# Planted Tanks > Beginners' Corner >  Newbie non CO2 tank

## amaninus

Good day to all,

I just got a 1ft tank today after much procrastination. I think I got java fern but please correct me if I m wrong.

Can anyone please advise what is the small short plants? I got it like a carpet (approx 3" x 2"). But when I try to root it in to the substrate, the whole "carpet" float. To make things worse, I tear the carpet into pieces so that I can root them into the substrate. Wrong move, it floats even more. Now I m left with half the carpet. Can any kind souls advise how to root the carpet? Will it grow and cover the substrate eventually? Will I face the same scenario if it was hair grass instead of this short grass/ moss?
Thank you.

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## wongce

Yes, the plant is Java fern, do not bury the roots/rhizome.

The carpet plant you have is HC,not recommended to beginners...

If you want some carpet plants, try out E-tennelus, Monte Carlo, Brazilian micro swords, dwarf sag, hair grass(dwarf/Japanese)....or even moss... However they might not suit everyone's likings 

Its not hard for plants to cover the foreground but there are certain criteria to meet...type of plant,lights,fert,co2, temperature... Well, I recommend you to read my blog before you spend more money on buying spree

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## Greentank

this is HC (Hemianthus callitrichoides) plant, this is fairly difficult plant to grow without Co2. You need to separate it into small bunches before planting it with patience.

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## Greentank

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...allitrichoides

These videos may help in your project.

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## amaninus

> Yes, the plant is Java fern, do not bury the roots/rhizome.
> 
> The carpet plant you have is HC,not recommended to beginners...
> 
> If you want some carpet plants, try out E-tennelus, Monte Carlo, Brazilian micro swords, dwarf sag, hair grass(dwarf/Japanese)....or even moss... However they might not suit everyone's likings 
> 
> Its not hard for plants to cover the foreground but there are certain criteria to meet...type of plant,lights,fert,co2, temperature... Well, I recommend you to read my blog before you spend more money on buying spree


I see. Thanks for the info. I will check out your blog. I suppose you will recommend where to get the fore ground carpets in your blog right?

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## amaninus

> this is HC (Hemianthus callitrichoides) plant, this is fairly difficult plant to grow without Co2. You need to separate it into small bunches before planting it with patience.





> http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...allitrichoides
> 
> These videos may help in your project.


Thanks for the info. 
This is a non co2 tank, so I guess I will change out the foreground carpet. Will check out the video clips too. Thanks again.

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## jiajuen900

For a tank of this size and since this is your first attempt, I would reccomend E-tenullus or if you are more adventurous, then hair grass.

You can find most of the plants that wongce mentioned at most popular LFS. Y618 at Yishun, C328 at Clementi or Aquatic Avenue at Redhill. There are many others. You can go to the LFS Directory section of this forum to find one close to you.

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## amaninus

Hi Stanley (aka wongce), 
Very informative blog u have there. Nice. 

Can u share with me why java fern roots are not suppose to be in the substrate?

The HC is getting more messy when I moved the java fern root out of the substrate, so I removed all of them. I plan to add in hair grass. Are they easy to maintain? (Cos I don't see them in your list)

I read that u have T5HO lights. Does my "cute" little light suffice or I should get a T5HO also? (Do they even come in sizes for small tanks? Mine is 260mm to be exact)

Thanks again.

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## amaninus

> For a tank of this size and since this is your first attempt, I would reccomend E-tenullus or if you are more adventurous, then hair grass.
> 
> You can find most of the plants that wongce mentioned at most popular LFS. Y618 at Yishun, C328 at Clementi or Aquatic Avenue at Redhill. There are many others. You can go to the LFS Directory section of this forum to find one close to you.


Thanks for replying, care to share why hair grass is more "adventurous"?

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## jiajuen900

Java Ferns need their rhizomes (the part that roots grow from) above the substrate. In some sense they can be considered 'aerial' roots and will suffocate under the substrate. If left under the substrate, the plant will eventually die off.

Hair grass, while not as difficult to grow as HC, is generally still quite a demanding plant to grow. It thrives much better in high light and CO2 injected environments.

T5HOs usually don't come in that small a size. Some PL lights do come around that size and they are quite a close substitute for T5HOs. But I think your LED light should suffice for such a set up. You just need to hook it up to a timer and set it to turn on for roughly 8hours a day.

