Some questions about planted tank set up

[Alan79]

Hi all.
For a few days now i have been reading various sources about how to get started on planting a fresh water aquarium. I have hit a major stumbling block when it comes to information on the initial fertilizer type and dosage that i should apply when setting up a tank. I don't know if i should just buy something from my local hardware store or if there is a starter fertilizer that is available.

If somebody could give me a guide as to what i should be looking for it would be handy.

I have done a little reading here since signing up and have decided to incorporate some shrimp caves into my tank design. I have a general idea now about how to make them thanks to the DIY forum, but i was wondering where i should place them? I'd happily spread them out at varying levels if shrimp don't prefer to live at a specific height but i have never kept them so I'd love to get some idea of where i should place them in the tank. I'll get the tank healthy before i add shrimp.

So my main question was about the fertilizer. If there is a good guide online somewhere that i could be pointed towards i would appreciate it as i haven't the slightest idea of where to start with fertilizer.

 

[flitabout]

Ferts depend on what you are going to plant. Some are heavy root feeders like swords and some do better with feeding from the water column. What plants are you looking at? I don't think adding ferts to start with make much difference. Dosing has a more to do with type of plant, lighting,0 and use of co2 or dosing of glut.

 

[Alan79]

Ferts depend on what you are going to plant. Some are heavy root feeders like swords and some do better with feeding from the water column. What plants are you looking at? I don't think adding ferts to start with make much difference. Dosing has a more to do with type of plant, lighting,0 and use of co2 or dosing of glut.

I'm more interested in what i should be adding to the base of my tank. What i have at the moment is 2 separate bags of potting mix. One old bag i already had that is fairly full of wood chips which i think may be a bad idea (i guess they would probably leach tannins?) and the other has water storage crystals which i'm a little uneasy about adding to my tank. If anyone knows if the water storage crystals are harmful that would be helpful (it says they are biodegradable but they still don't sound healthy for a tank. If they are harmful i'll just sieve off the wood particles from my other bag and use that.

I also bought some slow release pond plant tablets. I only added a very small portion of one of those and buried it directly under the roots of my plants. If the fish or plants start looking unhelthy i can dig it out and do a swater change.

My plant collection at the moment is basically just the one Sword plant which i like and will keep plus a mixed bunch that is a temporary addition. I don't know the names of anything in that bunch but theres a plant with green topped leaves and reddish purple veins and the underside is purple too. I like that plant as well although it seems to be on the way to the grave after shedding all it's fully grown leaves. The new buds look healthy enough for now.

I haven't really decided on plant selection since my local pet store doesn't supply a great deal. I've been doing some reading about it but there is so much information out there that i get lost in the reading and haven't taken a lot of notes. I'll make a proper list over the weekend of plants i like, try to match their growing conditions and see how i needto set the PH. Once i have a list of what i want i'll see what the pet store can order in for me. My aim is to dominate the foreground with short growing grass, maybe make a few lattice structures to grow some moss 'bushes' then i'll load up the background with cheap plants for the time being while i adjust.

 

[Rivercats]

If your doing a dirted tank then you need to be using an Organic Potting Soil. Most people use Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil but any Organic Potting Soil will work. Don't use the one with the crystals and what brand is the one with wood chips? Is it organic? I've been doing dirted tanks for years with my largest right now being a 220g.