Want to ensure health of plants!

[ajoyfulbettta]

so i’m about to get these plants for my 40g.

amazon swords
rotala rotundifolia
pogostemon octopus
dwarf sagittaria
ludwigia minI super red
limnophila aromatica standard

my tank is for gbr and such so its at a higher temp, fine right?
i’ve heard good things about thrivec? what other ferts do I need?
I have a finnex 24/7 planted plus, enough light?

I just really want my plants to do well!
here’s my new setup!

 

[Shika]

The swords are stem plants that feed from their roots, so if you didn't use a fertilized substrate (so if you used just regular sand or gravel), you'll have to have root tabs for them.
I can't tell from your photo what you used, but it looks like some sort of soil, so you might be okay. I'm also still pretty new, so hopefully someone else pops in!

 

[Masoud]

aside from the substrate that shika told you, I suggest you get a decent quality liquid carbon to help the tank gets mature early,usually people end up with algae when they start their tank,a lower dosage of liquid carbon daily can help you when you are setting up your tank

 

[TWiG87]

Make sure to keep your light on for no more than 5-6 hours in the beginning also. This will help avoid algae. You can gradually increase light duration as the weeks progress

 

[ajoyfulbettta]

The swords are stem plants that feed from their roots, so if you didn't use a fertilized substrate (so if you used just regular sand or gravel), you'll have to have root tabs for them.
I can't tell from your photo what you used, but it looks like some sort of soil, so you might be okay. I'm also still pretty new, so hopefully someone else pops in!

okay! I got root tabs for them! and it’s not soil, just black diamond blasting sand! thanks!!

aside from the substrate that shika told you, I suggest you get a decent quality liquid carbon to help the tank gets mature early,usually people end up with algae when they start their tank,a lower dosage of liquid carbon daily can help you when you are setting up your tank

what brand do you recommend? thanks!

Make sure to keep your light on for no more than 5-6 hours in the beginning also. This will help avoid algae. You can gradually increase light duration as the weeks progress

so you’re telling me I can’t use the 24/7 feature yet? my favorite setting

 

[Masoud]

okay! I got root tabs for them! and it’s not soil, just black diamond blasting sand! thanks!!



what brand do you recommend? thanks!



so you’re telling me I can’t use the 24/7 feature yet? my favorite setting

Seachem
Flourish Excel

 

[ajoyfulbettta]

Seachem
Flourish Excel

for root tabs?

 

[FinalFins]

I use EasyCarbo for liquid co2

 

[ajoyfulbettta]

I use EasyCarbo for liquid co2

so I should get easycarbo liquid co2, flourish root tabs, and thrivec?

 

[FinalFins]

so I should get easycarbo liquid co2, flourish root tabs, and thrivec?

Really, you don't NEED co2 for all those plants but if you wanted that looks like a good combo of supplies

 

[ajoyfulbettta]

Really, you don't NEED co2 for all those plants but if you wanted that looks like a good combo of supplies

awesome, thanks! and no harm in using co2 right!

 

[Krysty]

I use the finnex 247 as well. I love it. it has different settings if your plants have different needs. I just use the full 24 hour dusk to Dawn feature and it has worked well for me mostly. I think some of my plants died early on b/c of insufficient CO2 which I have recently acquired a kit. Now, my plants seem to be doing better. I also use flourish and root tabs.

 

[86 ssinit]

Ok and welcome to the joy of plants . Yes you can use the 24/7 setting . How deep is the tank? Yes you will need roots tabs for the sword plant. Just put one tab under the plant. There are plenty of good root tabs. Most now use osmacoat. You can but these off eBay real cheap or even cheaper you can make you own. Next I use is the apI root tabs. One or the other monthly not both and you can use a different one monthly. Your substrate will work out fine! Most of your other plants are stem plants. Plant each stem about 2” apart but keep by type at first. If they have roots you can add a root tab 1 for each type. No roots no tab. Now the red plants and the carpeting plants they are harder to grow and keep red. They may need more light.
The liquid co2 is good for a planted tank. Excel though does tend to melt some plants. I use the apI co2 booster. Also down the line you may want to try a co2 system. Good luck with your plants and yes plants still grow in a cycling tank .

