So I Want a Planted Aquarium...

[Arwai]

Good morning everyone. I'm a newbie to the forum and I already introduced myself in member introductions. I have 29 gallon aquarium and want to make it a planted tank. I haven't set up the tank or cycled it yet because I wanted to acquire all materials that I would need first before I set it up. I just wanted to get some feedback on what I'm thinking to get based off of reading on here, in books, and research online.

I'm thinking I want to start with amazon swords, banana plants, java moss and or fern, and wisteria. From what I'm reading those are low to moderate light plants. Would those be suitable for a beginner you think? Also I'm thinking of using black tahaitian moon sand with flourite under it as a substrate.

With a 29 gallon tank I've been finding differing opinions on gettin a HOB filter vs a canister. In your opinion what would best? Also would NO fluorescents work well considering the size of my tank? And would a CO2 injection be necessary? I was uncertain from my research. Also if it helps, I'm considering glofish, cory and/or upside down catfish, danios, and platys and the fish I want to stock my aquarium with.

Sorry for being so long but I wanted to make sure that I gave all the info needed to help with answering my questions. Thanks in advance!

 

[Rivercats]

The substrate would be fine and the plants are all easy and in the low to medium light range. But what type lighting are you planning on using? You are going to need root tabs if you plant any swords or crypts (crypts are another good easy plant for you to use) as both are heavy root feeders. Plus you will some type of fertilizer, a good liquid fert will work. Seachem Flourish Comprehensive is a good one to start with. No you don't have to use CO2 but using at least a liquid carbon such as Flourish Excel will aid in photosynthesis and growth. I run my 220g tank which can be viewed in the link at the bottom of the post only using liquid carbon.

 

[maxwellag]

I put my thoughts in red

I'm thinking I want to start with amazon swords, banana plants, java moss and or fern, and wisteria. From what I'm reading those are low to moderate light plants. Would those be suitable for a beginner you think? Yes, those are all pretty easy and not very demanding plants. Also I'm thinking of using black tahaitian moon sand with flourite under it as a substrate. That would probably be fine. I used black sand in one of my planted tanks and the plants grew well. I have never used Flourite.

With a 29 gallon tank I've been finding differing opinions on gettin a HOB filter vs a canister. In your opinion what would best? IMO, canisters are the best option if you can afford them. They are most efficient and are easily concealed, unlike HOB filters. They also usually have room for a lot more media. Also would NO fluorescents work well considering the size of my tank? What kind of bulb do you have on the tank now? Brand, type (spiral CFL, tube T8 etc), wattage and color temperature (should say something like "6500k" right on the bulb) would be helpful. And would a CO2 injection be necessary? No, co2 injection isn't necessary- you could have it for faster plant growth, but it isn't essential. Co2 injection is usually necessary on setups with more lighting (T5HO, Metal halide, etc) to allow the plants to grow faster and use the large amount of light. Usually not injecting co2 in a higher light tank means that there will be algae. You will not need co2 because you wil be doing low-medium light, and the co2 in your tank from the fish and air entering the tank is enough for the plants you are thinking of. I was uncertain from my research. Also if it helps, I'm considering glofish, cory and/or upside down catfish, danios, and platys and the fish I want to stock my aquarium with. I'd get a group of 5-7 glofish. What kind of cories are you thinking of? I'd get 5 panda cories, because they are not as large as some other cory species. I would get either cories or upside-down catfish, but not both. I would also get 4 total platys. The thing to keep in mind with them is that if you get both males and females, they will breed and have fry. If you don't want fry, get all 4 of the same gender. If you do want fry, I recommend that you get one male and 3 females. This is because with live-bearers (guppies, platys, mollys etc), the male will usually chase around all the females and try to mate with them a lot. With more females, the male bothers each one for less time. If you had 3 males and one female, the female would likely be very stressed due to the males constantly bothering her.

 

[Arwai]

You tank is beautiful! When you say lighting you mean whether a hood with lights or a separate fixture? If so I have a hood aquarium and was planning on just using that. And I need root tabs and liquid fertilizer right? And if so I wouldn't need flourite? And the HOB filter would work fine? I figured yes because of the tank size.

 

[Arwai]

Thanks for your responses maxwellag. I can get the info on lighting to you all when I get home. And I was learning towards panda corys, and maybe an oto or two but not sure if i would need both. I don't want to overstock my tank. I think I want to avoid fry for now since I'm a beginner and I wouldn't know what to do with so many more fish lol. I'll have to research on some good canister filters. I figured I would need one, but was hoping I could get away with an HOB filter since canisters are so pricey.

