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Betta Tank Journal & Advice

1K views 9 replies 2 participants last post by  Oldfishlady 
#1 ·
Hi all, I am a newbie and hope to get a betta soon...

I ordered online today:

Fine Black Aquarium Gravel 2.5kg
Tropica 1-2 Grow Limnophila sessiliflora Live Plants
Tropica 1-2 Grow Hygrophila pol Rosanervig Live Plants
Tropica 1-2 Grow Glossostigma Elatinoides Live Plants
Tropica 1-2 Grow Myriophyllum mattogrossense Live Plants
Tropica 1-2 Grow Bacopa caroliniana Live Plants
Hobby Planting Tweezers - 20cm
TetraPlant Complete Substrate 2.8kg
Poster Background 3D Rock 49cm

All due to be delivered on Tuesday..

I already have a spare Arcadia Eclipse 35 litre tank, a 50w heater & a fluval u1 filter and I want to create a beautiful live planted tank... and then when the plants have grown, I eventually want to add a single male betta :)

The tank will be heavily planted (as you can see from what i've ordered), so i am wondering will i still need to use a filter? (i plan on using media from my community tank in the new filter so it is going to be cycled already :)... but i am thinking if its heavly planted will i even need to use a filter?...

I will put this tank in my room as i already have a rio 125 in our main living room :)

I will update with pictures as plants/substrate should arrive by tuesday (ordered from warehouse aquatics)

Here is a pic of the tank...


 
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#2 ·
Welcome to the forum.....

Sounds like a beautiful tank you plan.....
What kind of lights-age of bulbs, kelvin, watts and photoperiod plan....lights are the driving force behind successful planted tanks-often the reason for plant failures is due to incorrect lighting.....

Substrate-I don't know that much about the type you are using to be helpful

Plants-
Limnophila sessiliflora or marshplant-nice stem plant easy to grow and propagate-it does tend to break easy and tends to get hair algae caught in it
Hygrophila pol Rosanervig-not 100% sure on this one-lots of hygrophila genus-but it is most likely a stem plant of some type-I want to say it is red and if it is you will need fairly high light to maintain the red color
Glossostigma Elatinoides-stem plant-but will do better in high light to stay low to the substrate for the lawn effect-otherwise it will grow more upright-still a nice plants but can be tricky
Myriophyllum mattogrossense-stem plant-fairly easy-one of my favorite-but can get leggy unless you have good lighting
Bacopa caroliniana-stem plant-easy and will even keep the red color with mod light or at least mine do-a bit slower growing than most stems-but a really pretty plant.

When you have heavy planted tank with low to mod stocking and the plants are thriving, actively growing-they are the filtration....In my NPT's I don't use filters per se-I do have water movement in some of my bigger tanks-
Filters are optional IMO/E in heavy planted tanks-its more of a personal choice-I like the look of the plants swaying with water movement-you don't want too much splashing or you can drive off the CO2 that is naturally created in the tank and from the water changes.....

When you have lots of stem plants-you have more of a silent cycle and with your stocking plans-you really don't have to worry all that much about cycling....often in heavy planted tanks you will never get nitrate to help tell you cycling stages-the plants use the ammonia for food before conversion...it cycles...its just different in heavy planted tanks....

Look forward to seeing pics once you get it setup....you can see pics of my NPT's in my album if you would like to see my tanks....
 
#3 ·
Thank you for your reply, the information you have given on the plants is very helpful so i will keep that in mind :)
The lighting will be the one which came with the tank, before when i used this tank i had live plants in there and they grew quite well :) so i am hoping these will too.
As for the substrate it a soil one where it said to have 2-3cm layed, then another 2-3cm of gravel etc so i hope to follow that :)
Its good to know that the plants will do the filtering as i do plan to have it heavily planted (yeh there wont be a filter noise in my room lol :)
I will only add the betta when the plants are growing & healthy. :)
I will update with pics as soon as i can..
How can i view your album? It would be nice to get some ideas, and anyother advise for me plz feel free to share :)
 
#4 ·
If you have florescent bulbs that have been used for 12month or longer in the past you need to replace them....color temp is what the plants need for proper photosynthesis and in florescent bulb it can be used up within a year of use-even though they still work-you can see the light but the plants can't see it to use for energy and growth....
I use "daylight" 6500k bulbs-these are in the color temp of sunlight....I get them in the lighting dept of most home type stores for much less than bulbs made for aquariums....

If you click on my name a drop down box will come up-click on "view public profile"-once in my profile on the right hand side you will see albums....
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hi, yhh luckly for me I only used this tank for about 3 1/2 weeks! Then i upgraded to a rio 125 which is now in its 5th month and look nice I plan on putting some of the plants that i have ordered into there aswel :)
So hopefully the light will still be all good, but i will look into lights made for plant growth (just looked at the info leaflet for the light and they do, do special lights for plant growth :) will look into where i'l be able to get that from :)
Ohh and i recieved an email today my order has been dispatched :) hopefully it will be here tomorrow and when i get back from work i will set it up and upload some pics! :)

Ps Great albums :)
 
#7 ·
Nice job.....looks great.....Rudy is a nice lookin fella too...nice find...

For light bulbs-I like to get mine in the lighting dept not the aquarium dept...since the bulbs are a bit cheaper and pretty much the same thing....I get the "daylight" 6500k this is the color temp close to the natural sunlight and what the plants can see/use for photosynthesis-with any of the florescent light bulbs the color temp can be used up in about 12 months and the bulbs need to be changed even though they still work and we can see the light-the plants can't to use for energy...

Look forward to seeing more pics as the plants grow and fill in.....

On my last 10gal NPT I didn't realize how much the plants filled in and grew until I took some updated pic the other day to compare.....
 
#8 ·
Aahh yes thank you :)

He seems to be settling in very well, has been swimming around checking out his new place.. I will take more pic's tomorrow (as i dont want to stress him by switching on the tank light, just let him settle for the night)

will take a full tank shot as well as more pics of Rudy :)
 
#10 ·
What a beautiful Betta...love his colors.....so pretty and he looks so happy-checking out his new plants and gave you a bubble nest too I see....laffs........And great job on the tank too by the way...it will look awesome as the plants grow and fill in....will be watching for updates.....
 
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