Noob to plants

[Gboy66]

K so i just got my 40g and want it to be planted. I have a coralife 6000 k lightbulb for lighting and was wondering,
What gravel should i buy?
What plants would thrive?
Do i need fertilizers or somthing?
Do the plants make the tank dirtier or cleaner?
And any extra info would be appreciated

 

[Gboy66]

No one??no help?

 

[redsea]

You don't have to buy sand but IMO I think it looks really nice. I am new to plants too, so I can't help with the other questions. Good luck

 

[Ozydego]

Been studying and creating a heavily planted tank now for a month and have learned a ton. Here is my experience so far. I started with just plain gravel, most will say go with the nutrient substrate, but it is very expensive, $30 for 25 lbs at my lfs, and my 55 gal needed 75 lbs... $100 for gravel alone was too much....

The great news is my plants are showing HUGE growth with 64 watts of 6500k lighting which is a little over 1 watt per gal. I want more later, but right now it works. I also dosed some water column fertilizer, use seachem flourish root tabs and DIY Co2. If I had to guess, the root tabs and Co2 are making the biggest difference.

I have been fish less cycling for a month now and I have yet to see any algae and I run my lights upwards of 12 hours a day, which is supposed to be an algae magnet but I think all the plants are keeping it at bay, so they definitely make the water and tank cleaner. They also use nitrates which is the end product of the nitrate cycle that fish ammonia start. This is also great because it keeps the fish healthier.

I think a planted tank is an awesome thing and highly recommend it... Just because I like to brag, here is a current pic of my tank

 

[Ozydego]

Oh, plants I like are crypts, the darker bush at the left in front of the DW, the Italian leopard Val, which are the long blades at the back left and middle, ambulia is the one in the corners and the Anubias is really pretty, which is at the front right... It has a really nice green that I like

First pic is the crypt wendtii, second is the ambulia, third is the leopard Val and 4th is the anubias

 

[Gboy66]

Wow thanks!! Now since im a newbie, what are root tabs and co2? What they do and cost?

 

[Ozydego]

Root tabs are pellets of fertilizer the go down under the gravel and "feed" the plants for 4-6 months. I use the brand seachem flourish tabs... They are $8-$10 for 10 tabs and I use all 10 at a time in my 55 gallon tank, the are supposed to be spread out 2-3 inches from each other, I might have needed 1or 2 more, but I just spaced mine evenly and it seems to work well.

As far as Co2, look up the term DIY Co2 and read a lot about it before you do it. DIY stands for do it yourself and involves fermenting yeast because they give off Co2. It actually kinda fun, but can make a huge mess if the bottle were ever to explode... Hence reading a lot about it first.

 

[JoeBob]

Just to throw my OPINION out there! I have jungle veil, cabamba, scarlet velvet, amazon sword, java fern, and some java moss in my 55 gal and I'm very low tech with 2 18" aqueon full spectrum 8000k T8's. I don't use co2 or fertilizer so my plants don't grow like weeds, except the cabamba, but they do look healthy and grow enough to trim and re-root so IMO/IME you can have plants without spending a lot of $ on the extras, HOWEVER, you will pretty much get out what you put in like most things in life. Here's a couple pics so you can see the difference between having some plants that are low maint. and having the fantastic planted tank many other people have with the extra time and investment - Good luck in your endevour!

 

[BBradbury]

Planted Tanks

Good morning Gboy...

A planted tank isn't "rocket science" as long as you avoid demanding plants. Here are the basics as I know them: 1 to 2 watts of light per gallon of tank size is enough for most aquatic plants. Yes, I still use the "Watts per Gallon Rule", because it's easy for me.

Look for a bulb or bulbs if your hood will accomodate more than one, in the 6500 K range. This color of bulb best mimics natural daylight which is 5500 K. A T5, T8 or T12 will all do the job. The T5 is best for a multiple bulb setup.

Set your lighting on a timer for 12 hours on and 12 off. Aquatic plants are tropical and used to long hours of daylight.

Dose some good fertilizers at least a couple of times per week. Yes, more than one, plants are like any other living thing, they're healthier with a variety of foods.

These are the basics. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me any time. I'm never too busy to talk about planted tanks.

Above everything, have fun!

B

 

[Gboy66]

Hmm okay guys/gals thanks souch for all the help!!!! So i think ill get some fertilizer, liquid kind? But i still have the question, do all those plants promote more algea? I had a slightly planted 10g for a while, but took most out beacuse i had ton clean it all the time! Also i think i have a t8 6000k, good enough or no?

 

[BBradbury]

More on Planted Tanks

Hello again...

I use liquid plant ferts. To me, they're easy to dose and easy on the wallet. I like ferts from the local hydroponics store. The company is called "Earth Juice". I specifically like "Grow" and "Micro Blast".

You have two types of fertilizers you need to dose: Macro and micro. The macro are easy, the plants get those from routine water changes and from fish waste. The micro need to come from a commercial source like "Earth Juice". You can also use dry ferts. I never have, but they're available.

A lot of plants will use up any available nutrients and starve out the algae. I have essentially no algae in my tanks because I have a jungle under water.

The T8, 6000 K bulb will work.

 

[Gboy66]

Wow awesome do i get micro online? It expensive

 

[BBradbury]

Planted Tanks

Hello...

You can start by "Googleing" Micro plant fertilizer or something similar or you can Google "Earth Juice" if you want to look into using what I use. There are a lot of aquarium plant ferts on the market.

B

 

[Gboy66]

K thanks alot!!

 

[Gboy66]

Also, is co2 necessary? Costs alott

 

[jetajockey]

The simplest micro ferts to get would be the flourish comp. You may need macros as well.

Tap water often provides both micro and macronutrients, but in a well planted tank these nutrients are gone quickly. The fish provide nitrogen in the form of nitrates, but potassium and phosphorus can run out. It is said that flake food adds a substantial amount of phosphates but I don't have a test kit to confirm how much exactly.

If you plan to get into serious planting, using higher intensity lights etc, look into Estimative Index dosing routine, it will ensure that the plants always have enough available nutrients to utilize.

Plants do not starve out algae, if that were the case then your tank would be bottoming out on nutrients all the time, and the basic dosing routines ensure that there is always a steady supply of nutrients available.

Plants thrive when they have three things, light, ferts, and co2. Algae does as well, but seems to do much better than higher plants when there is an imbalance of one of those 3 key things.

All that said, a really low light setup like a single/dual t8 fixture is not going to do a whole lot growth-wise, so there won't be much of a demand for ferts either. I would keep any dosing plans very minimal until you upgrade.

 

[Gboy66]

Hmmm ohh kinda lost me sorry. So need mostly ferts?