Setting up first planted tank.

[Newo]

I have been thinking of well... destorying my little shellie tank and planting it up.

I must becoming old

It's a 3x18x18.

I would like to know a few things...

Substrate:

Gravel? 2mm? How deep?

Do I need any Peat or whatever it is?

Fertiliser?

How much does the fertiliser cost?

Lighting:

Hmm... well, I could possibly make my own lighting.

I have a 2 foot reflector free atm, although I doubt that will really do much

I guess I will have to make up a double or triple light hood??

What are good tubes to buy? Brand and Model.

CO2.

I've heard its expensive, although I read that you can do it with a fireextinguisher.

Also, I saw in my mates room some kind of coke bottle filled with random goodies which produces c02? Maybe it was his bong... i dunno.

Thats about it.

Oh wait... i forgot the plants.

Any suggestions for a noobie?

[Burek]

Hey

I cant answer all the questions but ill try answer some.

I recommend sand as substrate, it will hold the roots a bit better.

Yes i think you do need fertiliser if you want your plants green!

Fertiliser i bought for 15$ at a lfs

As for plants, i recommend Java Fern

HTH Daniel

[mezzacam]

Gravel - I'm just using normal gravel, Not sure on size, but it's not tiny stuff, it's the largish size. My plants are rotting down fine in it.

As for Peat, I have not used it as of yet, So i can't really comment on it.

As for fertilisers i use,

*JBL Liquid Fertilizer (PROFLORA) Cost around $20 odd for 250ml Bottle. (Treats 1000L)

*JBL Ferrotabs Unsure of the price.

I used to use these fertiliser tabs you place at the plants roots. (I think you mainly use them on Crypts? I'm not to sure) But i stopped using them, As i didn't have any idea what i was exactly doing with them, lol.

Also for CO2, The Coke bottle device, is just a DIY CO2 unit.

Sydney Cichlid has an article on building one, and the recipe.

DIY CO2 Injection.

Otherwise, Go to goggle, and type in "DIY Co2",

As for lighting, At the moment i just have 1 single light over my 3ft, and my plants are fine, though i'm hoping to put another globe over it.

As for plants, I can't reccommend any, as i have no idea what my plants are, lol. I buy the plant because i think it looks good, and will go well in my tank.. So i have a mix of this and that. Lol.

I hope this has helped answered a few questions. I'm not to knowledgeable when it comes to planted tanks.

Cameron.

[grungefreek]

Substrate:

Gravel? 2mm? How deep?

Gravel works, 1-2 mm should be fine, thats what im using ATM. Sand was suggested, never used it but apparently can be abit of a pain to vacuum etc etc. As for depth, i like to use about 2 inches in the front sloping to bout 3-4 inches in the back.

Do I need any Peat or whatever it is?

No u dont need peat. Peat is just used to provide a nutrient rich substrate. There can be alot of issues associated with using this method and is often not recommended for beginners. U can use different methods to provide nutrients to your substrate such as root tabs, laterite balls

The method i am planning on using next is worm castings, read about them

Here . As i havent tried them i cant comment on their issues of use and whether this approach would be suited to u. Seeing as u will be starting out with beginner species, most will be stem plants that dont require substrate ferts so i would go plain gravel. If u get some root feeders, just put some root tabs at their base and all should grow well/

Fertiliser?

Depends on how much light u have, whether u have co2 etc etc. If u only have low light, the fish wastes may be enough to keep your plants happy. High light and u could be dosing all sorts of ferts, traces,nitrates,potassium and the list goes on. I would say u will prolly need some sort of liquid ferts, so just buy a bottle of something like mezzacam suggested and some root tabs if ya plan on having root feeders such as swords. Just dose as recommended and see how they go. Those ferts arent very expensive and last a fair while.

I guess I will have to make up a double or triple light hood??

Are they all gonna be 2ft lights staggered or 3ft tubes? I dont know if ya can get 3ft tubes commonly and cheap???? I would mount as many lights as ya need to get about 3 watts per gallon. So thats kinda mid range light which will allow to let u grow some more common species but still be able to have a nice aquascape that is low maintenance

CO2.

Go DIY, cheap, easy and effective. Mezza provided a link to read up on it

Plants:

Java fern, java moss, Hygro polysperma, Wysteria (H.Difformis), Anubias, Ambulia maybe (lower leaves might rot). Amazon swords (need root tabs) . And stay away from Elodea, terrible messy plant.

I must becoming old ohmy.gif

Dont know bout the old thing and planted enthusiasts (im 23 and planteds are my fave thing) but u definitely are wising up. Fish are boring. no real chemistry involved with them, except ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Plants are the best, so much more chemistry involved; constant testing, pruning, fertilising (oh how i love calculating fert mixtures etc) Plants rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also do some reading on this american site Planted Tank Lots of info on planted tanks

[Newo]

Woah, thanks guys!

You've been helpful!

[timmy2422]

u r getting rid off shellies? Pft

[PHL]

I've used laterite and peat; the trick is to mix it with gravel (and use gravel, 2-4mm, not sand, as sand will compact and become anaerobic too easily) and lay about 1" at the bottom, then cover with 2" of gravel on top. Currently I like dark gravel as it hides a lot of sins (fish poop), as I rarely vac the gravel (why waste fertilizer?).

Get things started first before worrying about fretilizers; this will allow the plants to get established first, and help stop algae from getting a start. If you are serious, Flourish is relatively inexpensive as you use very little, although I'm currently trying the Sera (5L of it actually) as I like to change once a while. You need fish and fish poop, unless you want to go the Potassium Nitrate route.

Lighting and plants you grow are inter-related; more lights, a wider variety of plants (and red ones too) can be grown, but be prepared to prune more. Java Fern is adaptable to both high and low light; in high light, it grows like weeds (hence my selling them off every so often). If you want more decorative, Windelov variety of Java Fern is nice and will work in low light. I also like Echinodorus for a splash of colour (you will be restricted to the shorter varieties, and need a lot of light and CO2). There are many varieties of Crypts, which I have found to be easy to grow, as are Corkscrew Vals. Bolbitis and Anubias work in low light too. If you like flower, my Aponogeton Elongatus seems to be always flowering (and no, it hasn't gone into dormancy at all in the 18 months I've had it, and it's dividing every 6-8 months). In my tanks, Bacopa, Ludwigia, Ceratopteris, Pogostemon, Hygros and Ambulia grow like weeds, and I have to prune every two weeks to keep them in check and looking presentable (and consequently I have removed a lot of them over time).

You don't need CO2 unless you have a lot of light and fertilizers (as then CO2 becomes the limiting nutrient in the tank, and you will breed algae).

Also you don't need a lot of filtration, but need a lot of water flow; I use a canister filter, but remove most of the media. The plants will take up ammonia directly, so no need for the bacteria; in setting up a 4' and 3' tanks, I monitored the ammonia and nitrite over a 2 week period, without any showing up (the 3' was a goldfish tank, and they went in at day 3, which is a bit early, but I had mature plants from my other tanks). With low water flow, you will have algae in stagnant areas.