Opinions and Help needed on my first low tech

[sonicninja]

Hi everyone,
I currently have a planted high(ish)tech planted tank and I want to begin planning a secondary nano tank specifically for shrimp.

I'd love it to be fully planted, CO2 injected etc but I want to do it on a budget and as its my first time keeping shrimp I want to focus entirely on them and not the plants.

Here is the proposed set-up-
ADA 30c Nano Aquarium
Hang on Back Filter
Heater/Thermostat
Simple LED Light Unit
H.E.L.P Advanced Planted Soil

My question is are there any plants that would survive in a tank with no additional CO2 Injection? I would maybe do this further down the line but for now want to make the shrimp my priority.

Thanks everyone!

Keith

 

[Tim Harrison]

Hi check out the tutorials section, there is a list of 'easy' plants at the end of my tutorial on soil substrate tanks, and check out Tropica's 'easy' plant list here http://tropica.com/en/plants/?tabIndex=1&alias=Easy

 

[sonicninja]

Thank-you. I had looked at tropicas site but worried that some plants they classified as 'easy' Ive had some trouble growing in my fully injected tank (such as Stuaro).

If I were to go down the java fern, Anubias, Crypt route could I keep these happy with just liquid carbon?

 

[Tim Harrison]

I think you'd be ok without it. Get your lighting right and just use 1/10 - 1/5 EI, or do as I do, and use a similar dose of TNC complete. That is once or twice a week at 1/10 - 1/5 the recommended dose for hi-energy tanks.

 

[sonicninja]

Ive got some TNC Complete hand actually so I could dose that alongside the liquid carbon. Cheers!

 

[sonicninja]

Just read your tutorial, great stuff. Really helpful and gives me a great starting point!


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[alto]

My experience with non CO2 (gas or liquid), low light:

most Crypts (all plants were Tropica)
Cyperus helferi - hit & miss, did outstanding in some tanks, not in others though lighting etc "seemed" similar
Vallisneria spiralis "Tiger"
Sagittaria subulata
Microsorum - various, though in a small tank, stick with the narrow/nana varieties
Hygrophila "Siamensis" 53B (most of the Hygrophila did OK but this was nicest in smaller tanks)
Echinodorus Barthii
E Osiris (seems to be off their current list, some of the E are much more tolerant than others, generally I'd end up with a "dwarfed" version but as long as plant was healthy etc, I'd count it a "success")
E tenellus
Anubias "nana"
(& several others that don't seem to be on Tropica's website)

Water changes ~50% weekly, sometimes more frequently ... or 70%
pH 6.5 - 6.8
s.o.f.t water as in less than 1-2 GH or KH (degrees)
(occasionally I'd expend some effort with Sera Mineral salts to stabilize these in the 1-2 range)
This was how the water came out of the tap, I'd do water changes direct from the tap using a Python system

Substrate - Tropica or Sera ... the sort that is meant for use under a gravel "cap"
Gravel - small 2-4 mm stuff (not sand)
Fertilizer - Tropica
Fish - fairly heavily stocked with small tetras etc
Algae control: shrimp (japonica & assorted), otocinclus

Growth is slow & steady, once established, beginning with strong, healthy plants made a successful transition more likely - plant has more reserves to take it through the adaptation to submerse & low nutrient/light.

Talk to your local shops & use those with similar water parametres as an initial guide.
Plant heavily from the start as this seems to help limit algae.