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## Xiaozhuang

For that size of tank, a $15 Ikea desklamp with a higher wattage CFL will provide enough light to grow anything you want. Its also adjustable.... may not be as neat a setup though


really would recommend CO2 for HC... DHG might be possible without CO2; the tank above is grown low tech without CO2, but as mentioned E-tenullu, dwarf sag, crypt parva are all easier

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## amaninus

> Java Ferns need their rhizomes (the part that roots grow from) above the substrate. In some sense they can be considered 'aerial' roots and will suffocate under the substrate. If left under the substrate, the plant will eventually die off.
> 
> Hair grass, while not as difficult to grow as HC, is generally still quite a demanding plant to grow. It thrives much better in high light and CO2 injected environments.
> 
> T5HOs usually don't come in that small a size. Some PL lights do come around that size and they are quite a close substitute for T5HOs. But I think your LED light should suffice for such a set up. You just need to hook it up to a timer and set it to turn on for roughly 8hours a day.


Thanks for the prompt reply. Now I have a better understanding of java ferns. There are some residue substrate stuck between the rhizomes. Must I take it out and remove the residue thoroughly?

I am very attracted by the hair grass (dwarf) but it seem like not suitable for my non co2 tank. The e tenellus and hair grass does look similar. Its easier for e tenellus to grow in the non co2 tank? What is the amount of effort to maintain the e tenellus?

I realized that most of your tanks are not covered. As I kept a betta in this tank, is there any cover that u guys buy off the shelves? Or uses any material to fabricate the cover? I am using cardboard as cover now. Light source is cut off when cover is used.

I am staying at Punggol, so I got my stuffs from seaview. Quite a big shop and I took one hour not knowing exactly what I wanted. Drove down to c328 yesterday, the human traffic in the shop is amazing. Quite squeezy to slowly decide what I needed.

I appreciate all inputs rendered thus far. This forum is really helpful to newbies.

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## amaninus

> For that size of tank, a $15 Ikea desklamp with a higher wattage CFL will provide enough light to grow anything you want. Its also adjustable.... may not be as neat a setup though
> 
> 
> really would recommend CO2 for HC... DHG might be possible without CO2; the tank above is grown low tech without CO2, but as mentioned E-tenullu, dwarf sag, crypt parva are all easier


Thanks for replying. That's a powerful lamp u got there. 
The HC in my tank are removed. I guess I m to noob when I got them. It looks like I m washing vegetables before cooking. Roots and bits of the HC floating all over.

I would like to try dwarf hair grass if it can work out in non co2 tank. It gives me a calm feeling. Seaview did not have hair grass when I was there today. So I have to get it from somewhere else.

For DHG, I just break them up and spread them in to the substrate? Will they root in the substrate easily?

Thanks!

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## jiajuen900

Just to make sure I did not get the wrong point across. Hair Grass can be grown in non-co2/low-tech set ups (Xiaozhuang's tank is a great example of how nice growth of hair grass can be achieved been without co2 injection).

Most, if not all plants can grow without CO2 injection. However, some plants are much harder to grow in such conditions as it is much harder to balance the aquarium to meet the needs of such demanding plants.

To plant hair grass, you can break them into small clumps and insert into the substrate. Try to spread them out nice and even. They will root fairly easily (although their roots are usually quite shallow.) and will start spreading by sending out runners.

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## jiajuen900

To help with future plant choices and to help decide on what direction to take the tank in, you can look at this thread. It has some great tanks that have no co2 injection. Although some photos have been lost.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...light=Low+tech

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## wongce

Hi, most of your questions you asked me were answered by others...haha so I don't need to type so much.

Depend on your expectation of carpet plants...some people want dense carpeting similar to golf course...then you may want to invest in co2 setup ...if you just want to sit back and relax with a simple tank with some sparse carpeting ,then the plants I mentioned are ok without co2 injection.

Well,alternatively you can try to DIY CO2 using yeast and sugar... Google is your good friend(in case you ask how to DIY)

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## amaninus

> Hi, most of your questions you asked me were answered by others...haha so I don't need to type so much.
> 
> Depend on your expectation of carpet plants...some people want dense carpeting similar to golf course...then you may want to invest in co2 setup ...if you just want to sit back and relax with a simple tank with some sparse carpeting ,then the plants I mentioned are ok without co2 injection.
> 
> Well,alternatively you can try to DIY CO2 using yeast and sugar... Google is your good friend(in case you ask how to DIY)


Hi, 
Thanks for replying. I m not ready to go into co2 yet. 
I m going to visit y618 this weekend to had a better idea. Hopefully they have something that catches my eye.  :Smile: 

thanks for sharing.

