Upgrading to Planted Tank

[moomawkm]

Right now my tank has no live plants. The fish seem to be doing well. My tank is 1+ year old and I've been looking for some sort of change. No idea on where to start if I want a planted tank...


29 Gal, 79°/80°F, Freshwater, Bio-wheel 200, Full Spectrum Light 10 hours/day, Sand Substrate, Plastic/Silk Plants

Current Tank Mates:
4 Bloodfin Tetra
4 Silver Tip Tetra
1 Rubber Lip Pleco
1 Halfmoon Double Tail MALE Betta

Future Tank Mates (in the next month or so):
6 Cherry Barbs
3-4 Cory Cats (not sure what type yet)
4-5 Ghost Shrimp (not certain yet)

Currently fed every other day cycled between Tropical Flakes, Tropical Pellets, Brine Shrimp Pellets, Algae Wafers, and an occasional freeze-dried Blood Worm or two

 

[fort384]

Plants are my favorite part of the fresh water world. Once you go planted you won't go back

The place to start is with your lighting. You said full spectrum, but if you can provide a little more info, we can start there with recommendations. We need to know the kind of light (I.e. t5ho florescent, t-8 florescent, LED, PC, etc). We also need to know the wattage of the bulbs, how many bulbs, and the color temperature of the bulbs you have. This will help determine if your current lighting fixture is sufficient enough to grow any plants.

Unfortunately, a lot of stock fixtures are insufficient for growing even low light plants, so to be successful you might be looking at an upgrade.

Besides lighting, it is important to understand a couple of other things that are different in a planted tank: Fertilization and CO2 requirements. You might find a couple of recent writeups I did helpful in understanding the requirements:

Introduction to Fertilizing the Planted Tank - Aquarium Advice

Beginner's Guide to CO2 Injection in the Planted Tank - Aquarium Advice