Getting back into the hobby

[JeffX20]

I had a saltwater tank for years, but it crashed and I gave up. I'd love to have another, but I don't have the time or the finances to start all over. So I'm looking into setting up a freshwater tank instead. I have a 29 gallon that I was going to use. I'm just trying to figure out on what to do.

I was debating on getting some live plants. Any advice on that and what is good with live plants? It's been a long time since I've had a tank, so I'm trying to relearn as I go. Everything is in the planning stage right now and nothing is concrete.

 

[Huro]

Hello and welcome to AA!. Live plants are a wonderful addition to any tank and there is a wide range of what you can do based on the time and money you want to invest into it. You have three category's to consider and the choices range from Low light/low maintenance to high light/high maintenance when I say maintenance I am referring to equipment/fertilizers/trimming etc. You will also want to consider what substrate you would like to use as there are several different options/methods to choose from. I would also like to point that if your the DIY type you may be able to reduce cost considerably and there are certainly a number of folks in the DYI section of forum that can assist with any project.

 

[JeffX20]

Thank you! I'm probably looking for something that is low-light, low maintenance for now.

What substrate should I be looking into? Obviously rock is out of the question.

 

[threnjen]

You can do just about anything. A cheap option is pool filter sand from a pool supply shop (or even the general hardware store if you're in a warmer state). You can fill your whole tank for 5-10 bucks. It's a good grain size for plants, too.