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## amaninus

Hi all, I went y618 and got e tenellus. But after 5 days, the plant seem like dying. 

What I did was to separate them into individual bunch, and slot into the substrate. Then on light for 6 to 8 hours. 

Can anyone advise did I do anything wrong and what can I do to help them?

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## amaninus

More pics.

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## wongce

frankly speaking, they look like Brazilian Microsword to me ( emerge form) thus they are taller...

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## amaninus

> frankly speaking, they look like Brazilian Microsword to me ( emerge form) thus they are taller...


I was told it was e tenellus. Is it suppose to be like this?
I saw the dwarf hair grass at y618. Its nice and cushy. Will the hair grass die if they dont have enough co2?

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## Xiaozhuang

If it has a horizontal rhizome its micro-sword; if its just rosettes and runners, then it's E-tenellus. Either one is alright as a foreground plant though; DHG is harder in a low tech setup, compared to either of those. Are you using ADA soil ? If so, it releases quite a bit of ammonia at the start, so water changes every other day for a few weeks is helpful. Ammonia can burn some plants, and is toxic to fish. In a non-CO2 tank, acclimatization and growth can take awhile.... a bit of yellowing when introducing plants can be quite normal.

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## jiajuen900

Plants will melt quite considerably when converting from the emersed form to the immersed form. Wait a while and observe growth. Once new leaves begin to grow in the immersed form, it will be much easier to identify them as E Tenullus. To aid the plant in new growth as well a deter algae growth you might want to add excel.

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## amaninus

> If it has a horizontal rhizome its micro-sword; if its just rosettes and runners, then it's E-tenellus. Either one is alright as a foreground plant though; DHG is harder in a low tech setup, compared to either of those. Are you using ADA soil ? If so, it releases quite a bit of ammonia at the start, so water changes every other day for a few weeks is helpful. Ammonia can burn some plants, and is toxic to fish. In a non-CO2 tank, acclimatization and growth can take awhile.... a bit of yellowing when introducing plants can be quite normal.


Hi, I m not using ADA soil. I m using the one in the picture. It's not turning yellow, but turning transparent, black. Losing color.

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## amaninus

Like the ones in white circles.

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## amaninus

> Plants will melt quite considerably when converting from the emersed form to the immersed form. Wait a while and observe growth. Once new leaves begin to grow in the immersed form, it will be much easier to identify them as E Tenullus. To aid the plant in new growth as well a deter algae growth you might want to add excel.


Hi, I got excel today. But the instructions says a 5ml for 40l water, that's 1 ml for 8l water. With my less than 2l tank, I would most likely overdose even if I just drop in 1 drop right? 

Any catastrophic consequence if "overdose" in this case?

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## Mystikboy

That's signs of melting. Probably adjusting to your tank conditions. Give it some time. The rest look ok (;

Well there's 20 drops to an ml. So perhaps start with about 3 drops first to err on the side of caution.

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## Urban Aquaria

> With my less than 2l tank...


Just curious, you mentioned in your first post its a 1ft tank... how did it turn out to be just 2 liters of water?  :Grin: 

What are the actual dimensions of the tank? Maybe you mis-calculated the water volume?

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## jiajuen900

Maybe 2 gallons  :Laughing:

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## amaninus

Now I m embarrassed. Haha. I was told that its a one ft tank by my bro in law when I brought home. He see the base close to 300mm (equals to 1 ft), so he say its 1 ft tank. 
But when i buy the substrate, the assistant in the shop calculated and told me its 2l . 
So are they even close? How many litres is a 1 ft tank? Lol.

With the following dimension, what is the best description for my tank?The actual dimension is 260mm x 170mm x 190mm.

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## mercur1al

> Now I m embarrassed. Haha. I was told that its a one ft tank by my bro in law when I brought home. He see the base close to 300mm (equals to 1 ft), so he say its 1 ft tank. 
> But when i buy the substrate, the assistant in the shop calculated and told me its 2l . 
> So are they even close? How many litres is a 1 ft tank? Lol.
> 
> With the following dimension, what is the best description for my tank?The actual dimension is 260mm x 170mm x 190mm.


Based on your description, the tank by itself, when filled to the brim is roughly 8.4litres.

