[rememberthisdayforever]

hi, i'm a new user, but freshwater fish keeper for twenty years or so.
i just set up a 17 gallon tank (24" x 14" x 12") in our living room with a 15 watt bulb above it.
what i envisioned was a shoal of cardinal tetras swimming around in a forest of long grass.
what's the chances i can keep anything alive and what kind of plants does anyone recommend?

 

[djrichie]

You will be in the java moss, java fern, Water Sprite low light plants, slow grower. If I seeing what you are thinking your going to need to beef up that light. You have less that 1 WPG. you can get a 24" CF light for an affordable price online. Get somewhere between 3 and 4 WPG and you will be able to grow what ever you want. with a 17 gallon tank you will be able to use yeast CO2, also learn bout fert for the plants.

 

[rememberthisdayforever]

thanks for the info. java ferns aren't exactly eye catching are they? but i guess i'll have to make do. The thing is, my tank is an old hand me down that used to have incandescent bulbs (for terrapins or something) and, to save myself fifty bucks for a new hood, i just pulled out the fittings and threw a 15watt fluorescent wall unit in.
i have an aquarium tube, an 18" aquaglo, but i reckon what with ballasts and starters and all that other electrical stuff, that a higher wattage tube won't work.
i've seen little cress looking stuff in some of the gallery shots, covering the substrate. does any of that grow under low light?

 

[gunnie]

You could also try some anubias. The do well in low light tanks.

 

[djrichie]

Ok if you want to increase the WPG you have now.... I assume that it a screw in type. You can find a CF crew in bulbs at the store. just make sure it willfit under the cover so you can sit it down the other routes would be to buy a new fixture for it that CF.... fosterandSmith.com and petsoultions.com have them or you can buy a reto fit kit.

As far java fern being ugly... that one taste... I have some in my tanks and they all have 4wpg or more..... they just grow faster..... any of the moss plants will work good in low light... there are a few out there.

 

[rememberthisdayforever]

thanks for the advice. I stopped by my local pet store today to get some water conditioner and bagged these guys (he said I could have them all for five bucks so I had to). Are they anubias?

<img src='http://www.rememberthisdayforever.com/pics/waterplant.jpg'>

 

[gunnie]

Nope, not anubias, but who knows, they might do fine in your tank. Here's what different species of anubias look like:

PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

 

[rememberthisdayforever]

they all look so different. some of them almost like amazonian sword. i don't know how anyone tells anything apart.

 

[gunnie]

Take a closer look at that website. You can search for low light plants.

 

[biotopeshop]

thanks for the advice. I stopped by my local pet store today to get some water conditioner and bagged these guys (he said I could have them all for five bucks so I had to). Are they anubias?

<img src='http://www.rememberthisdayforever.com/pics/waterplant.jpg'>

Hi,

We have a slightly way of doing things around here. We tend to avoid using using gravels as a substrate for planting, because they are not porous and tend compact after a while, trapping dirt and waste matter. We use soil as the base.

We first look at the base fertilizer, topping them up with soil before we plant.
Is your water temperature very low? Because we see that you have a heater in your tank too.

All the best in your planting.

Cheers

Thio

 

[djrichie]

3mm gravel is perfect and does not cloud up the water... or I use Eco-complete but also add fert tabs and liquids.

 

[rememberthisdayforever]

Take a closer look at that website. You can search for low light plants.

oh i did, and i saw load of plants i'd want in my tank. i like ones that look like grass essentially, but the problem is identifying them at the shop, when no one at the shop knows what anything is.

i guess i asked the wrong question. i guess what i meant was, where's a good aquarium shop in Toronto?

and don't say that place in the china town mini mall, because they're so over priced it's ridiculous.

 

[gunnie]

How far away is Toronto from Thunder Bay?

 

[rememberthisdayforever]

on my bike? too far.

 

[souldct]

oh i did, and i saw load of plants i'd want in my tank. i like ones that look like grass essentially, but the problem is identifying them at the shop, when no one at the shop knows what anything is.

i guess i asked the wrong question. i guess what i meant was, where's a good aquarium shop in Toronto?

and don't say that place in the china town mini mall, because they're so over priced it's ridiculous.

Hello, I live in Toronto too. There are several Big Al's Aquarium stores in GTA, in North York, Scarborough, Thornhill, Missisauga, etc. You can find good healthy plants there though they are a little pricy at times, but they do go on sale quite often. You can check out their weekly flyers from Big Al's Canada - The Pond and Aquarium Hobby Specialists

 

[rememberthisdayforever]

thanks for the advice, but i'm in downtown toronto, and carless, so i'll have to make do with Spadina Aquarium in the Dragon Mall. It's actually a really good store, it's just heinously expensive.

 

[rememberthisdayforever]

as far as plant growth goes, check out this pic:

<img src='http://www.rememberthisdayforever.com/pics/plantgrowth.jpg'>

compared to the previous one. i got some bog wood and mondo grass to keep them company and give them liquid ferts every sunday and whatever these guys are, they're growing up right out of the water. lots of little searching roots aswell.

 

[djrichie]

mondo grass is not an aquatic plant and will die in a week ir two....