Fake plants with lots of color doesn't do it for me anymore!

[Hops2010]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and stumbled across this post. I was wondering if you could give me some insight on how and where to start a planted aquarium. I did the whole fake plants with lots of color but it doesn't do it for me anymore! Thanks in advance! Oh, and in completely Jealous of your tank Sk3lly!


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[Brookster123]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and stumbled across this post. I was wondering if you could give me some insight on how and where to start a planted aquarium. I did the whole fake plants with lots of color but it doesn't do it for me anymore! Thanks in advance! Oh, and in completely Jealous of your tank Sk3lly!


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Now that you posted a thread, I'll be sure to get that money out of your pockets

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[Autumnsky]

Welcome to the community Hops2010! There will be no end to what you can do with a planted tank. You can do amazing things!!! These members will help you.

Read through some of the articles and stickies and that will provide you with some of the basics.

 

[Hops2010]

Brookster I don't seem to have a problem getting the money out of my pockets myself so I don't think I need any help on that end lol. I've don't a little reading on other posts and got some of the basics I just don't even know where to begin! I know I definitely need to get different bulbs for my lights so maybe that will be the first step.


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[Hops2010]

And thank you Autumn! Doing more research as we speak ?


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[Brookster123]

How did I even get here already haha, autumn... ok hops, what are we thinking? Med light no co2? High light, high maintenance? How much time do you want to put in a day? A week?

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[emilygupps]

Substrate is something to consider too. What kind of fish do you like? Some bottom swimmers like sand. But I find sand to be a pain with my planted tanks.


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[Brookster123]

Substrate is something to consider too. What kind of fish do you like? Some bottom swimmers like sand. But I find sand to be a pain with my planted tanks.


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Sand as opposed to gravel?

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[emilygupps]

Yeah. At least the white sand I had a hard time with. I do have some baby tears carpeting in my ten gallon betta sanded, but for the most part... I find it was really hard to manage as a beginner. My gravel tank looks really nice! And my boyfriends 17g rimless has lots of hair grass doing really well with that special planted aquarium substrate stuff.

I just thought substrate was something to consider when picking plants and fish. As much as I get annoyed with sand, my khulis and cory cats LOVE it so it's worth the trouble with the sand if you want that type of fish.


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[Brookster123]

Yeah. At least the white sand I had a hard time with. I do have some baby tears carpeting in my ten gallon betta sanded, but for the most part... I find it was really hard to manage as a beginner. My gravel tank looks really nice! And my boyfriends 17g rimless has lots of hair grass doing really well with that special planted aquarium substrate stuff.

I just thought substrate was something to consider when picking plants and fish. As much as I get annoyed with sand, my khulis and cory cats LOVE it so it's worth the trouble with the sand if you want that type of fish.


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Substrate does play a big role, gravel is never recommended in any serious planted tank as it offers no benefit to the plants and will limit the use of certain root tabs. Sand is also inert but will provide a good planting medium while retaining the contents of root tabs.

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[Autumnsky]

How did I even get here already haha, autumn... ok hops, what are we thinking? Med light no co2? High light, high maintenance? How much time do you want to put in a day? A week?

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Ahh, already, you are in good hands! Let the fun begin!

My vote is for sand or Eco Complete.

 

[Hops2010]

I have PFS in currently. I switched from gravel and I love how natural it looks. I've got a large piece of DW that looks like a dead tree (hopefully I can find a way to make the branches green so it will look somewhat alive) but I'd prefer a medium to low light/low tech for now. I have a pictus catfish so would it be a bad idea to have a carpet?


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[Brookster123]

How bigs the tank? I have pfs in 2 of my planted tanks and with my osmocote/miracle grow root tabs the plants are doing nicely.

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[Hops2010]

Oh and I have a few kuhlis as well!


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[Hops2010]

I'm assuming atleast 60 gallons. It was a custom made tank the my boss gave me. It's not a normal rectangle tank. I honestly don't know what you would call the same. It kind of looks like a stop sign cut in half? The back is longer than the front. It has decent floor space in it.


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[Hops2010]

I'm just getting it set up, the filter still needs to be switched from my other tank along with the fish.


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[Brookster123]

Sounds sweet! What are the dimensions? Height?

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[Hops2010]

Four feet in the back. 32 inches in the front and 18 inches wide. 19 inches tall.


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[Brookster123]

Perfect!

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[Autumnsky]

I have PFS in currently. I switched from gravel and I love how natural it looks. I've got a large piece of DW that looks like a dead tree (hopefully I can find a way to make the branches green so it will look somewhat alive) but I'd prefer a medium to low light/low tech for now. I have a pictus catfish so would it be a bad idea to have a carpet?

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You can look for weeping moss or Peacock or similar moss to tie on your tree.

That is on my list for a new project pretty soon to make a couple of moss trees.

I'm assuming atleast 60 gallons. It was a custom made tank the my boss gave me. It's not a normal rectangle tank. I honestly don't know what you would call the same. It kind of looks like a stop sign cut in half? The back is longer than the front. It has decent floor space in it.

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Maybe Flat back Hex.