How high did you fill your substrate? Variable factors like substrate height, stones, driftwood, as well as how high you filled your water level to can affect the amount of water.

You can google tank volume calculators. Plug in the figures (width, length) and roughly measure your water height from the top of the substrate to the top of your water level, and get a more accurate gauge.

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## amaninus

Hi, So it's like normal calculation of volume? I thought there is a special factor for fish tank volume. I think did the shop assistant uses approx 25% the tank volume to get 2l of substrate. Its not the volume of the tank. I must have misunderstood him. 

I just fill the substrate to 30mm tall. Water level measured at 160 mm tall.
Hence my water volume should be 260 x 170 x (160 - 30) = Approx 5.8l ?

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## mercur1al

According to this link, 

http://www.ifocas.org/calculator.htm

Roughly 7 litres.

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## amaninus

We don't take the substrate into consideration?

The substrate does take up space of the tank.

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## mercur1al

> We don't take the substrate into consideration?
> 
> The substrate does take up space of the tank.


Just realized i misread your statement. I thought your tank was filled to the brim, hence you only took away 30mm for the substrate. Just realized it was 30mm for substrate + 30mm unfilled from the top, hence for water height, its only 130mm. You are right, its roughly 5.8l to 6l then. Bear in mind that there is also water between your substrate as well.

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## amaninus

I see. So it should be safe if I take it as 6l, which means I can add in slightly less than 1 ml of seachem excel. Thanks for guiding me along.  :Smile:

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## mercur1al

That's how i usually do it.

Just sharing how i usually do things, i am a newbie too!  :Grin: 

Excel, flourish etc can be quite hard to dose if you pour into the cap. The internal markings are really hard to see and gauge. For ease of application, i use a syringe. Its the disposable kind, up to 5ml. 

Attachment 45285

They are roughly $0.30 each from Guardian. I don't throw them away though, just tie them with a rubber band to their bottles. One for every bottle i use. Makes dosing much easier.

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## amaninus

Nice, thanks for sharing. This should be a good "tool". 
After all, mine should be approx 1.8 gal tank. Haha, considered 2 gal tank? 

How is your (mercur1al) tank?

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## mercur1al

> Nice, thanks for sharing. This should be a good "tool". 
> After all, mine should be approx 1.8 gal tank. Haha, considered 2 gal tank? 
> 
> How is your (mercur1al) tank?


Both tanks are fine, but being low tech. Growth is really slow. Stem plants are fine, but foreground carpeting plants plod along slowly. 

For the smaller 1 foot tank which i set up recently with the intention of purely keeping shrimps, i got a pair of guppies for now since it was pretty boring to look at. I count 7 fishlets now... Lol

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## Urban Aquaria

Do note that excel is a photosensitive compound, hence it degrades quickly in the presence of light. So its best to store the excel solution in dispensing syringes or bottles that are opaque (not clear or transparent) to prolong their effectiveness.

I use small opaque dropper bottles like this...



Photo from google images.

I order mine from eBay, but i guess you can probably also get them from cosmetics shops or daiso.  :Smile:

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## Mystikboy

Hey UA, I'm not too sure that excel is generally photosensitive

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...l-storage.html

Probably only UV

http://www.seachem.com/support/forum...read.php?t=385

So I think it's best to keep it away from sunlight and UV emitting lights.

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## Urban Aquaria

Yeah, i should re-word my post, i meant more specifically UV sensitive... if its kept in a shaded cabinet or box, no issues, but if placed where its exposed to sunlight (ie. from a window) then it will degrade faster over time.

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## amaninus

I see. Thanks for the advice guys. I just injected 1ml into my tank. Let's see how it goes. 
I'll just keep the excel bottle away from sunlight. I guess it should be fine. 

So its not like every time I want to inject excel, i draw from the excel bottle the amount I need? It seem like u decant a small quantity into a small bottle and drops in when u want to.

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## mercur1al

> I see. Thanks for the advice guys. I just injected 1ml into my tank. Let's see how it goes. 
> I'll just keep the excel bottle away from sunlight. I guess it should be fine. 
> 
> So its not like every time I want to inject excel, i draw from the excel bottle the amount I need? It seem like u decant a small quantity into a small bottle and drops in when u want to.


I guess each of us have our different methods. For me, i leave it in the original bottle in a cupboard away from heat and tie the syringe to it. When i dose daily, I just extract what i need, and use the syringe to dose directly.