 

[CharlieKlein]

A good stock for your tank could be

6 zebra danio/Glofish
4 panda Cory's
2 upside dow cats
3 platy
1 dwarf gourami

 

[JakeVS]

I agree with both of them, but, and I am likely wrong on this as it feels like a vague memory, are banana plants not quite tall? I want to say I have read 24-32". Glad to see a couple vets giving a newcomer some sensible advice and not pushing high light and co2 on you. I started my tank in a very similar way, low light, no co2. My first plants were crypts and anubias, and I loved them. Also, I haven't had any trouble without root tabs for my swords or crypts with the fluorite, but I am still within the first year of having my tank up and running, and I dose seachem flourish and excel regularly. But I doubt they would hurt!

 

[Rivercats]

On a 29g tank a good HOB filter will be fine. The one real advantage of a canister is that you have so much more room and options available for media. Using a layer of florite will be good if you plan on planting any plants in the substrate. It has a high CEC (cation exchange capacity) which means it can absorb nutrients from the detris and water and hold them for plant use. Plus it will be a good source of iron. Sand is inert so that layer of flourite is a good idea IMO. But word or warning, flourite is very dusty so try not to stir it up once in the tank. I'd do a 1" layer of flourite with a 2" cap of sand. Then you'll only be planting in the sand keeping the flourite undisturbed.

 

[Arwai]

A good stock for your tank could be

6 zebra danio/Glofish
4 panda Cory's
2 upside dow cats
3 platy
1 dwarf gourami

Thanks. I'll read up on the dwarf gourami

 

[Arwai]

Thank you all so much for the input. I was really nervous about posting because I didn't want to ask something that's asked all the time. So I researched as much as I could until I started having questions. I'll look at both HOB and canister filters. Does the same rule of thumb apply as far as double the tank size for the filter?

 

[CharlieKlein]

I have led lights and no co2 or anything, and from the advice of people on here am planning on Anubis, tiger lotus, onion plant, and java fern

 

[Arwai]

So I'm looking at the bulb and it says Phillips F15T8/COOL WHITE PLUS/24 15 WATT . I'm attaching a pick as well. Umm is it supposed to be just one long bulb? Sounds like a silly question.

 

[maxwellag]

So I'm looking at the bulb and it says Phillips F15T8/COOL WHITE PLUS/24 15 WATT . I'm attaching a pick as well. Umm is it supposed to be just one long bulb? Sounds like a silly question.

View attachment 145479

That's a T8. Do you know how long the bulb is? Usually "cool white" bulbs aren't the best for growing plants. You may want to get a 6000-1000K (color temperature) T8 bulb of that same size and wattage.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

As far as your hob filters, you should go bigger. Exc, for your 29 gallon, I would get a filter rated for 50 gallons. I personally use AquaClear filters, and love them. Lots of room to customize the media. I hear the bio-wheel ones are good too, think those are Penguin brand?
As far as canisters, look into eheim classics. I run a 2215 on my 55 gallon, and I wouldnt trade it for the world. You could get a 2213 for a 29 gallon for probably less than 90 bucks, comes with all the media, and is well worth every penny.

 

[Arwai]

That's a T8. Do you know how long the bulb is? Usually "cool white" bulbs aren't the best for growing plants. You may want to get a 6000-1000K (color temperature) T8 bulb of that same size and wattage.

I have no idea how how long it is. Sorry. And just one bulb will do?

 

[Arwai]

As far as your hob filters, you should go bigger. Exc, for your 29 gallon, I would get a filter rated for 50 gallons. I personally use AquaClear filters, and love them. Lots of room to customize the media. I hear the bio-wheel ones are good too, think those are Penguin brand?
As far as canisters, look into eheim classics. I run a 2215 on my 55 gallon, and I wouldnt trade it for the world. You could get a 2213 for a 29 gallon for probably less than 90 bucks, comes with all the media, and is well worth every penny.

Okay I will research both filters. I saw a biowheel HOB but I thought I read somewhere biowheels aren't good for planted tanks

 

[Fresh2o]

I have no idea how how long it is. Sorry. And just one bulb will do?

It looks like 24" (I think that is the 24 printed on the bulb). Okay for viewing but IMO on the low end for low level lighting. If you want to go with a dual T8 (spelled out "tee-eight" because this app sometimes converts printed characters to silly characters) and spend less than $40 you could get the Coralife Aqualight dual t8 NO 30" ($38 at ThatPetPlace.com). It has 2 18 watt bulbs; one for plants and the other for general viewing. The "NO" stands for Normal Output as opposed to HO (High Output). That is what I run in a planted 20 gallon long which is shallower than a 29. On the downside I think the NO might not be strong enough in wattage to effectively reach the bottom (others chime in here...) so a HO might be more suitable. Those are about $70-$130 depending on the brand/vendor.

 

[Fresh2o]

Okay I will research both filters. I saw a biowheel HOB but I thought I read somewhere biowheels aren't good for planted tanks

The downside for biowheels (and wet dry filters, spray bars above the water line) is the CO2 loss assuming you are injecting CO2. Otherwise they should be fine. I got away from them and switched to Aqua Clear not because of the biowheel but because of the impeller noise and splashing sound.

 

[Arwai]

Okay thanks for your input fresh2o