starting a planted tank.. SO MUCH TO LEARN

[talenafaye]

I've been doing my homework on starting a planted tank in the 28 gallon high aquarium I recently acquired. I know a canister filter is best but it came with a Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel 350.. ballin' on a budget here. What can I do to balance the CO2 with this type of filter?
I also want to use sand as my top layer of substrate.. what should I use below the sand layer to help once I begin planting?
Should I use a Carbon filter?

thanks guys. TalenaFaye.

 

[jetajockey]

Welcome to the forum. The type of filter is irrelevant if you are not injecting co2, so no biggie there unless you decide to go high tech. You could use soil below the sand, but it can get messy if you aren't careful. Another option is to use osmocote tabs or other root tabs to help enrich the sand.

 

[talenafaye]

so a soil under layer, or a soil/sand mixture isnt necessary if i just get tabs to enrich the sand?

 

[jetajockey]

so a soil under layer, or a soil/sand mixture isnt necessary if i just get tabs to enrich the sand?

You'd want to layer it if you did do soil because soil is very very messy and will cloud the water. Root tabs in sand is not as good as soil, but it definitely gets the job done and is what I'd recommend since you are just getting into this.

 

[talenafaye]

awesome, thanks jeta.

should i use carbon as the filter? i read that carbon isnt ideal for planted tanks.

 

[jetajockey]

I'd skip the carbon.

 

[bshenanagins]

I'd skip the carbon.

Agreed, it's pricy and doesn't last long anyway. There's no need for it unless your trying to get rid of left over meds. My tanks are just sponge, ceramic rings, and filter floss. Everything is clear as can be.