How to set up a planted fish tank

Question

I have used plastic plants for all for my tanks, but I want to try to convert my empty 29 gallon tank to a tank with REAL plants!

1. What kind of substrate should I use? I have gravel, but should I use something else? And how much of it?

2. What are some easy plants to start off with?

3. What kind of light will I need?

4. What fish should I stay away from?

5. What is CO2 injection?

6. Any fish to stay away from wiht a planted fish tank?

7. Any helpful guides/websites for setting up a planted fish tank

thanks!

Answer 1

It is not very difficult. You can certainly use gravel, but I also suggest using a layer of laterite or fluorite of 1/2" at the very bottom. The put your gravel on top for a layer of about 1.5". Planted tanks usually require thicker gravel for the roots to grow into.

Some easy plants are vals, wysteria, java ferns, java moss, moss balls, anubias etc. You will mostly want to start out with quick growing plants that will allow your tank to establish. Wysteria are great for that.

Depending on the plants you are getting will determine what you need for lights. Typically you will want 1-2 watts per gallon for your plants. I would suggest using T5HO lights for your tank. Many plants like the java ferns and moss, and anubias don't require high lights, but when getting into more difficult plants that do require good lighting, you will need extra wattage.

Stay away from herbivorous fish. And apple snails. Even gold fish love to nibble on plants. But for the most part fish like severum's and other herbivores you want to avoid. Tetras, and other schooling fish love planted tanks, and will not eat the plants. Other fish including german blue rams, and apistogramma's also are great for the planted tank.

CO2 injection is where you supply the tank with added CO2 in the form of yeast, or a pressurized system. Again depending on what plants, how many, and what lighting you use will determine if it is necessary. Typically though the more light you have, the more CO2 you will need, since the plants will uptake nutrients at faster rates. For a 29 gallon I would recommend the yeast method. You can buy a system by hagen called the natural plant system, which comes with a bubble ladder. I would throw away the packets and use your own mix of sugar to the first level, then 1/4tsp yeast, then fill to the second line with water. If you have soft water though, you will want to add some baking soda to the mix. You can also supplement plants with seachem's flourish excel if they need extra CO2, which I suggest with one CO2 unit.

Here is some great sites for starting your first planted tank http://www.rexgrigg.com/  http://plantgeek.net/plantguide_all_gall...

Answer 2

Alyssa pretty much summed it up, but I'll add on any extra details that I can.

1. Flourite, Eco-Complete, and ADA AquaSoil Amazonia II seems to be the top 3 most popular substrates. But you could also use plain gravel or sand and stick some root tablets in so the plants can get their nutrients.

2. Java Fern, any type of aquatic moss, Anubias species, Vallisneria species, Anacharis, Cabomba, most Cryptcoryne species, Dwarf Sag, basically anything on these lists: http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list...

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list...

3. T5 HO, T8, T12 VHO, Metal Halide, and Power Compact are good lights to have in a planted tank. Here's a chart listing the pro's and con's: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/articl...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/articl...

You'll want a bulb in the 5000 Kelvin to 8000 Kelvin range. Don't get 15000K like the above answer said, because anything above 10000K has too much blue for the plants. Plants prefer wavelengths with red, orange, yellow, and green in them.

4. Oscar, Monster Fish, African Cichlids, Knifefish, Goldfish, Pacu/Piranha, basically any fish that grows large (except for Discus and Angelfish, they're ok).

5. CO2 injection is injecting CO2 into your aquarium. You can do this DIY (do it yourself) or pressurized. DIY is cheaper, but you can't control it turning on and off. Pressurized is more expensive, but you can turn it on and off. You'll also need a way to diffuse the CO2. You can get a glass diffuser such as this: http://i17.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/93/d9/9c...

Or you can make your own reactor: http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2....

There are many diffusers out in the market, choose one that you think would be best.

Here's a link on DIY: http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Diyc...

Here's pressurized: http://www.rexgrigg.com/regset.html

http://www.njagc.net/articles/co2.htm

http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic...

6. See #4.

7. I'll put them in my source for you.

E-mail me for any questions!

Answer 3

1. What kind of substrate should I use? I have gravel, but should I use something else? And how much of it?

Flourite or Eco Complete are good substrates to use, but a small-grained substrate will also grow plants relatively well. Typical use is one inch along the bottom. that gives you enough room to plant your plants.

2. What are some easy plants to start off with?

Stem plants, water wisteria, water sprite, java fern, java moss...

3. What kind of light will I need?

A good one. lol...  Ok, typically, if you have a 30 gallon tank, you'll want to find a 65 watt light, like a Coralife compact florescent fixture would be pretty good for your tank.

4. What fish should I stay away from?

big, aggressive ciclids, goldfish, common plecos, silver dollars... For your first planted tank, you might just want to do a colorful school of tetras and a Bristlenose pleco.

5. What is CO2 injection?

CO2 injection is the process by which you put CO2 into your tank. there are a few ways to do this, I'll link a good website at the end of this.

6. Any fish to stay away from wiht a planted fish tank?

hehe...  see question 4

7. Any helpful guides/websites for setting up a planted fish tank

Yes! see http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ These guys are usually pretty helpful and there's a LOT of information if you use the search function.

Also see:

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2....

Edit: So far, everyone who has responded has given you good advice!  I don't see why the one girl has received a thumbs down. It's still good advice...