Back to the basics.

[missie]

Hey Everyone. Ive recently been thinking about adding real plants to my 20 gallon tank. Its been running for over year and is home to 6 rummy nose tetra, 5 guppies and a bottom feeder(not sure of species). I am starting this thread to hear from the people that have planted tanks and can talk about the very basics a beginner should know before having a planted tank, to hear pros and cons of planted tanks, and to learn which plants are the best under specific conditions. So, yes..thats alot for one thread but Im trying to keep all the info in one easy to reach place so I can do it right the 1st time! Thanks! All comments and opinions welcome!

_Erin_

 

[fishfanatic]

One of the biggest thing in my opinion is getting a good light, for a planted tank the light is not the thing to skimp on. I personally would recommend T5-HO light fixtures. But seriously get the best light you can afford, it will save you money in the long run (one expensive light will he cheaper than buying several cheaper lights, during the process of 'upgrading').

 

[BHead707]

One of the biggest thing in my opinion is getting a good light, for a planted tank the light is not the thing to skimp on. I personally would recommend T5-HO light fixtures. But seriously get the best light you can afford, it will save you money in the long run (one expensive light will he cheaper than buying several cheaper lights, during the process of 'upgrading').

i agree because people always start with low lights but arent satisfied until they grow everything. there are plenty of low lihgt plants that can grow with very minimal light but they don't grow vary fast and people get bored of them

 

[missie]

Don't skimp on lights..check! lol
how much do t5's run?

 

[BHead707]

ive had this fixture(the 2 bulb one) for 4 months and have no complaints

T5-HO Light

 

[missie]

ive had this fixture(the 2 bulb one) for 4 months and have no complaints

T5-HO Light

Awesome! what kind of plants do you have?

 

[BHead707]

anubias, java fern, amazon swords, java moss, crypt lutea, micro sword, and jungle vals( i think thats all).

the amazon swords i have seen little growth from. but all of the other plants are doing well.

 

[rkilling1]

The first thing I would do is figure out what type of planted tank you want and how much time you want to spend working on it.

This will determine what type of lighting you should purchase. I wouldn't dive in head first with purchasing a powerful light until you understand what you want.

 

[fishfanatic]

The first thing I would do is figure out what type of planted tank you want and how much time you want to spend working on it.

This will determine what type of lighting you should purchase. I wouldn't dive in head first with purchasing a powerful light until you understand what you want.

+1... I like to buy before I think (one of my many flaws). Make a list of plants that you like and base your equipment around that

 

[BHead707]

+1... I like to buy before I think (one of my many flaws). Make a list of plants that you like and base your equipment around that

almost guaranteed she will change her mind about the plants she wants or will want to add more, thus causing a change in the needed equipment. a decent light setup will allow her to grow plenty of plants and can stay with her throughout the evolution of the tank

 

[aqua_chem]

As a personal rule, I do not recommend T5HO on smaller tanks for beginning plant keepers. They can be a deceptively high amount of light that can lead to unnecessary effort.

I would consider looking into T5NO lights, or find a T5HO fixture that can run only one bulb. A single T8 may very well be enough to grow low light species if everything else is attended to.

 

[Donkey Gun]

2-14w cfl daylight bulbs...

 

[Eleven13]

anubias, java fern, amazon swords, java moss, crypt lutea, micro sword, and jungle vals( i think thats all).

the amazon swords i have seen little growth from. but all of the other plants are doing well.

Do your micro swords carpet for you?

I got some when I first planted my tank with the hopes that they would carpet, but after about 2ish months now they've done nothing but grow upwards (and not by a whole lot). They look nice, but I think that I may need more light and CO2 which I plan on starting soon if I have any hopes at a carpet

Do you know if they have T5 light strips that would fit a standard 10 gallon tank hood?

 

[BHead707]

Do your micro swords carpet for you?

I got some when I first planted my tank with the hopes that they would carpet, but after about 2ish months now they've done nothing but grow upwards (and not by a whole lot). They look nice, but I think that I may need more light and CO2 which I plan on starting soon if I have any hopes at a carpet

Do you know if they have T5 light strips that would fit a standard 10 gallon tank hood?

from what ive been told you need co2 to get a good carpet and im not running it. ive only had them for a short amount of time and havent seen much progress from them


also OP aqua_chem has helped me multiple times and it has always been good advice so i recommend listening to him

 

[aqua_chem]

Do your micro swords carpet for you?

I got some when I first planted my tank with the hopes that they would carpet, but after about 2ish months now they've done nothing but grow upwards (and not by a whole lot). They look nice, but I think that I may need more light and CO2 which I plan on starting soon if I have any hopes at a carpet

Do you know if they have T5 light strips that would fit a standard 10 gallon tank hood?

There are some wonky 20" T5HO hoods available, but getting replacement bulbs for them is a pain as only one company makes them, and if that brand of bulb happens to suck, then.....


Microswords are kind of an interesting case. They are a little more low-light tolerant than other foreground species, but they are also a sloooooow grower even with CO2, ferts, and light.

 

[Eleven13]

from what ive been told you need co2 to get a good carpet and im not running it. ive only had them for a short amount of time and havent seen much progress from them


also OP aqua_chem has helped me multiple times and it has always been good advice so i recommend listening to him

Yeah, if you're in the same boat as me, you won't see a whole lot of progress from them, although they should stay looking nice at least

There are some wonky 20" T5HO hoods available, but getting replacement bulbs for them is a pain as only one company makes them, and if that brand of bulb happens to suck, then.....


Microswords are kind of an interesting case. They are a little more low-light tolerant than other foreground species, but they are also a sloooooow grower even with CO2, ferts, and light.

Hmm, are there any other options to increase my lighting outside of that then? I would be willing to give it a shot if not, since unfortunately I can't find literally anything that can further increase my lighting with the T8 set up I have now

And yeah the micro swords have grown extremely slow, I do dose with PlantGro (switching to Flourish Comp. this week) and have a root tab underneath them, and I'm going to set up DIY CO2 next week. I'm also thinking about switching from my gravel substrate to sand, but I'll have to plan that out more to see how I could do it effectively without killing everything! I'm hoping that maybe if I can get a little higher lighting and CO2 set up (with possibly sand instead of gravel) I can finally get them to carpet for me.

 

[missie]

2-14w cfl daylight bulbs...

WOW, i love your plants they are beautiful~

 

[missie]

Do your micro swords carpet for you?

I got some when I first planted my tank with the hopes that they would carpet, but after about 2ish months now they've done nothing but grow upwards (and not by a whole lot). They look nice, but I think that I may need more light and CO2 which I plan on starting soon if I have any hopes at a carpet

Do you know if they have T5 light strips that would fit a standard 10 gallon tank hood?

What does carpet mean?

 

[missie]

The first thing I would do is figure out what type of planted tank you want and how much time you want to spend working on it.

This will determine what type of lighting you should purchase. I wouldn't dive in head first with purchasing a powerful light until you understand what you want.

well, as a newbie interested in plants I have no idea what my options are as far as "type of planted tank" what are my options..lol

 

[Eleven13]

What does carpet mean?

"Carpet" simply means that the plants spread out to cover the substrate, just like a rug does over a floor.

A (beautiful) example would be something like this: