# New To Plant Keeping



## Ethics (Dec 16, 2004)

Hey,

Well since I bought the tank, all i've been wanting to do is make it better and better, it's like modding your car, except im modding my tank.

Well yeah, so I figured, plastic plants aren't doing it for me anymore, so I decided ot buy a few real plants to see how it will turn out.

The plants that I bouhgt are,

- Moss Ball (1)
- Amazon Sword (1)
- some small purple/green leafed plant (3)

So I asked the guy at big al's if theres anything I need to do to take care of them, he suggested fertilizer. So I purchased some Big Als Multi - Purpose Plant Food Supliment.

I have a 54 gal tank, and onlt 5 plants, so I put in a cap full, and plan on doing every week. What I was wondering is, will this harm my fish? and the amount im putting in, is it sufficient?

The bottle says capful for every 20gal but I dont have that many plants so I only put one.

Also, I have one white florecent light and the other one is blue, will this have any affect on the plant? How long should the lights be on daily?

Is there anything else I should know since im new to plant keeping?

Also a offtopic question, do plecos require food? of can they survive off the algae they eat and scraps that fall to the bottom?

Thanks,
Mario

I'll have pics up in a little bit.


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## Tinkerbelle (Oct 14, 2004)

im no expert on plants ( i have a 10 g heavily planted and i do NOTHING in the way of upkeep )

but i DO know that YES plecos need supplimental feedings! you're gonna be down a pleco if you don't start them soon. i like hikari algae wafers ^_^


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

Ethics said:


> Hey,
> 
> Well since I bought the tank, all i've been wanting to do is make it better and better, it's like modding your car, except im modding my tank.
> 
> ...


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## edcal (Feb 19, 2005)

The first thing to do would be is to upgrade your lighting. as BigChuck says get rid of the atinic tube and replace it with a 6700K tube. Second add some florite to your gravel and you should be good to go.


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## rbp 4 135 (Mar 2, 2004)

you need to toss the atinic which is the blue tube, and get a 6700 k. also how manny watts of light are you running, you should be running between 2-3 watts per gallon. and finally you should add some more plants. oh one last thing invest in some flourish gravel tabs, they provide macro nutrients that the liquid fertlilzers do not.


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## Ethics (Dec 16, 2004)

All great responses once again, I'll check how many watts im running and have some pictures up for you guys when i get home from work.

If the 1 white bulb is enough watts for the size of my tank (54 gallons) can i keep the blue one in?

Thanks,
Mario


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## Ethics (Dec 16, 2004)

I just changed out the Blue bulb with a regular white one, it says their both 25 watts, I currently have a 54 gallon tank, with 5 plants, is this sufficient for the size?


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## channafreak (Mar 27, 2004)

Ethics said:


> I just changed out the Blue bulb with a regular white one, it says their both 25 watts, I currently have a 54 gallon tank, with 5 plants, is this sufficient for the size?
> [snapback]969143[/snapback]​


Put the blue 03 actinic back in if you like it. They will be fine for your plants. If you want a detailed reason why Ill post one since the popular advice is to toss them. I do however prefer bulbs in the 5000-7000K range. The 03 blue does have growing potential though. Especially for just a couple of plants that wont strain for enough nutrients during photosynthesis.


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## carisma02uk (Aug 1, 2004)

BigChuckP said:


> Ethics said:
> 
> 
> > Hey,
> ...


the problem i see with this post is that if you add more ferts and have less lighting and co2 you will most probably get algea growth as the plants will not use up the excess ferts and algea will eat the excess and thrive.

if your ferts say that threy are low in phosphrogen you should be fine...

i would say if you wanted to get more plants you are looking at new lights and a c02 system.
click my username and search my threads for my diy co2 system thread. cheap and easy.

to calculate watts per gallon times you length and width of your tank and the divide by you total wattage of lighting.
have fun JON>>


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

I agree with carisma.....You have to find the balance between your plants and your fertilization and lighting.
I am now testing some power compact bulbs and i will soon post the results of them in the forum.But for sure i saw a 100% increase in the photosynthesys!!!
I also suggest you for a low maintainance planted tank, to have 1,5 to 2 watts per gallon.


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## Ethics (Dec 16, 2004)

Thanks for all the great advice guys.

As for the Watts per Gallon let me see if i understood this right.

My tank is 36 x 18

so

36 x 18 = 648

then

648 / 50 (cause 25 watts per bulb)

and that equals

12.96, so does that mean I have 12.96 watts per gallon? that seems a little high, did I do soemthing wrong?

Thanks,
Mario


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## channafreak (Mar 27, 2004)

Oh dude. Its so simple you will laugh. You have a 54 gal tank. Two 25 watt bulbs each for 50 total watts. Just a little under 1 watt per galon.


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

I am not sure what carisma was doing with L X W / watts maybe it is his own special carisma formula, i dont know. But follow what channafreak said


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