First Planted Tank (probably doing it wrong)

[skibum100]

well first off ill state, i have done plenty of research on the web including this forum site regarding everything from what type of Lighting, to plants to substrates.

But i still need alittle bit more help i guess personalized to my tank:
It is a 20 gallon im trying to make switch from fake plants and pirate ships to grass lawns around a rock feature with swaying vals in the back, i have 6 Tbone rasboras 1 rainbowshark and 4 cory cats and a dwarf flame gourami (i know on high side of stocking i have an extra tank if gets bad) i am running two 20g HOB filters and just purchased an awesome big light! specifically it is a dual bulb T5o fixture 24" i have two 24watt bulbs going right now. I also have for substrate 30pounds of 3mm gravel mixed with alittle bit of sand. ive read over planting is best way to go but i am not sure how many plants is over planting? haha so i have 2 java fern 1 amazon sword this really long razor blade strand looking leaf plant/grass 4 mono grass 1 anubias 1 crypt 2 grass (look like dwarf hair grass) and 2 small ruffely leaf plants (it could maybe be like a baby jave fern).

So now before you tell me how im doing it all wrong (which i probably am) ill give you what id like to see, id love to have a grass "lawn" in the front on like a hill to my centeral focus point a white over hanging rock (there is also a smaller white rock on right side of tank so not just 1 rock) id like the foreground plants to be as small as possible and have mid range plants in range of 4-6" with background plants being 12". But as previously stated i dont know how many plants i should plant or really how to plant them just dig alittle hole in gravel put roots in and cover it with gravel? which leads to my next question should i change substrates to like a dirt or sand? i want the fish to be able to swim around too though and i get concerned that with all plants clustered will fish not be able to swim through them? all and any help is wanted and needed even if it doesnt address my questions anything is helpful. and please please please id love some plant suggestions for a FIRST time planter.

Thank you! man without AA i would be so clueless with my fishtanks

ps i also have ability to turn off 1 bulb so if 50 watts is to much form me A BEGINNER to deal with i can just have 1 24 watt T5o running. and also if you dont think they should be in the tank i have 7 days (so quick response is very helpful) to return the plants for store credit so i can swap for a new plant! Thanks again!

 

[the_fish_man]

I would have to say the best substrate for planted aquariums is sand or
eco complete. If you want a link I can give you one. And you can pretty much keep tons of plants in your aquarium and your fish will still have room but you will have to cut your plants constantly. So if you don't want to cut your plants so much you could do some more research on the plants and see how big they get and see if they would work in you aquarium.

 

[the_fish_man]

Oh ya I forgot to say you can just dig a little hole and bury the roots in it and make sure it doesn't come up. Like get uprooted.

 

[the_fish_man]

Oh and dwarf hair grass would look more like grass but you would have to cut it often with star grass you wouldn't but that doesn't look as good for grass as dwarf hair grass

 

[skibum100]

sweet thanks, yea that link would be awesome

i have researched alot of plants made a full list of exactly what i wanted i went to 4 different fish stores (drove like an hour to get to the last one) and between all 4 stores they had 3 of the plants on my list haha. So i had to do some quick in store research and bought the rest of what i now have...do you think i should plant alot more plants or is this good? there is still a lot alot of gravel showing

and finally sorry for the beraiding of questions do you know how to create the "lawn" appearance? how many plants should i get to plant a "lawn"? ive looked at pygmy chainsword microsword dwarfhairgrass and dwarf babytears any suggestions for which type of carpet plant would be good for me?

 

[the_fish_man]

Here is the link this is the gravel I have but they have it in red and in brown.
Eco-Complete Plant Substrate

And then on the lawn do you have a picture of what you want because all those plants are good but it depends how you want it to look.

 

[the_fish_man]

Oh you also can plant some more plants

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

i planted and filled my first "planted aquarium" May 7th of this year. i used ADA Aquasoil for the substrate and absolutely love it, and so do the plants. it costs more up front, and you'd have a cycle either way (new or converted tank) as the Aquasoil leeches ammonia. but the plants love it, and in my experience show some great growth during this time.

the way i went about figuring my layout and number of plants to use, was to simply look at picture after picture. i used a lot of member pics on this site, google'd a bunch, and youtube'd a bunch as well. it allows you to kinda say "well if that was my tank i'd keep this but change that.."; helps you decide what you like and don't like visually. so when the time to plant comes, you already know where everything goes.

