How do you plan your planted tanks? need advice

[jaketetra28]

I see some amazing planted tanks, and I'm wondering how you start planing planning when you start them. I'm getting ready to set up my 75g community, whack is going to be planted. Im waiting on my canister filter and a large piece of DW from Dr.F &S.

My question is how do you guys/gals plan your planted tanks? I've been trying on paper for like the last 4 days, and I can't do it Nothing I write/plan makes sense because I can only picture it so much because this will be my first planted tank.

Do any of you rough scape by placing your main items in your tank and then going from there?

Any advice for planning, and drawing will be 100% greatly appreciated, and I mean it!!!

 

[Brookster123]

Look at pictures and ask questions..if I see something I like in someone's tank I ask what it is.. sometimes they'll even say.. hey I have some trimmings.. want some??

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[philipraposo198]

First main factors are weather your going high tech or not. Also what's your budget.

Hardscape is always first, at least it should be. Once satisfied you can start with plants that suit your tank setup whether high or low tech.

More important for a rookie to planted tanks is understanding balance and nutrients and how to grow healthy plants. Also realizing the limits of your setup or your abilities.

Its not fu. To spend hundreds on plants and plant them.all only to realize you haven't a clue on how to take care of them.

IMO fish are the easy part of the hobby, plants are far more demanding.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[jaketetra28]

First main factors are weather your going high tech or not. Also what's your budget.

Hardscape is always first, at least it should be. Once satisfied you can start with plants that suit your tank setup whether high or low tech.

More important for a rookie to planted tanks is understanding balance and nutrients and how to grow healthy plants. Also realizing the limits of your setup or your abilities.

Its not fu. To spend hundreds on plants and plant them.all only to realize you haven't a clue on how to take care of them.

IMO fish are the easy part of the hobby, plants are far more demanding.

It's going to be a low tech tank, for a while. I'm looking into dosing metricide/glut because the price of co2 is not an option right now and excel/etc. isn't worth it for a 75g tank. I will be doing ferts when it's set up, probably dry because I've heard they last way longer, you just have to do your research (Reading here Understanding Aquarium Fertilizer & Planted Tank Fertilization Methods and Calculators | Planted Aquarium Blog – Green Leaf Aquariums).

Right now the budget it little to none for plants, for the first part my tank isn't even set up as I'm waiting for my filter and large piece of driftwood, and then will come the substrate + heater etc., and secondly I'm saving up for my light which will be the Finnex Fugeray Planted + and with doing research and talking to people on this forum I will be put into the low/medium-low spectrum with my tank height being 18".

After that there really is no 'budget' because I'm looking at "working" up to a fully planted tank, and by that I mean obv. planting my tank and adding more plants and adjusting my tank as I go along.

^^^ hope that makes sense ...

 

[Brookster123]

Sounds like your off to a good start, like Phillip said, finding a balance with the plants in your tank can be a bit tricky at times.. don't be afraid to ask questions..post a pic of a plant to ask why it looks the way it does?? A lot of pain and planted suffering can be prevented by the knowledge of certain individuals on the forum..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[jaketetra28]

That's great that I'm on the right start !

Brookster do you run CO2?

Is CO2 worth it for a low-medium tank?? I could honestly just use metricide-14 for the first bit and save up for CO2 and another planted+ fixture and add them later

 

[Brookster123]

That's great that I'm on the right start !

Brookster do you run CO2?

Is CO2 worth it for a low-medium tank?? I could honestly just use metricide-14 for the first bit and save up for CO2 and another planted+ fixture and add them later

I do not rum co2, I dose a ton of metricide though with excellent results.. i will eventually run co2 on my 40b, diy co2 for now but I doubt it will do much in that big of a tank..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[philipraposo198]

I don't even dose glut or excel, I have no desire for high tech or insane fast growth. I would rather just buy more plants and enjoy watching rather than always working

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Khuligirl93]

If I were you I would use a substrate like floramax or ecocomplete, just to cover your bases if you decide you want it later on because substrate changes are a pain in the rear.
Secondly, a good fertilizer combination for low tech is API leaf zone + Seachem flourish comprehensive if you don't end up doing dry ferts.
As far as plants go, my recommendation would be to play it safe and only get very low light plants. It's just discouraging when things die on you. I would suggest amazon swords, all kinds of crypts, anubias, java ferns, and mosses. You can make a beautiful scape out of these in combination with driftwood and rocks


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[philipraposo198]

Problem with the plants you suggest is that they are slow growing. This makes it very hard to fill up tanks and propagate new plants.

Fast growers is key with new planted tanks to avoid algae. They outcompete and win most times. Good luck finding Asian ambulia with algae on it! But mosses anubias ect. Ferns, tend to gather more algae.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Khuligirl93]

Fast growing also normally means that they need more light, ferts, and CO2.
If you get fast growing plants and don't give them all they need in these areas, they're going to have deficiencies. I have first hand experience with this and it was not pretty.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[jaketetra28]

philipraposo198, I was in another thread (about a 125g) and saw a pic of your tank.

What plant is in the back right corner?



It looks really cool, and I really want to look into it!


Sent from my iPhone A1533 using Aquarium Advice

 

[nshepler]

That looks like a val


May the force be with you.

 

[jaketetra28]

Yeah I think it is jungle val, thanks for the help!


Sent from my iPhone A1533 using Aquarium Advice

 

[mattcham]

Jungle Val's can melt with excel/metricide I think. Be careful when dosing glut.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[jaketetra28]

Thanks I didn't know that, If I get jungle val I'll have to be careful!


Sent from my iPhone A1533 using Aquarium Advice

 

[mattcham]

Thanks I didn't know that, If I get jungle val I'll have to be careful!


Sent from my iPhone A1533 using Aquarium Advice

The plants that have been known to melt with standard excel dosing are Val's, mosses, and anacharis, although these plants can survive if the glut dose is ramped up slowly over a few weeks.

I don't know if glut stunts the growth of these plants even if they survive. Anybody know?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app