Artemis' New Kingdom

[BasilBetta87]

I've been lurking on these forums for awhile and have decided to post! I've had Artemis for a month now and have had him in QT in order to heal his massive fin rot. He's recovering well and has a lot more color now. I've got his new home a Fluval Spec and was looking for advice on how to begin it as a planted tank.

I've got MG Organic Potting Mix that I've sifted to remove the small wood pieces and rocks. I plan on putting about 3/4" of dirt and then a gravel cap. I've also got a small 10 watt Marina pre-set heater for the back pump chamber. As far as lighting I will go with the stock LED light and I'm planning on only low light plants like Anubias Nana 'Petite' and Java fern. I'd also like to carpet the bottom with Dwarf Hairgrass. I've read through alot of cool threads on this forum and have gain a lot of knowledge. All of the bettas on here are beautiful and I can't wait to get Artemis back to being healthy and beautiful.

Here are some pics of the unboxing.





I look forward to your advice on how I should proceed. Thanks!

[Oldfishlady]

The biggest problem I see with your light and plant choice with potting soil.....is a toxic tank......I wouldn't use the potting soil unless you plan more stem plants and better lighting......

[BasilBetta87]

What type of stem plants would you recommend for a small tank? If anything I can go all gravel and use fert tabs for rooted plants.

[bastage]

so I am fairly new to plants, but MGO is a PITA to keep from stirring up & clouding the water unless you have a good cap. In a tank that small I couldn't see it being anything but a nightmare. I Think I would go with something like Florite or FloraMax so as to not have to worry about that. It will cost you more upfront (bags are 15-20 bucks each for normal sized bags which will be way overkill for your application).

[RoyalBlueDarling]

Originally Posted by BasilBetta87

I've got his new home a Fluval Spec and was looking for advice on how to begin it as a planted tank.

I've got MG Organic Potting Mix that I've sifted to remove the small wood pieces and rocks. I plan on putting about 3/4" of dirt and then a gravel cap.

Oh, you wanna try the Walstaad method. Very cool, imo.

Here's some info that I believe will help you out:
1. A step-by-step guide with photos made by a person who's done it.

http://thegab.org/Plants/the-planted-betta-bowl.html

2. A video made by another person who's done it, though he used something other than potting mix for the substrate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEgYL3psngw

Hope this helps.

[BasilBetta87]

Bastage, if I get a big bag then I'll have more for another tank! ;)

RBD, I've totally read over the walstad site and that's a great step by step guide. Thanks for the link and that video is pretty sweet! I'm thinking about pickin up some seachem Flourite as my substrate. That shouldn't leach a ton of ammonia into the tank like the potting mix will.

So, wisteria a good bet for a stem plant?

[bastage]

wysteria is pretty popular, but in my own experience I have multiple bunches purchased at different times from different places & it seems to be getting by, but not thriving at all. I am not positive, but I believe Ludwiga & Moneywart are both stem plants & I have done much better with the 2 of them then with the wysteria.

[BettaMiah]

Thats awesome! Lucky boy!

That tank is pretty nice, I love how clean it is. Be sure to post pics when its all set up and the lucky Betta is in it! :3

[Myates]

I would listen to OFL in regards to plants and the soil- as she has many years of experience with all her numerous NPTs, as well as experiments on what works best. PM her for any concerns or questions, as if she is saying what you have going now is toxic and won't work, then I would highly recommend doing any suggestions she makes.. neither of your plants need soil either I believe.

Otherwise, it's great to hear you are wanting to make the best home possible for him! Welcome!

[BasilBetta87]

Yeah, don't want him to live in toxic conditions! I'm heading to my LPS today and picking up Flourite for my substrate and I'll pick some stem plants as well most likely wisteria but I'll be on the look out for others. I should have pics up later tonight or tomorrow. I am going for the higher quality substrate so that i can pick up some quality stem plants and not have to worry about fert tablets. Can't wait to get this little Spec up and running! All you guys comments have really helped.