Freshwater aquarium plant bedding?

[krystian]

I've searched the web for this kind of item and I haven't any success finding it.

The other day when I was in Walmart's Aquarium section, I noticed they sold plant bulbs to grow aquarium plants. They had packs of 3 plant bulbs for $2 and some change.

Somewhat familiar with the Ammonia -> Nitrate process, I'm wondering if there is some way to help the cycle, reduce the frequency of changing a tank's water supply, and help mimick the habitat fish live in when in the wild.

Is there a place to get dense aquatic bedding of these underwater (freshwater!) plant bulbs (like a sheet of it that I just would cut and lay on the bottom of the tank)? Would a dense folliage be bad for an aquarium? How about if I have a 1 gallon aquarium?

I realize my goldfish are rather dirty. I was hoping to find a natural solution to help maintain a stable habitat.

 

[scottychaos]

Sorry Krystian,
but your idea simply wont work..
because for a "planted tank" you need lots of light, to keep the plants happy and alive.
all that light also makes algae very happy.
you need a LOT of plants to outcompete the algae for nutrients and starve it, otherwise you have an algae farm, and it chokes off your plants.
its a delicate balancing act between your "real" plants..the plants you want, and algae.
it takes a BIG tank to have a sucessfull planted tank..
there is just no way you can make it work in a one gallon..its impossible.
the light you would need would overheat the water..

the only way (and I mean literally *only*! as in "nothing else will work, period."..im not exaggerating)
to keep a stable habitat in a one-gallon tank is to do a 50% water change every other day..
sorry, thats just the nature of such a tiny tank.
they are VERY unstable, because there is such little water..
especially without a filter, if you dont do a 50% water change every other day you can quickly kill the fish from ammonia poisoning..

if you want less maintance, you need a bigger tank.
with a 20 or 29 gallon tank, and a filter, you can get away with a 10% water change once a week..


you dont have a goldfish in that one gallon do you??
I hope not..
very very bad if you do..
I dont mean to sound mean, but you are being very cruel to your fish if you have a goldfish in a one-gallon tank..and you are very likely killing it..
one gallon simply cant support a goldfish..
If you cant buy a bigger tank right now, you should consider giving your fish away to someone who already has goldfish in big tanks..(dont take it back to Walmart! that would be a fate worse than death)

please dont keep anything except one betta in a one gallon tank.
goldfish absolutely require a filter, and 20 gallons per fish minimum.
please read this:

http://www.epinions.com/content_3185614980

 

[jojo]

i just posted almost this same question on another part of this forum. I have an 80 gallon tank, do you think plant life will do well with a tank this large? i house my turtles only. I do want to add some fish too. Would you have a recommendation on what can live in a turtle environment in terms of plants and fish?

Krystian what were the bullbs called? i want to look the next time i am at walmart.

I hear you about the algae... I learned the hard way, didn't realize direct sunlight was such a bad thing.

 

[jimscott]

Floating plants can help with the algae potential, such as duckweed or water sprite.

 

[moonflower]

the bulbs you saw at walmart were either lilies (large oval-shaped bulbs) or aponogetons (small fuzzy bulbs), both of which i've grown before in straight aquarium gravel in my 10-gallon and 2-gallon tanks. the lilies in particular were absolutely GORGEOUS, one of them had deep burgundy leaves and took up a large part of the 10gal for several months before it died (my tank isn't all that great for plants, they *are* a lot of work). the aponogetons are grassy-looking, grow wickedly fast and get very tall. both look great for a few months but will ultimately die off unless you've got a complete aquatic plant dream tank (CO2, etc). i have to say, though, those lilies were fabulous while they lasted, and they might be worth a shot if only as an experiment. hey, it's only $3, right?

the only other problem here is... goldfish eat EVERYTHING. i converted the aforementioned 10-gallon to a goldfish tank a few months back and the little pig ate every scrap of green off the last aponogeton. i've heard that a few no-brainer, easy-care aquarium plants like java moss or Marimo balls are goldfsh-friendly; the moss can be found at any good fish shop, and the Marimo balls are trickier to find but i absolutely adore mine. it's actually a slow-growing algae that forms a ball shape, and as far as i know goldfish will leave them alone (mine's not with the goldfish, however). neither require any special care other than a bit of light, cut back if the algae starts up. good luck killing either species.

hope i was some help

 

[jojo]

moonflower what do you mean about CO2? i am looking into a filtration system. thanks, jojo

 

[StifflerMichael]

Krystian and jojo: a planted aquarium is really difficult to obtain. As scottychaos said, in most any planted tank there is a very fine balance between algae and the plants, especially at the beginning--if the algae win, that's it, you have to start over. And with a large tank, this equates to a huge loss of plants if you don't do things right.
My advice: READ! Do you have any books on aquarium plants? Have you looked at a LOT of planted tank websites? Do you know what kinds of plants are good for beginners, low light, fast growing, and which are not?
IMHO, a one gallon tank is inappropriate for like 99.9% of fish, it's just cruel.
Just trying to help. Here's a pretty cool website on planted tanks that gives you the info 'straight' (just ignore all the fertilization stuff): Rex's Planted Aquarium

 

[jojo]

i'm reading... i feel i need to back to college to understand this stuff. i just want pretty plants in my tank......lol

 

[krystian]

Quote[/b] (jojo @ July 03 2005,3:11)]Krystian what were the bullbs called? i want to look the next time i am at walmart.

Jojo:

Hello, I was in walmart today and wrote down what I could. I was hoping to be detailed enough so you could be successful with google if you desire:

2 bulb packages

1. Nymphaea Lily Bulbs (Dwarf Lily?) [Red or Green]

UPC: 0 19901 12298 8

2. Apongeton Bulbs

(none in stock)

Produced by:
Sea-Life Inc.
1400 S. Van Eps
Sioux Falls, SD 57105

 

[jojo]

Hey thanks, thats awesome... i will give them a try. Are you? I think i might start with one of my tanks with these bulbs in there alone. and see if anything grows. But, since i started reading realize the CO2 is a BIG factor, i found something specific for plant aquariums by hagen on petsmart site. $29. to keep the water flowing and adds CO2. But, i think the 1 gallon tank isn't going to cut it. i think i read 3 gal minimum to get plant life to thrive.