 

[StuG]

You mentioned "mono Grass". You don't mean "Mondo Grass" do you? Reason I'm asking is because thatone isn't a true aquatic. Does awesome as a marginal plant in a pond situation, but won't survive fully submerged.
As for your grass lawn feature, your best bet is going to be to find a mat of grass. I *think* sweetaquatics.com sells hairgrass in mats, and also when Severum/HN1 put plants up for sale I think they have grass mats for sale also (microsword pieces if memory serves correctly).

 

[skibum100]

yea it was mondo grass and that would explain why its struggling but thats okay i didnt particularly like the look of it that much. how much lighting should i put on the tank 12 hours? (i have 50 watts for 20 gallons). I also have question about planting how deep should i put roots of most plants? i know it varies for each species but like basic tips (i have close to 4" of substrate) i also added a couple more plants and put down some micro sword in the front i hear it covers "mats" the area its in by itself but i havent seen any runners yet nor do i really know how deep to plant it to a) keep it from floating and b) maximize health and reproduction.

thanks and i can put pictures up but honestly im alittle embarrassed all tanks online are goregous and mine is awesome through my own eyes because i love being like wow i created this but doesnt compare to majority of other planted tanks

 

[StuG]

how much lighting should i put on the tank 12 hours? (i have 50 watts for 20 gallons).

I think the general rule of thumb for this is about 2-3watts per gallon of water for most plants. Of course not all plants need that much light, eg. java fern, anubias, other low light plants can get by with much less. The amount of CO2 in your water is, I believe, also going to play a part in the equation too, but that's beyond my basic knowledge (I know quite a lot about terrestrial plants, but not the watery kind!!) maybe someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

I also have question about planting how deep should i put roots of most plants?

You're correct, this is going to depend on the species. Those with bulbs or tubers should be placed on top of the substrate, and basically allowed to grow into it. This also applies to rhizomatous plants such as Anubia.
Those with regular roots can be planted straight into the substrate, just burying the roots up to the crown of the plant. Basically, the white parts buried, the green parts not

thanks and i can put pictures up but honestly im alittle embarrassed all tanks online are goregous and mine is awesome through my own eyes because i love being like wow i created this but doesnt compare to majority of other planted tanks

I'm pretty sure it would put mine to shame! Also, IMO the only opinion that really matters when it comes to the aesthetics of a tank are yours and it's inhabitants. Everybody has their own idea about what looks good, so if you think your tank looks awesome, then your tank looks awesome!

 

[LostLoach]

hey guys im new to the forum so this will be my first post. im wanting to convert a 55 gallon tank to a planted 55 gallon tank theres fish already in it and its been set up for about a year how do i go about switching the substrate with a more plant friendly one? also what is the best substrate to use im looking for a dark color like black or maybe brown and what lighting am i looking at for 55 gallon medium planted?
Thanks-david

 

[krap101]

You're probably going to want around 130w or so of light, so you'll have the most flexibility without having to add co2 if you don't want to. If you can find Turface Pro league/MVP/Allsport in the grey color, it'll be pretty cheap, maybe 10-20$ to cover your entire tank. Otherwise eco complete or ada aquasoil would work, depending on how much you want to spend. When you swap substrates, you'll probably want to watch for a mini cycle. How big it is depends on how much surface area you have in your filter and how many plants you have.

 

[Crepe]

Mondo isn't an aquatic unfortunately. However! I have the same lighting as you do and can grow just about anything. Blyxa Japonica resembles mondo and is an obligate aquatic plant. With that light you better set up CO2. I can answer some questions you may have...

8 hours to grow things right. 6 hours to reduce maintenance and algae once everything is grown in. The shorter your lighting period the slower but stronger your growth. Sagittaria Subulata also is simliar and is easier to keep than blyxa. I used to use PFS with diy root tabs which grew things very well...almost too well (too much dwarf hairgrass ahhhhh) and now I just use Caribsea Floramax with is cheaper than both seachem by 3 dollars and eco comp by 2 dollars.

 

[LostLoach]

thanks danny for your reply im wondering what does the turf do for the plants isnt it like rubber? and also if i want better lighting to sustain plant life do i have to buy a whole new hood or could i just get better bulbs? i just have like all stock right now..came with tank in the box and i not what are my options i have kind of a tight budget.?
thanks-david