[Koolaid]

hi everyone, ill try and make this quick, im an air force brat, two 15gtall fresh tanks soon to be planted, 12 g bowfront salt, im halfway through my newb stage, im on this site because of our local plant guru David stewart (stewarttoys) he doesnt talk much on here but he keeps some really rare plants, well just thought i would say hi and heres a pic of my fresh tank as of last week, o yea

15 gal tall 65watt coralife 24 inch 6700k, im fighting greenwater with a quick blackout then im going to raise the light off the tank

12gal saltwater with just live rock and some snails

my male apisto

 

[davemonkey]

Welcome to APC!
That's a really colorful fish. I have to admit I've never seen one before. Are you going to get him a female companion? (Are these the guys that need a harem of gals?)
Have you decided on what plants you want yet?

Okay, no more questions, I promise. Again, welcome to the site.

-Dave

 

[Koolaid]

lol yea he needs a harem, right now i have him one female companion, theyre ready to breed but i dont have enough plants yet, i setup some caves (they are cave spawners/underside of broad leaf) its the apisto cacatuoides triple red version, but he kinda has a flame job heres his girl

also right now i just have some hairgrass, i really dont know what im looking for in a plant, but i only have a 15 gal tall tank (same footprint as a 10) so i dont have too much space but we'll see, im going to eventually have mediumm light no co2 or high light co2

 

[davemonkey]

Well, right now you're at about 4 WPG (high light) and once you raise the light up...hmm...you'd have to get info from someone else as to what that would get you (like hoppycalif; he's done alot of research in that area).
Anyway, raising the lights will help with the green water, but you'd still have to dose all the ferts (N,P,K, and micros) to keep away algae. And you'd probably still need at least the DIY CO2.

Somer type of Vallisneria would be good in the background since you have a taller tank (relatively), you'd just have to keep the runners from invading other parts of the tank. You could grow a wide variety of fast stem plants. Also, if you have a tall background plant that shades out part of the tank, you could keep some crypt's or other low-light plants under that shade. (Although, most of the 'low-light' plants will also do well in higher light.)

Anyway, just some thoughts.

-Dave

 

[hoppycalif]

The green water is because you have far too much light for a fish only tank. The fish waste is largely ammonia, which is a trigger for algae growth. The high light encourages algae growth just as it encourages plant growth.

When you get the tank planted with lots of fast growing plants you probably have about the right amount of light. That 15 gallon tank is too small for the general "rules" about 2 watts per gallon to apply - more is needed for small tanks. And, the extra depth of the tank reduces the light intensity at the substrate level enough that you also need extra light for that reason.

Whatever plants you decide on, make sure you start out with at least half of the substrate covered with a plant every square inch. That would be a "heavily planted" tank, which is the general rule to avoid algae when first planting the tank.