First Planted Tank Advice

[DrizzleWizzle]

Hi guys. Long time lurker, first time poster. Nice to meet you all.

I've been out of the aquarium hobby for about 10 years, and I'm setting up a 20 gallon tank after Christmas. There's information all over the web about how to set up an unplanted tank, and I've read a good chunk of it. I've had some trouble, however, finding info about planted tank setup.

I've been looking at options, and I'd really like to set up a low-tech, low-light planted tank. I'm planning on keeping a small shoal of bandit cories, and a some guppies. As I said, I have a 20 gallon tank and it has a stand and a normal light fixture.

This is your opportunity to help me Pimp My Tank. What would you do if you were in my situation? What would you recommend to a quasi-beginner like me?

I have about a billion questions, and after reading a series of horror stories, I'm nervous about listening to the employees at my LFS.
So... here goes nothing!

Books

Before I really get into things, is there a book that you would recommend for a beginning planted tank keeper? Something that would help me with the basics, without assuming I know, well, anything about plants and planted tanks? What have you had success with?

Cycling

I don't know any other fishkeepers in the area who can offer me seed material, so I'm starting from scratch (unless I can find some Bio-Spira).

Can I add plants immediately, after dechlorinating my tap water? Or, like fish, should I wait until the cycle is finished to add them? (If I do use Bio-Spira, I assume I can immediately add both plants and a few fish... yes?)

If I add plants immediately, will that help with the cycle? Will they bring the ammonia/nitrite processing bacteria with them from the LFS tanks? Or are they more likely to bring other, harmful organisms with them?

Plant Selection

Since this is my first tank after a long break, I'd like to stick with a low-tech, low-light setup. Just normal lighting fixtures, avoiding CO2 injection and other crazy machinery. Some basic fertilizers would be okay, but I'm don't want to fool with tons of chemicals and the like.

I've read that Java Fern, Java Moss, Crypts and Anubias satisfy these conditions. Is this accurate? Would they be good "starter plants" for somebody setting up his first planted tank? Does anybody have suggestions other than these plants?

Substrate

With this type of setup, would a gravel substrate be okay? Or would sand or one of the other fancy plant substrates be better?

Filters

Before I decided on plants, I was planing on a two filter system, with an undergravel and a hang on the back power filter. But now I've heard that undergravels aren't generally used with plants -- and would certainly be inappropriate if I go with a sand substrate.

What types of filters are best used with planted tanks? What types would be appropriate for a 20 gallon tank? And if there is no undergravel filter, do I need to clean substrate when doing a partial water change?



Thanks in advance for any help/advice you have to offer. I really appreciate any input you have -- even if you tell me that I'd do better to go with plastic and silks!

 

[dapellegrini]

Welcome!

Books - Perhaps someone else can make a recommendation here. My thought is this forum is all you would need. Much better than most books IMO. Don't trust the LFS is a good rule of thumb...

Cycling - Add plants right away. They will help you establish your tank.

Plant Selection - Those all sound like good low-tech, low-light plants

Substrate - You can go with a gravel or sand, but I would recommend getting a good plant substrate (Eco-Complete or Flourite) not a lot more money for a 20g, and will give you more options as you grow into things and want to explore higher lighting, different plants.

Filter - A HOB would be fine, and a lot of people use them. I would recommend a canister from personal experience, but either would be fine. You will probably want to remove any filter media that has carbon in it - and replace with filter floss and maybe some bioballs. I would avoid an undergravel filter.

I'm sure you are going to get a lot more advice from others here. Be sure to post pics as you go through the setup!

 

[rkilling1]

This is your opportunity to help me Pimp My Tank. What would you do if you were in my situation? What would you recommend to a quasi-beginner like me?

The first thing I would do is read through the stickies in this forum.

Books

Before I really get into things, is there a book that you would recommend for a beginning planted tank keeper? Something that would help me with the basics, without assuming I know, well, anything about plants and planted tanks? What have you had success with?

I agree with Dan on this one. I do not own any plant books and have gained most of my knowledge from this forum.

Cycling

I don't know any other fishkeepers in the area who can offer me seed material, so I'm starting from scratch (unless I can find some Bio-Spira).

Can I add plants immediately, after dechlorinating my tap water? Or, like fish, should I wait until the cycle is finished to add them? (If I do use Bio-Spira, I assume I can immediately add both plants and a few fish... yes?)

If I add plants immediately, will that help with the cycle? Will they bring the ammonia/nitrite processing bacteria with them from the LFS tanks? Or are they more likely to bring other, harmful organisms with them?

With a low light setup, it would be beneficial to add plants ASAP. If the plants came from a established tank, then they will have the bacteria on them that will help you cycle your tank.

Make sure you inspect the plants for hitchhikers, namely snails and snail eggs.

Plant Selection

Since this is my first tank after a long break, I'd like to stick with a low-tech, low-light setup. Just normal lighting fixtures, avoiding CO2 injection and other crazy machinery. Some basic fertilizers would be okay, but I'm don't want to fool with tons of chemicals and the like.

I've read that Java Fern, Java Moss, Crypts and Anubias satisfy these conditions. Is this accurate? Would they be good "starter plants" for somebody setting up his first planted tank? Does anybody have suggestions other than these plants?

Those sound good depending on the light fixture that comes with your tank. I would look for/make sure you have around 1 WPG to start with.

Here is a good resource for light specific plants:

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter_by=2

Substrate

With this type of setup, would a gravel substrate be okay? Or would sand or one of the other fancy plant substrates be better?