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## Urban Aquaria

Its definitely easier to dose from a separate bottle or syringe... excel only lasts for up to 24 hours in a tank so it should be dosed daily for best effect.

Opening the original excel bottle every day can be a hassle due to the child-proof cap, sometimes it doesn't "catch" and takes more effort to open (especially if its worn out from being opened many times before).  :Grin:

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## amaninus

> Both tanks are fine, but being low tech. Growth is really slow. Stem plants are fine, but foreground carpeting plants plod along slowly. 
> 
> For the smaller 1 foot tank which i set up recently with the intention of purely keeping shrimps, i got a pair of guppies for now since it was pretty boring to look at. I count 7 fishlets now... Lol



I have 2 of those 1.8 gallon tanks. 1 betta in each tank. Do you remove guppy waste? Or you use them as "fertilizer"? For my case, the waste or unconsumed food is growing moldy or fungus. Wonder if it is giving out ammonia?

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## mercur1al

> I have 2 of those 1.8 gallon tanks. 1 betta in each tank. Do you remove guppy waste? Or you use them as "fertilizer"? For my case, the waste or unconsumed food is growing moldy or fungus. Wonder if it is giving out ammonia?


Next to no waste at this moment, only 2 guppies and 7-8 fishlets. 

I used some seasoned media in my hang on filter, so they cope with the ammonia pretty well, if any.

Best to remove unconsumed food bro, they give out a whole lot more ammonia. Don't overfeed your fishes, they do fine with small portions. I only feed my fishes once every 2 days, and even so, only the amount they cab finish in 5mins.

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## amaninus

> Do note that excel is a photosensitive compound, hence it degrades quickly in the presence of light. So its best to store the excel solution in dispensing syringes or bottles that are opaque (not clear or transparent) to prolong their effectiveness.
> 
> I use small opaque dropper bottles like this...
> 
> 
> 
> Photo from google images.
> 
> I order mine from eBay, but i guess you can probably also get them from cosmetics shops or daiso.


Dropper bottles are common, but this opaque dropper bottle is not as common right? Else it's crazy shipping prices.
How much did u pay for this?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Dropper bottles are common, but this opaque dropper bottle is not as common right? Else it's crazy shipping prices.
> How much did u pay for this?


I ordered them from an eBay seller which offers free shipping... just checked and the listing is a still active, here is the link:

http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/140672264759

Ordered the 10 bottle package for S$15+, so each bottle worked out to around S$1.50, could be cheaper with larger order quantity.  :Smile:

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## amaninus

> I ordered them from an eBay seller which offers free shipping... just checked and the listing is a still active, here is the link:
> 
> http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/140672264759
> 
> Ordered the 10 bottle package for S$15+, so each bottle worked out to around S$1.50, could be cheaper with larger order quantity.


Thanks for the link. I ordered 5 bottle pack.  

I have been giving 1ml of flourish excel to my tank (26cm x 17cm x 19cm) every day. And LED light is turned on 8 hrs a day. But the plants inside are still turning yellow.

Any advice?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Thanks for the link. I ordered 5 bottle pack.  
> 
> I have been giving 1ml of flourish excel to my tank (26cm x 17cm x 19cm) every day. And LED light is turned on 8 hrs a day. But the plants inside are still turning yellow.
> 
> Any advice?


Well, plants need a balanced combination of good light, Co2 and nutrients to grow well.

Excel is only an alternative carbon supplement... so its possible your plants may be encountering nutrient deficiency, hence the yellowing leaves.

Check this chart to diagnose the plant's nutrient deficiency: http://infographics.myaquacalc.com/w...y-labeled2.jpg

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## amaninus

> Well, plants need a balanced combination of good light, Co2 and nutrients to grow well.
> 
> Excel is only an alternative carbon supplement... so its possible your plants may be encountering nutrient deficiency, hence the yellowing leaves.
> 
> Check this chart to diagnose the plant's nutrient deficiency: http://infographics.myaquacalc.com/w...y-labeled2.jpg


Thanks for the chart. I have no idea what deficiency is it? The symtoms lack of iron, magnesium, phosphate And nitrogen looks the same to me.

Before I can handle the nutrient deficencies, I spotted something crawling in the tank. Its snails. I did not buy any snails but they are all over the place. Will they cause harm to the plants?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Thanks for the chart. I have no idea what deficiency is it? The symtoms lack of iron, magnesium, phosphate And nitrogen looks the same to me.
> 
> Before I can handle the nutrient deficencies, I spotted something crawling in the tank. Its snails. I did not buy any snails but they are all over the place. Will they cause harm to the plants?


If you find it tough to isolate the exact nutrient deficiency, then just dose an all-in-one micro/trace fertilizer solution... ie. Tropica Premium or ADA Green Brightly Step 1 or Seachem Flourish Comprehensive etc. That should help to fill in any gaps in the plants nutrient requirements.

If your tank has been running for many months and you suspect the soil nutrient levels have depleted, then maybe have to dose additional nitrogen and phosphate too, or perhaps feed your fishes abit more food in help increase those nutrient levels.

As for the snails, i can't see it very clearly from the photo, but i'd guess they are probably just pond snails. They usually hitchhike in on new plants so quite common in planted tanks. Those snails will eat algae, dead plant matter and leftover foods, as well as some delicate leaved plants, but most of the time they are relatively harmless. The only thing is their population can grow very quickly if there is alot of food for them to consume, so it can become unsightly when they start to overpopulate the tank (which is also a sign of overfeeding).

If you don't like the snails, just manually remove them whenever you spot them, that usually keeps their population under control.

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## amaninus

> If you find it tough to isolate the exact nutrient deficiency, then just dose an all-in-one micro/trace fertilizer solution... ie. Tropica Premium or ADA Green Brightly Step 1 or Seachem Flourish Comprehensive etc. That should help to fill in any gaps in the plants nutrient requirements.
> 
> If your tank has been running for many months and you suspect the soil nutrient levels have depleted, then maybe have to dose additional nitrogen and phosphate too, or perhaps feed your fishes abit more food in help increase those nutrient levels.
> 
> As for the snails, i can't see it very clearly from the photo, but i'd guess they are probably just pond snails. They usually hitchhike in on new plants so quite common in planted tanks. Those snails will eat algae, dead plant matter and leftover foods, as well as some delicate leaved plants, but most of the time they are relatively harmless. The only thing is their population can grow very quickly if there is alot of food for them to consume, so it can become unsightly when they start to overpopulate the tank (which is also a sign of overfeeding).
> 
> If you don't like the snails, just manually remove them whenever you spot them, that usually keeps their population under control.


That's good advice. Easy to carry out too. I will do it accordingly.

Will google more about macro and micro fertilizer. 
Thanks UA.

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## Hund Wong

thinking of starting a planted betta tank as well  :Very Happy: 
thanks for the inspiration

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## amaninus

> thinking of starting a planted betta tank as well 
> thanks for the inspiration


It's a lot of knowledge required for the plants. Thank goodness that there are knowledgable and helpful people here. 

Good luck in your new tank and do share with me your set up.  :Smile:

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## Hund Wong

Trying out  :Very Happy:

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## amaninus

> Trying out


Wow. That's a big rock. Must have cost a lot. 

What plants are those in the middle? Glosso?

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## Hund Wong

Bought the tank and rocks from a fellow bro on aq since he decomm
so got it each rock at $4
and the tank at $10

as for the plants , i'm Trying to carpet "monte carlo"
and a piece on moss on rock at the corner  :Very Happy:

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## amaninus

> Bought the tank and rocks from a fellow bro on aq since he decomm
> so got it each rock at $4
> and the tank at $10
> 
> as for the plants , i'm Trying to carpet "monte carlo"
> and a piece on moss on rock at the corner


Wow. That's good. I got a smaller rock at $15 I think. They go by weight. Is yours going to be low tech?

Looking forward to your completed tank.  :Smile:

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## Hund Wong

This bro who sold me clearing for space so bought it as per piece instead of weight.
yeah planning to go low tech since its in the bedroom at not much space ard

Currently at gf house

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## amaninus

Nice. Are the stem plants on the right side glosso?

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## amaninus

Can any one help to id the plant in the picture? Thanks!

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## jiajuen900

Looks like Cabomba

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## amaninus

So its not hortwort? I compared with some google pictures, I thought its hortwort.

Its very tall when I got it. I have to trim it right away when I put into the tank. This is a taller one on the other tank.

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## amaninus

Missed out the attachment.

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## amaninus

@jiajuen900, It really look like cabomba. You are good!

