New member seeking help.

[GJMattingly]

I have a 20 gallon long tank with nothing but gravel it. I'm only 15 so I have a tight budge but I love the looks of planted tanks. I have a filter and a heater picked out just not purchased and they are for 20 gallon tanks. I want to plant it but I have only the lighting in my room and no CO2 or dirt. I don't really want to dirt it but I guess I can if need be. I'm putting some drift wood in it and some stones because I want a natural look. I was thinking like jungle val in the back, some small plants in the front and back but sparsely planted and java ferns in some places on the wood. Would this work. I've no experience with planted tanks. I want three red cherry shrimp, one Oto Catfish, about 5 cardinal tetras, and a rainbow shark ( may change this up a bit) but I don't know if that really matters. Just any tips or help would be nice. I really have no clue and I tried researching it but got confused. Any plant recommendations are wanted because I don't really know. So it's a low tech tank with low light so hardy plants needed. Thanks In advance, Grainger.

 

[jmay33]

I have a 20 gallon long tank with nothing but gravel it. I'm only 15 so I have a tight budge but I love the looks of planted tanks. I have a filter and a heater picked out just not purchased and they are for 20 gallon tanks. I want to plant it but I have only the lighting in my room and no CO2 or dirt. I don't really want to dirt it but I guess I can if need be. I'm putting some drift wood in it and some stones because I want a natural look. I was thinking like jungle val in the back, some small plants in the front and back but sparsely planted and java ferns in some places on the wood. Would this work. I've no experience with planted tanks. I want three red cherry shrimp, one Oto Catfish, about 5 cardinal tetras, and a rainbow shark ( may change this up a bit) but I don't know if that really matters. Just any tips or help would be nice. I really have no clue and I tried researching it but got confused. Any plant recommendations are wanted because I don't really know. So it's a low tech tank with low light so hardy plants needed. Thanks In advance, Grainger.

First off, welcome to AA! If you have a window with a lot of sunlight you may be able to keep low light plants. Or you can use compact fluorescent lights, which is the cheapest option. That's the route I always go. Plus you can do a little bit at a time. You can also use your gravel, but if you have root feeding plants you'll want to get root tabs. (Usually $10 at Petsmart, seachem root tabs are my favorite.) You'll also want a liquid CO2 booster. API one that is cheaper than seachems excel, I've had equal results with both. You'll also want to dose with fertilizers, they're usually not too expensive. I like to alternate between 2 different ones, but that isn't necessary. That's how I take care of my plants, anyway.

Now for your fish, your tank is not large enough to house a rainbow shark. Not only that, but they get big and aggressive. Your other fish will become lunch and dinner. Lol. Others look good, except I believe that oto cats are schooling fish and need a group of 3+. You should look into a gourami as a larger fish. Pearl gouramis and honey gouramis are a good place to start. They're low maintenance. You might also like some rasboras or danios. Dwarf crawfish make a fun little addition as well. Good luck!

 

[GJMattingly]

Would java fern be a root feeding plant?

 

[jmay33]

Would java fern be a root feeding plant?

Yes. It also will attach to rocks or driftwood.

 

[GJMattingly]

Where can I find a compact fluorescent light

 

[Mebbid]

Going on a tight budget a standard fluorescent light will work for a low light planted aquarium which you can buy from any pet store. Also, with low lighting you won't really need to dose Co2 or fertilizers as the plants won't use much. There are lots of low light plants that can work in such a setup but they wont grow very fast and you will have to be patient about it. As for substrate, gravel will work just fine. As was said earlier I would use root tabs to feed the plants.

After that I would put a little bit of money away whenever you can to save up for a higher output light. I would suggest getting a dual T5 HO light which can be bought for about $100 and will allow you to keep just about any plant that you can get your hands on. If you decide to go that route you will need to regularly fertilize your plants as well as using a Co2 source.

While the liquid Co2 is a really useful carbon source especially for larger tanks; a DIY Co2 system is perfectly viable for tanks up to around 30g. From my experience Vals don't tolerate liquid Co2 of any form very well if at all and I ended up killing a large $15 bunch of spiral vals because of that fact.

The red cherry shrimp are a really nice addition to an aquarium, just be sure to get at least 1 female and they will make tons of babies. I bought 7 of them to start and when I upgraded my tank I had 43 which was a great surprise.

 

[ktomminello]

You can find cheap LED aquarium lids for around $20- won't get you all those beautiful purples, reds and magenta from plants, but it's good enough to start some cheap water plant bulbs and low-medium light plants without a ton of money and is noticeably more efficient and successful (from my experience) than any compact fluorescent. I use liquid CO2 injected into my substrate and on specific plants by dropper and my corkscrew vals are doing ok- a good planted tank specific substrate, though a little pricey, will definitely raise your successfully rooted plants. Hope this helps.

 

[Mebbid]

I forgot about this link on my earlier post but it talks about a type of aquarium with going low tech and low maintenance. I've never tried it personally but it sounds like a good way to go and best of all for the tight budget, its cheap.

How to Setup a Low-tech Planted Tank: A Guide for Planted Aquariums

 

[GJMattingly]

thanks to all of you all and mebbid you've been an awsome help. I'm starting it up monday and I'll post about how it is going. Wish me luck!