My First Planted Aquarium!!

Hi everyone.

Well, after 6 years of fish keeping (fish only), I have finally made the leap of faith and started my first planted aquarium!! Please let me know what you think. I need your input, advice, concerns, etc. I will take all of your information for the better, and to grow my knowledge for the love of this hobby. I will be posting a quick one minute video on Youtube later on today.

- 2.5g tank

- Small layer of Miracle Grow

- Small layer of Fluorite

- 1" layer of Eco-Complete

- Play sand

- 1 pc of Malaysian Driftwood

- Anubias (If someone can please help identify it!! They only had it labeled as "Mixed Anubias"? The store did not even know the specific name!!)

- Italian Val

- Baby Tears

Thanks!!

Albert.

2 members like this

Comment by hoyttt on November 3, 2013 at 3:50pm: anubias barteri i presume!

Comment by OceanLife69 on November 3, 2013 at 4:09pm: Thank you!! Noted.

Comment by Kenneth Philabaum on November 3, 2013 at 5:36pm: Glad to see I aren't the only plant newbie here. Just got mine planted today.

Comment by OceanLife69 on November 3, 2013 at 6:06pm: Kenneth, it felt amazing to be setting it up with after ALL of the done research!! I am glad to be a part of this incredible hobby with incredible folks like you my friend!

Thanks!!

Comment by Anthony Piti on November 3, 2013 at 9:30pm: Looks like a start to a good tank. Just try to poke the side with the play sand every now and then to keep it from going anaerobic.

Comment by OceanLife69 on November 4, 2013 at 12:11am: Anthony, I appreciate it! Thanks for the tip.

Comment by Fry on November 6, 2013 at 2:47pm: cap all the dirt with silica sand- not playsand- it will make your water much clearer, do a few water changes after and no more cloudy ness, also make sure u have a little water flow, weekly water changes are a must I do about 60% every week. the sand can be found at most hardware stores near concert 50lbs is like 5 bucks, I use handy sand. it is also better for bottom feeders it does not hurt them like gravel can. Also the sand makes planting much easier it fills the holes as u plant. U can look at my tank to get an idea what sand looks like. I am a sand guy if u can't tell, used to use gravel for about 10yrs, like this much better

Comment by OceanLife69 on November 6, 2013 at 3:21pm: Fry, thanks so much for your much needed information!! I have noted it all and will make the changes asap.

One question though, should I wait for the tank to cycle, or do I do it right away?

Thanks again!

Comment by Fry on November 6, 2013 at 4:21pm: Make sure you get the right sand it will be all white, if it is the right stuff u can put it in a cup and slowly lower into the tank and pour it out on the bottom it should barley cloud. Mine came in a white paper bag. Cycling doesn't matter at this point, the bacteria will build up on the sand, would wait like a month to add fish maybe a little longer. My sub straight is just M.G organic nothing else it my look like layers because I add new sand sometimes on top. when you add water to sand use a bowl or something in the bottom not to mix up the sand. and u can dump sand on top of what you already have, i have like 2inches of sand. Lighting is a pain to research- 6500k bulbs what you need. I use CFL bulbs and cheap reflectors my lighting was 50bucks puts out 500watts

Comment by Kenneth Philabaum on November 6, 2013 at 4:23pm: I recently used playsand for my aquarium and never had an issue with it. I washed it thoroughly and the water settled really quicky. It was crystal clear after a few hours. My plants seem to be doing ok in it and my corys love it.

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