower the pH. So, you'll know you have enough CO2 when the drop checker tells you your pH is 6.6 .
The recommend that you shut the CO2 system off at night. But, with such a high pH I'm not sure if that would be okay. Maybe just monitor it for a few nights and make sure the pH doesn't go back over 7.
As long as you keep the filter media wet, your cycle should be fine.
Once you have the tank filled and it is clear (you might have to do multiple water changes. I wouldn't condition the water until you know it'll stay clear) and the water is conditioned, go ahead and put the fish in.
