# the planted tank ????



## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i have a 125 gallon "planted" tank. i have some low light plants in there such as anubias, cryps, swords, etc... my substrate is a mixture of eco complete and pfs. my lighting is a 48" beamswork led along with 2 t5 dual bulb fixtures (1 is 36" and 1 is 24") i currently have 1 6700 daylight bulb and 1 colormax bulb in each fixture. i run canister filters with minimal surface agitation. i use the leaf zone liquid fertilizer once a month also. i dont wanna go all out with the CO2 and everything because i have seen tanks that do great without it. my plants do ok, but i would like to see them thrive (if possible). i basically looking for thoughts and opinions on how to make this happen without CO2 system. should i change substrate or lighting? what should i shoot for as far as water parameters to optimize plants without hurting the fish? its funny because i do have another 20 gal planted tank that only has blasting sand for sustrate, a sponge filter, and a single 24" t8 50/50 bulb and the plants thrive. ????? thanx


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Low light plants usually grow slowly and don't need CO2 injection. All of my planted tanks don't use CO2 injection, for they're all low tech low light, and I have a lot of surface agitation.

I'm curious, how high is your 125G tank? Is it more than 20"? Because the lights from T5 or T8 can't penetrate deeper than 20" to give enough illumination for the plants. Taller tank usually use metal hallide or high performance LED. I suspect the tank height might be problem.


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## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

I experienced a ton of growth with swords in my 55g planted using a Current USA Satellite Plus, which I consider a low-medium powered LED light. I dosed Seachem Flourish (fertilizer) and Excel (CO2 alternative) twice a week. Within a few months, my "mother Amazon Sword" had put off a dozen more plants on runners. I'm using the same setup now with my cichlids, and my Giant Vallisneria grows about a foot each month WITHOUT dosing anything. 

I wouldn't bother with fertilized substrates; they tend to be more trouble than they're worth. I also wouldn't worry about water parameters. Keep them where your fish need them to be, and your plants won't care (salt being the exception). CO2 injection is really only necessary in very high-light situations, so I don't feel it's worth the investment for most tanks.

How long is your light period? Is algae a problem? I agree with Als, it is most likely light-related. Since you already have Leaf Zone, I would dose more frequently, since it's meant to be used weekly. Try adding a source of carbon (like Seachem Excel). If neither of these give you the results you want, it might be time to upgrade your lights.

One final thing to consider: anubias and crypts are very slow-growing plants, so it's hard to tell when they're thriving. As long as the leaves aren't wilting and you occasionally notice new leaves, you're doing fine. :thumb:


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

thank u guys. u have both given me some things to consider and try. i agree with it probably being a light issue. the lesf zone actually says once a month on the bottle which is why i was using it once a month instead of weekly. as far as surface agitation; i was under the impression that surface agitation release co2 that the plants need. the only time that u should agitate is at night because plants do not use the co2 and fish will suffocate. is this incorrect? my lights are on 10 hrs a day. algae is not a problem.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Surface agitation doesn't really affect slow grower low light plants. Because they grow very slowly, they only require a little bit of CO2.

My 95G planted tank even uses sump with DIY durso overflow, and the plants keep growing: anubias and bucephalandra. And I only dose a little bit of micro and macro fertilizer each twice a week.

Yes, photo period is usually 10 hours a day. I use siesta period: 5 hours in the morning, and 5 hours in the afternoon, for total 10 hours. I set the light to turn on when I was near my tanks


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

As we can see from the pics and the reflection of the light, all of my tanks have a lot of surface agitation.
And the plants keep having new sprouts regularly, which show that they grow healthily. And with anubias and bucephalandra, that means about one new leaf a month...


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

Nice! I really like the planted look!


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

ok. thanks for the replies and information.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Glad to help :thumb:


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