The better the substrate, the better your plants will grow. I have sand and can grow anything that I have tried, but it is a known fact that plants grow faster when provided with both water column ferts and substrate ferts. That being said, the difference between water column dosing and substrate dosing as compared to plant growth, you will get more growth from just water column dosing as compared to just substrate dosing.

Filters

Before I decided on plants, I was planing on a two filter system, with an undergravel and a hang on the back power filter. But now I've heard that undergravels aren't generally used with plants -- and would certainly be inappropriate if I go with a sand substrate.

What types of filters are best used with planted tanks? What types would be appropriate for a 20 gallon tank? And if there is no undergravel filter, do I need to clean substrate when doing a partial water change?

Agreed that a UGF should be avoided. A HOB filter will be fine for your situation.

 

[Jchillin]

Hate to sound like an echo chamber but what has been mentioned is quite true. I learned nearly everything I know about planted tanks from the information and members here at AA.

I will emphasize the advice about reading the stickies. This will get your feet firmly planted (no pun intended) and you will be off to the races. I highly recommend the lighting sticky since you have a 20 gal and light levels are tricky with that size.

Naturally, if you hit a snag, don't hesitate to ask questions here.

 

[Zezmo]

Welcome to AA,
As others have said, this is a great place to find planted tank info, from the very basics all the way to very advanced discussions on plant physiology. If I were to buy one book...this forum is that book. Also, the info in the stickies is very much follows the "modern" line of thinking as far as running a successful planted aquarium.
The problem with books is that this is a rapidly evolving hobby and they tend to become dated very quickly. That said, some good books to consider are "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" by Diana Walstad, "The Natural Aquarium Handbook" by , and a quick read, but with a nice plant ID section is "Aquarium Plants manual" also by Innes Scheurman. Another good source of information are the DVDs sold by the AGA - Aquatic Growers Association.

Rkilling and dapellegrini, as usual, has given some very solid advice. I wish to add to that by saying that while a specialty substrate is preferred for planted tanks. If you already have gravel in the tank, then you are fine to use it. Especially if we are talking low light. Anubias, Java Fern, and Moss do not use the substrate at all. And, Cryptocoryns do fine with a root tab under them.

I have a 20 gallon tank and it has a stand and a normal light fixture.

I suspect this is your first limiting factor. A "normal" light fixture for a 20g is usually an 18 watt normal fluorescent bulb with a white reflector. This is probably only enough light to grow Moss well. The other "normal" fixture on a 20g tank has 1 or 2 screw-in incandescent bulb which might not be enough even for the moss.
If (hopefully) you have the fluorescent type, then adding a second fixture with the same type of 18watt bulb should get you enough light for the Anubias, Ferns, and Crypts. If the incandescent type, maybe see if you can replace the bulbs with screw-in compact fluorescents. Take a good look at your lighting, and read up on the lighting stickies. This may be the first thing you have to upgrade.

 

[Mosaic]

I would start out with a good light fixture to begin with, since this is going to be a "planted tank" and not just a "tank with plants". Get my meaning? You'll soon want to keep more and more species (don't deny it; that's how the disease progresses. there is no known cure), and if you go with stock lighting you won't be able to. Hellolights.com has compact flourescent Aqualight fixtures that could fit your tank for less than $100 (they're great; I have one for both planted and reef tanks and I love them). If you stick with a reasonable wattage, you could really open up your options without needing to mess around with CO2 and ferts. Many of us don't do high-tech tanks either, but still have a satisfying variety of plants. IMO, just crypts, anubias, and java fern/moss isn't very exciting in the long run. Believe me, I tried it, and that tank's getting torn down today. It's not a bad place to start though. It won't be the end of it though, trust me.

I also second the Walstad book! I've had a lot of success with that method.

 

[physicsdude]

I own a few books on plants. The first is Aquarium Plants Manual by Ines Schiermann. It is a good beginner's book. It gives coverage of most of the plants one would find at the lfs. Another good one is The New Aquarium Handbook by the same author mentioned before. Long before I discovered this forum, this was my "bible"- it gave excellent advice on how to cultivate, divide, pearl, and provide ferts for plants. I used it with tremendous success on all my planted tanks over the years.

Cycling is easy. Just add some gravel from an established tank. Or, cycle using this as a guide:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?dept_id=0&aid=652

Plants are easy. You can keep any that your heart desires. All can be kept and should be kept. To cycle a tank with, I would recommend that you start with a small Amazon sword with maybe some anacharis. This site might help give you some tips:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pCatId=768

Filters are the backbone of the aquarium. You can never have enough filtration in my opinion. Aquaclear filters and Fluval canisters are my two personal favorites. You cna get the former cheap using a print-out sheet of the online price at the local Petsmart, where they price-match. The fluvals can be found cheap on ebay nowadays.

This page has been extremely helpful over the years to properly set-up and maintain the planted aquarium:
http://www.aquariumconnection.com/freshsol/fwsoln10.html

Also, ask us! This forum is full of people who have a passion for aquariums with many years of experience, usually by trial and error, to assist fellow aquarists.

Hope this helps!

 

[DrizzleWizzle]

Thanks for the advice and links, everybody. I'm starting to get a pretty good grasp of my wish list. Pretty soon it'll be down to pricing, buying, and (finally!) setting things up.

The lighting suggestions have been well-taken. I'm looking into some new fixtures other than my current, one-bulb hood.

Once I have things up and running, i.e. after the holidays, I'll be sure to post some pics... probably more for my own benefit, as I'll be needing some aquascaping advice.