 

[jake37]

Be sure to make the substrate at least 2 inches deep. Also the common amazon sword can get quite large so be sure to leave a bit of room around the plant. pogostemon octopus (which I like a lot) will also grow quite tall and bushy so leave lots of room around it (I have it in the back of a 29 and it has pretty much taken over the later 1/3 of the tank but the guppies love it). The sword could use a good 8 inches around it though it is hard to judge how fast it will grow - I have a ruffle that is growing very fast but another that hasn't grow much in 6 months (though it kind of got crowded by some java fern).

 

[86 ssinit]

Pics of the pogostemon octopus please . Never heard of it or saw one!

 

[ajoyfulbettta]

thank you both so much! and here you go!! not mine but just someone online I think it’s also called pogostemon stellatus “octopus”!

 

[jake37]

In my 29 it is approx 17 inches high 3 inches deep and 12 to 14 inches across. It is not a dense plant but it roots well. This is a bad picture of my 29 that is approx 8 weeks old. I can take a better one tomorrow when the lights are on if you want it is the plant in the middle back - it gets blown to the left because the mittenburg filter on the right has a stream in the back pushing left but it has deep roots and never becomes uprooted like a stem plant would.

 

[jake37]

Here is a slightly better picture - when I said the one above was 8 weeks old - I meant the picture not the plant. I noticed a couple of spots near the top where new roots have formed and if I were to do a bit of cutting I would have new plants. This is not quite like ludgwigia which sprouts roots everywhere and also unlike ludgiwgia the base has never rotted to-date (I've only had it for 4 months). As I said it roots a lot better than ludwigia and has never come unrooted from the current i'm tossing at it. This tank has no co2 (the lugwigia in my co2 tank grows well but I still have to frequently replant it even though there is no current around it). Of course the disadvantage is that I've only seen it in this colour so if you want a different colour ...
---

 

[jaydivingboard]

There is harm in using liquid C02 such as Flourish Excel and API C02 Booster, these products are darn near false advertising, what they are is algaecide and it isn't liquid form C02 it is Glutaraldehyde which is a chemical that mutates genes and they use small amounts to get rid of single celled organisms such as algae, TOO MUCH OF THIS WILL KILL BOTH YOUR FISH AND PLANTS QUICKLY ONLY DOSE THE AMOUNT THE BOTTLE SPECIFIES, while Flourish Excel and other liquid C02 can help if you have an algae problem I wouldn't reccomend it as a daily doser

 

[jake37]

I'll second this by saying my plants did better when I stopped using excel. I still used it occasionally to control algae but it really didn't help the plants much and a few reacted badly (my dosage was 1/3 of the recommended amount).

There is harm in using liquid C02 such as Flourish Excel and API C02 Booster, these products are darn near false advertising, what they are is algaecide and it isn't liquid form C02 it is Glutaraldehyde which is a chemical that mutates genes and they use small amounts to get rid of single celled organisms such as algae, TOO MUCH OF THIS WILL KILL BOTH YOUR FISH AND PLANTS QUICKLY ONLY DOSE THE AMOUNT THE BOTTLE SPECIFIES, while Flourish Excel and other liquid C02 can help if you have an algae problem I wouldn't reccomend it as a daily doser

 

[FinalFins]

There is harm in using liquid C02 such as Flourish Excel and API C02 Booster, these products are darn near false advertising, what they are is algaecide and it isn't liquid form C02 it is Glutaraldehyde which is a chemical that mutates genes and they use small amounts to get rid of single celled organisms such as algae, TOO MUCH OF THIS WILL KILL BOTH YOUR FISH AND PLANTS QUICKLY ONLY DOSE THE AMOUNT THE BOTTLE SPECIFIES, while Flourish Excel and other liquid C02 can help if you have an algae problem I wouldn't reccomend it as a daily doser

Proof?

And of course too much c02 will kill fish. And co2 can be used as a daily doser, its literally the same as a co2 diffuser just manual.

 

[jaydivingboard]

Proof?

And of course too much c02 will kill fish. And co2 can be used as a daily doser, its literally the same as a co2 diffuser just manual.

Not C02

 

[FinalFins]

Thank you for that picture