First planted tank.

[jmats]

Hey guys. I currently have a 75 gallon tank with a male flowerhorn. Having a wet pet gets a little old so I wanted to try and get a small tank to put small schooling fish in.

I'm interested in something small like 10 or 20 gallons and I want it to be planted.

I've never done a planted tank so I have no idea what to do. I'm looking for any insight.

My pH in my tap is 9.0

What materials do I need and what works best?


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[Mebbid]

Wow, 9.0 pH? You are officially the winner of the hard water award.

Is that after it's been sitting out and got a chance to degas or is it straight from the tap?

I'm not sure how plants would respond to water like that, so I am subscribing for the impending discussion.

 

[RedDevil83]

Condition your water and bring it down a bit is all I got to say.


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[Delapool]

Wow, 9.0 pH? You are officially the winner of the hard water award.



Is that after it's been sitting out and got a chance to degas or is it straight from the tap?



I'm not sure how plants would respond to water like that, so I am subscribing for the impending discussion.

Following! Kind of curious if ph is true and what kh/gh are

 

[Hunter73]

What test kit did you use to read ph that high? My API master kit only goes to 8.4 on the high ph test.


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[jmats]

I use the liquid testing kit also and when I test the water (directly from tap) it turns dark purple so I know it's over 8.4. I did some asking around and found the actual pH of the tap is around 9.0. If you guys wanna look into it I'm from Providence RI.

I could always use a buffer to bring down the pH but I want to try and do this one all natural. Are there any plants that like hard water? Do plants have any effect on pH?


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[Clayman]

You could mix your tap with RO water to bring it down naturally.

 

[jmats]

Okay. I'll figure it out. Moving on.

Are there any plants that like hard water and do plants have any effect on the pH?

What type of substrate would be recommended with planted tanks?


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[Delapool]

It's all soft water here unfortunately. Does a lfs have a display tank? The lfs I go to has several and the owner has tanks. They may be able to suggest what will go with the water and after that just try the plants and see.