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## Hund Wong

Mind showing ur tanks in full view. Will want to set up another tank soon wanna get some inspiration. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Hund Wong

> Looking forward to your completed tank.


Decided to end the DSM and added new plants
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421044967.480588.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421045204.698623.jpg

Flooded

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421045310.957409.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1421045364.260272.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## amaninus

> Decided to end the DSM and added new plants
> ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421044967.480588.jpg
> 
> ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421045204.698623.jpg
> 
> Flooded
> 
> ImageUploadedByTapatalk1421045310.957409.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1421045364.260272.jpg
> 
> ...


Wow, that's nice. I should get some colors too. Mine is too dull. What is the purple color plant?

Do u have any idea why I cannot load picture. It always say upload fail? It has been 4 days already. Haha

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## amaninus

Ah... File size too big...
Here's mine.

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## Hund Wong

Im not very sure myself too. I guess its this : http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/4453/4453

Or maybe the shifus here can define it


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## Hund Wong

The other one should be
Micranthemum Micranthemoides


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## amaninus

uploadfromtaptalk1428754500858.jpg

Hi all,
Am I suppose to remove the plants from the white cap or I can leave it there? My concern is that it will not root to the substrate and float. 

I don't know what is the red plant, but it sure grow fast and went out of the water. Notice that there are white whiskers from the stem. Am I suppose to trim of the whiskers?

Thanks in advance.

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## Urban Aquaria

> uploadfromtaptalk1428754500858.jpg
> 
> Hi all,
> Am I suppose to remove the plants from the white cap or I can leave it there? My concern is that it will not root to the substrate and float. 
> 
> I don't know what is the red plant, but it sure grow fast and went out of the water. Notice that there are white whiskers from the stem. Am I suppose to trim of the whiskers?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


Its best to remove the white ring from LFS-bought stem plants... wash and separate the stems (make sure to check for pests hiding amongst them), then plant the individual stems into the substrate with some spacing in-between them.

If you don't remove the white ring, the stems will remain bunched up and their root growth will be restricted and have less access to nutrients in the substrate.

The red plant looks like one of the ludwigia species, i've also kept it before and its quite an easy plant. The "white whiskers" you see are aerial roots, many stem plants grow them to allow more take up of nutrients from the water column. 

No need to trim the aerial roots, they are beneficial to the plant anyways... but if you find the roots unsightly, its okay to trim them (though they will still grow back again after some time).

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## amaninus

Thanks UA. I will do that the next time. The plants in white ring are dying.

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## amaninus

Hi all, 
It's been a while since the last time I ask questions. 

My Betta has passed on with a bloated body. I am trying to do a water change and getting ready to add in community fishes. And planning to add in some oto.

uploadfromtaptalk1436692685211.jpg
Are the particles on the leaves food for oto? They look like dust in water. They are especially prominent when I do water change or disturb the water.

uploadfromtaptalk1436692890993.jpg
During water change, I notice something that looked like the plant root (as shoen in photo) swimming very fast across the tank. I found 2 of them and "arrested" them. Will this chap be the culprit to cause the death of my betta or community fishes?



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## Urban Aquaria

Those particles getting kicked up and settling on the plant leaves look like chunks of uneaten food or decomposed waste material (aka mulm). If you see alot of it in the tank it could mean your filter is not drawing in the mulm efficiently, so try and see if you can improve the filter system and also the overall circulation around the tank.

Not sure about the "plant root" thing, though if its actually swimming in the water column then it could be an aquatic insect, any clearer photo of it?

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## amaninus

Hi UA, 
Thanks for prompt reply. Here's higher resolution photo. I wonder how many more are there. They seem to be under the substrate.

uploadfromtaptalk1436703516766.jpguploadfromtaptalk1436703570120.jpg

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## Urban Aquaria

Could be dragonfly nymphs... maybe check the photos of those insects online and compare if they look similar.

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## amaninus

> Could be dragonfly nymphs... maybe check the photos of those insects online and compare if they look similar.



Spot on. It really is. Thanks for guiding me to that lead. Now that explains why the pond snails are dead at quite a fast rate when my betta don't fancy them and I did not put assassins snail in yet. 

With regards to the mulm, I see them settled down between the substrate. My sucker tube tried to clear as much as possible when I do 50% water change every sun, but it seems like it's still there. I thought it is the substrate dissolving to form soil. By changing the filter element from the black spongy type to the white foam type consider improving of filter system? Or do I have to change to a higher power filter? Current tank size is 260x170x190mm. The HOF claims to filter 185l/hr.

i do agree that circulation is not of ideal situation as the lower leaves of the stem plants are dead. Any suggestion to improve circulation?

always looking forward to your advice.

