Thinking about planted

[MitcherNeaf]

Hi there, i have a 55 gallon tank at the moment, and was looking at fake plants and they are so expensive and really not that lifelike and was thinking for the price of all that i should go with real plants, plus my wife thinks they look alot nicer anyway. But the problem is im not sure what to do. ive read most of the stickys and have a basic understanding but still not sure what i want to do. This is my first fish tank and ive only had it for around 2 months so im not an expert by anymeans, but i understand the basics of a regular tank. Im just not sure what kind of lighting i should go for, a low light setup or more of a high light setup, i know with the more light i can have alot more variety of plants, but not sure if i can handle something like that.

I am just wondering what is the best thing to start with, should i go low light, but then if i want to upgrade i have to pretty much start from scratch, is it better to go like medium light with like 2wpg and then if i wanted to go with more up my wpg's alittle bit and get some CO2? Or am i going to need co2 with medium light anyway?
thanks for any help
mitch

 

[Jchillin]

Upgrading to planted is a very good next step. Your wife is right, live plants look better and the added benefit is it helps maintain a healthier environment for your fish.

Your choice of low or high light is entirely up to you, your patience level and let's not forget, your budget. I started with low-light and I'm still there. The folks here will help you with whichever direction you take.

 

[Purrbox]

I'd recommend taking a look at the plants listed out by lighting requirements. If you see a lot of plants that you like listed in the Low and Medium Low Light categories, then that would probably be a good place to start. If on the other hand your really prefer mostly High Light plants, then that may be a better route for you. You'll be a lot more likely to stick with it and get everything figured out if you like the plants that you are working with. Once you decide what you want, let us know and we'll help you figure out how to get there.

 

[MitcherNeaf]

one added thing, i had a test kit that came with Gh and KH and never used them but decided to check em out real quick, my Kh was 3 and my Gh was 4, it came with this table to find out your CO2 and mine ended up being like 3 or 4, not real great i guess. i dont know if this effects what my choice could be any ideas?
thanks
Mitch
PS. gonna go check out the plants, we were both at the LFS and saw the banana plant, which i found was a fan of medium light. Ill check out what other plants they have and see what they are in.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I believe 3ppm is just from ambient CO2 from the atmosphere. That's why it's where it is, because you are not injecting CO2.

As for the lighting, all depends on what you like for plants and how much work and $$$ you wan tto put into it. I found Ebay a very good friend for lighting, CO2 equipment, filters, etc. You can actually save a lot by shopping around on Ebay, bigalsonline, Foster and Smith, etc. Lots of good deals out there.

As for your GH and KH, mine are both about 60 here, which is about 3.4 degrees like yours. And that's pretty much the minimum you want to be at. A little higher is better, but I wouldn't adjust anything, you will be fine where you are.

Also, what is your ph? Just curious...

As for Banana plants, I thought they were cool at first, til the leafs started getting huge, and carrying the plant all over the tank, lol. the leaf itself got to be 7 inches wide, and had like 3-4 leaves on each plant. Was just too much for my 75G. So I gave them away.

Any other questions we can answer for you?

 

[Purrbox]

LoneWolfBlue is correct about your CO2 levels. If your results were anything other than about 3ppm, then that would mean that your water had some buffers or acids present which were throwing off the pH/KH relationship. Ambient levels are just fine until you go above Medium Light over the tank. You can supplement CO2 before then and it will help the plants, but it isn't necessary for a successful tank.

3 dKH is the minimum recomended for injecting CO2, so that's one less thing to worry about should you decide to got the high light, CO2 route. 4 dGH isn't too bad either. You won't need to mess with it at all if you stick with a lower light tank, but might need to raise it a bit if you go higher light. Your plants would tell you if they need more Magnesium and Calcium.

 

[MitcherNeaf]

My ph is 7.5, i have to lights that are like 15watts per light, so im guessing im gonna need new lights. Justwondering, how much a CO2 setup would cost me (just an estimate). Also i have pretty large substrate at the bottom but is only around 1 inch thick, woudl it be ok for me to just add smaller substrate, small rocks or sand on top of that to get around my 4 inches without any problems, or am i going to have to replace it all.
thanks
Mitch

 

[JRagg]

There are a few ways to go about CO2. You can use DIY CO2, which is pretty inexpensive, but also kind of sketchy (lots of work and not very reliable) for a tank as large as yours. The pressurized CO2 route is the way to go if you can afford it. A good regulator is generally around $80-100. Others have found slightly cheaper ways of doing it, and they may be able to chime in on that as well. A CO2 tank can vary widely in cost. You will probably want either a 5lb or a 10lb tank (5 should be sufficient). Call a local welding supply or gas supply shop and see if you can get prices on CO2 tanks and filling costs. They are usually somewhere around $60+ for the tank and $10-15 for the fill. You will also need a CO2 reactor (to get the CO2 into the water). There are DIY versions of those that work very well for very little cash (~$10). If you're interested in those there are links in the DIY forum here on how to make them.

I would strongly recommend checking out http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php (Purrbox linked earlier) and see what you like. Also, take a look at the non-aquatic plants listed on there. A lot of stores sell those, and you want to make sure that you don’t end up with any of them in your tank. All they will do is rot and pollute your aquarium.

Also, as JChillin stated, you don't have to have CO2. His tank is a testimant that low tech tanks can look really good as well.

What kind of substrate do you currently have? Is it just aquarium gravel? There are a few options for substrates available, so I’m wondering where your starting point is.

 

[MitcherNeaf]

well as far as my substrate goes it is just regular aquarium gravel, but it is pretty big, when i got the tank, i was alittle low on money so i got the big stuff cause it was alot cheaper than the little stuff at the time, but i didnt put much in only about an inch across the tank. So wondering what would be best to put on top of that, that is good but not too outrageously expensive.
thanks
Mitch