Basic Questions to start planted aquarium

[shergill00]

Marble chips has calcium carbonate which over a period of time in presence of any acid formation will start dissolving in water and makes your water hard.

[sjshobhit]

Chips are out. Sand is in.

[parthapratim22]

nice will wait for more progress.

Any other issue let us know

[mats]

Hi and welcome
You hv used the word simple for moss.
Well my dear fellow hobbyist let me tell you they are some of the toughest things to grow. Hi maintenance
It would be better to start with stem plants or hardy plants
Regards

[sjshobhit]

Hey Mats,
Read somewhere that Moss are easiest to grow.. Just tie them with a rock, regular water changes, good lighting, flowing water and you are good.

Which plants would you suggest?
BR,

[SCORPIO]

Hey Mats,
Read somewhere that Moss are easiest to grow.. Just tie them with a rock, regular water changes, good lighting, flowing water and you are good.

Which plants would you suggest?
BR,

Read here http://aquapetz.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=2429 and http://aquapetz.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=515

[djmankotia]

Read somewhere that Moss are easiest to grow.. Just tie them with a rock, regular water changes, good lighting, flowing water and you are good.

Contrary to what Google tells you, mosses aren't very easy to grow, especially in a weather like Delhi's, where we have to deal with extreme conditions. Like you, when I started off with planted tanks, Romiji and other seniors gave me this very lesson: Not everything you read up on the internet works successfully in Indian conditions. I think the whole idea of mosses being "very easy" to cultivate started from Western countries, where the temperatures are naturally colder/ambient and water supply has low TDS, hence soft. In a place like Delhi, the extreme heat in the Summers along with ever changing parameters in public water supply, become very critical factors. I know many hobbyists in Delhi who have tried mosses and failed, even though they have successfully raised other aquatic plants for many many years. I myself failed many times and it was only after 2-3 years of failure that I could grow them successfully. Mosses are tricky, for some people, they do well right from the word go while for others, they either die out eventually or grow painstakingly slow.

Having said that, I would also add that once you get the knack of it and gain some experience in raising aquatic plants, mosses are indeed quite undemanding plants to cultivate. The key is a stable, matured tank with cool water and very stable water conditions, especially when the mosses start off. It is this starting off stage that is very crucial. Once they take off and start growing, they are potentially undemanding and very easy to propagate, as long as you can keep a tab on the water temperature. So do give them a try. But for a beginner, I would highly suggest that you go for fast growing, undemanding stem plants first. Some obvious reasons - easily available, less priced, very forgiving to water parameters, absorb excess nutrients fast so less chances of alage, etc etc. Gradually, you may go for mosses and other exotic plants. There is a list of undemanding plants on the forum that should serve as a basic guideline for you. Else feel free to post your queries on the forum or contact any of the senior hobbyists if you need any more information. I wish you good luck!

[sushant]

Read somewhere that Moss are easiest to grow.. Just tie them with a rock, regular water changes, good lighting, flowing water and you are good.

Contrary to what Google tells you, mosses aren't very easy to grow, especially in a weather like Delhi's, where we have to deal with extreme conditions. Like you, when I started off with planted tanks, Romiji and other seniors gave me this very lesson: Not everything you read up on the internet works successfully in Indian conditions. I think the whole idea of mosses being "very easy" to cultivate started from Western countries, where the temperatures are naturally colder/ambient and water supply has low TDS, hence soft. In a place like Delhi, the extreme heat in the Summers along with ever changing parameters in public water supply, become very critical factors. I know many hobbyists in Delhi who have tried mosses and failed, even though they have successfully raised other aquatic plants for many many years. I myself failed many times and it was only after 2-3 years of failure that I could grow them successfully. Mosses are tricky, for some people, they do well right from the word go while for others, they either die out eventually or grow painstakingly slow.

Having said that, I would also add that once you get the knack of it and gain some experience in raising aquatic plants, mosses are indeed quite undemanding plants to cultivate. The key is a stable, matured tank with cool water and very stable water conditions, especially when the mosses start off. It is this starting off stage that is very crucial. Once they take off and start growing, they are potentially undemanding and very easy to propagate, as long as you can keep a tab on the water temperature. So do give them a try. But for a beginner, I would highly suggest that you go for fast growing, undemanding stem plants first. Some obvious reasons - easily available, less priced, very forgiving to water parameters, absorb excess nutrients fast so less chances of alage, etc etc. Gradually, you may go for mosses and other exotic plants. There is a list of undemanding plants on the forum that should serve as a basic guideline for you. Else feel free to post your queries on the forum or contact any of the senior hobbyists if you need any more information. I wish you good luck!

well said DJ

[sjshobhit]

Back after a loooooooong time...
Point taken. Will start with some easy plants as suggested.
On the point of high temperature, can we use some bubbler equipments (not sure if that's the real name. The equipment that throws bubbles in aquarium via bubble strips)? They help in reducing temperature by promoting evaporation. I have been using one for over 3 years and noticed the water temperature never went beyond 29 degrees even in scorching summers.
Anyone else tried this?

[djmankotia]

well said DJ

Thanks Sushant. Learnt all this the hard way from personal experiences, and also from experts like you!