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## Urban Aquaria

> Spot on. It really is. Thanks for guiding me to that lead. Now that explains why the pond snails are dead at quite a fast rate when my betta don't fancy them and I did not put assassins snail in yet.


Yeah, dragonfly nymphs are very efficient hunters and prey on small fishes and invertebrates. Best to remove them as soon as possible.




> With regards to the mulm, I see them settled down between the substrate. My sucker tube tried to clear as much as possible when I do 50% water change every sun, but it seems like it's still there. I thought it is the substrate dissolving to form soil. By changing the filter element from the black spongy type to the white foam type consider improving of filter system? Or do I have to change to a higher power filter? Current tank size is 260x170x190mm. The HOF claims to filter 185l/hr.
> 
> i do agree that circulation is not of ideal situation as the lower leaves of the stem plants are dead. Any suggestion to improve circulation?


Soil substrates will naturally tend to trap a layer of organic waste and mulm, which is okay as rooted plants will usually help to use the nutrients that are generated. But a good filter with ample circulation will be able to push the mulm and waste into its intake and trap most of it in the filter media (which you then proceed to rinse and clean regularly). 

A filter with higher flow can help... more importantly, the flow should be able to move water all around the tank, not just at one area. Hang-on filters tend to be rather limited in their outflow path, so maybe consider a mini canister filter with intakes and outflows that can be adjusted to create good tank-wide circulation.

If your current filter media or sponges have large pores, all the fine dirt and waste material will just keep flowing back into the tank, so adding fine white filter wool into the filter will enable it to trap the dirt and debris, which in turn helps to keep the tank cleaner. Note that you do have to change the fine white filter wool regularly as it will gradually clog up and slow down the flow.

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## amaninus

I see. I'll get the foam filter element right away and find out more on the mini canister filter (ehiem 2211 or Eden 501/511). Budget rather tight nowadays.  :Very Happy: 
Thanks for your valuable advice again, UA. I appreciate it.

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## amaninus

Hi all,

After failure in my previous 2 tanks, I started my 3rd tank setup.
This time, I am using 
30x19x21cm tank 
Amazonia powder soil 
gex hang on filter M with coarse and fine wool, seachem matrix
4w led light.

Challenges encounter:
Cloudy water
Dying/ melting hair grass
Rotala dying/melting.

Water parameter using API master test kit.
pH 7.8
Ammonia 2.0ppm
Nitrite NO2 0.25ppm
Nitrate NO3 10ppm

I am suspecting nitrogen deficiency. From aquarium-fertilizer.com, optimal nitrate level is from 10 to 40ppm.
No mention of ammonia though.
Any guidance please?

uploadfromtaptalk1448861480883.jpg

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## amaninus

Forgot to mention, tank is on 1.5 ml excel everyday and water change twice a week (50 to 80%) due to cloudy water.
Flourish (1.5 ml) added after water change.
just tap water. 

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## Urban Aquaria

Looks like the plants are just acclimating and transiting to the new tank environment. Its normal for plants to melt abit after being freshly planted, they have to shed the older/damaged leaves before growing new ones.

The tank is still cycling so the parameters are fluctuating, once it stabilizes and the plants adapt to the conditions they will resume growth. You just have to give them some time.

Ammonia is also used by plants too, so its part of their nutrient take-up process for growth. In the meantime, trim and remove any melted parts you see (as those will not recover anymore) so that it reduce the amount of rotting organic material in the tank.

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## amaninus

UA shifu,
Thanks, I shall wait for a while. After using the gex filter, the water cleared.  :Smile: 

I have not added any live stock. Do u thinking can add in some before snails at this point of time or should I wait till ammonia is 0?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Thanks, I shall wait for a while. After using the gex filter, the water cleared. 
> 
> I have not added any live stock. Do u thinking can add in some before snails at this point of time or should I wait till ammonia is 0?


Best to wait until the ammonia and nitrite are zero (and nitrate is at safe levels), before adding in any livestock.

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## amaninus

> Best to wait until the ammonia and nitrite are zero (and nitrate is at safe levels), before adding in any livestock.


Ok, I better do that. Thanks for your advice. 

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