In goes the live stuff...

As per my last post, I am about to introduce living stuff to my tank,
starting with plants. At the moment, I only have a single 40W tube over
my 200L tank, so I'm really in the low-end of lighting as far as plants
go.

(I read all the FAQs that were suggested in my last thread - thanks!)

Although I do intend to upgrade my lighting (to at least 80W), I'm only
going to do this after I've built a custom hood for my tank (which
won't happen for a few weeks yet). In the meantime, I want to put some
"easy to grow" plants in the tank, specifically those that will
tolerate low lighting levels.

I have two beautiful pieces of redgum (which I have treated and soaked)
that I am going to use as part of my aquascape. One has been hollowed
to form a large cave, the other is a solid stump with 20mm holes bored
through it, to make sort of a "loach house".

My plan is to grow some Java Ferns on this timber. I'm also considering
Java Moss, Cryptocoryone, Water Sprite and Anubias (assuming that I can
indeed find all those at my LFS, here in Australia). Does this sound
right so far? Is there anything else I should keep an eye out for?

Also, when I "conditioned" my tap water, I used Yardley Tri-start to
remove Chlorine and Chloramines. (I have since found out that my water
company uses Chlorine only, so this was probably overkill). From what I
deduce, this product only neutralises these nasties, but doesn't add
any additional good stuff. I know that my water is in the "very soft"
range, so some additional dissolved minerals and trace elements won't
hurt, especially as the plants are concerned.

Can anyone recommend a product to dose the tank with that will help
increase my general hardness, and also bump up the trace elements, etc?

Rod Bacon wrote:
As per my last post, I am about to introduce living stuff to my tank,
starting with plants. At the moment, I only have a single 40W tube over
my 200L tank, so I'm really in the low-end of lighting as far as plants
go.

(I read all the FAQs that were suggested in my last thread - thanks!)

Although I do intend to upgrade my lighting (to at least 80W), I'm only
going to do this after I've built a custom hood for my tank (which
won't happen for a few weeks yet). In the meantime, I want to put some
"easy to grow" plants in the tank, specifically those that will
tolerate low lighting levels.

I have two beautiful pieces of redgum (which I have treated and soaked)
that I am going to use as part of my aquascape. One has been hollowed
to form a large cave, the other is a solid stump with 20mm holes bored
through it, to make sort of a "loach house".

My plan is to grow some Java Ferns on this timber. I'm also considering
Java Moss, Cryptocoryone, Water Sprite and Anubias (assuming that I can
indeed find all those at my LFS, here in Australia). Does this sound
right so far? Is there anything else I should keep an eye out for?

Water sprite may need more light unless you grow it floating right under
the bulb. The rest sound good.

Also, when I "conditioned" my tap water, I used Yardley Tri-start to
remove Chlorine and Chloramines. (I have since found out that my water
company uses Chlorine only, so this was probably overkill). From what I
deduce, this product only neutralises these nasties, but doesn't add
any additional good stuff. I know that my water is in the "very soft"
range, so some additional dissolved minerals and trace elements won't
hurt, especially as the plants are concerned.

Can anyone recommend a product to dose the tank with that will help
increase my general hardness, and also bump up the trace elements, etc?

Seachem Equilibrium is good for setting KH and GH for planted tanks.
For trace, Seachem Flourish or Tropica Master Grow are excellent.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com