please help me

[dominick008]

So ive been wanting a to make my 29 gallon fish tank to a planted aquarium but i never understood how to make one. Please help me with these questions what kind of substrate do i need? what kind of lighting do i need? And what kind of filteration.

 

[Fresh2o]

So ive been wanting a to make my 29 gallon fish tank to a planted aquarium but i never understood how to make one. Please help me with these questions what kind of substrate do i need? what kind of lighting do i need? And what kind of filteration.

You can use sand, gravel, or a plant specific substrate such as EcoComplete. Depends on the type of plants you wish to keep.
The lighting you choose depends on what your goals are: low light, medium light, high light, or something in between these. Other factors to consider are budget, fertilizers, and a carbon source. That being said, a single standard T-8 fluorescent bulb will most likely support very low light requiring plants (various mosses, anubias, etc).
Filtration is like any other FW tank; external HOB filters and canister filters are quite popular.
I suggest you read the articles in the link below to get a better understanding of what is involved:
Articles to Help with the Planted Tank http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83826

 

[dominick008]

Thx fresh you really helped me I plan on using this substrate. And do you thing it will be enough for a 29 gallon. Or can I get 1 bag of eco and one bag of white sand. And still don't know what kind of lighting I'm getting .


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[Fresh2o]

Thx fresh you really helped me I plan on using this substrate. And do you thing it will be enough for a 29 gallon. Or can I get 1 bag of eco and one bag of white sand. And still don't know what kind of lighting I'm getting .View attachment 243544
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As long as I did not steer you into getting rainbow or fluorescent colored gravel...cool.
I have a 20g long which has the same footprint as the 29g. I used two bags of Ecocomplete which resulted in a depth of 2" in the front and 3-4" in the back. Both of my tanks have lots of plants. You could start with one bag and add another later. One nice thing about EC is that it does not require pre-rinsing unlike several other plant oriented substrates.

 

[dominick008]

I'm sorry I keep on bothering you but I think I'm gonna get a 2 bags instead of the sand. And will I still need to get fertilizers or does the substrate have them.


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[Fresh2o]

No prob. Two bags are fine. One would be a minimum and the second add as needed.
EcoComplete contains some fertilizers which may be exhausted over time. It is recommended that substrate fertilizers be added depending on the types of plants you keep. Crypts and swords are heavy root feeders. Anubias, java fern, and other low light plants do not require a substrate.
One of the strong points of EC is the high cation exchange capacity (CEC). What this basically means is that the substrate can attract nutrients and make them available for the plants to use.

 

[dominick008]

Do I need to worry about co2?


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[Mebbid]

Do I need to worry about co2?


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Good advice so far, also, no. You shouldn't need any carbon sources until you move on to a higher light level.

 

[dominick008]

Will these 2 30 watt 6500k need me to worry about co2


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[dominick008]

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