Thanks for the advice.

[treverchaos]

I picked up some cycled gravel and filter media from a LFS 2 days ago to help speed the cycling of my tank as recommended and within 48 hours have seen a nice drop in ammonia and the start of nitrites and nitrates in my tank! This makes me happy.
I also could not pass up a deal on a used 36"x12"x16" 30 gallon with stand and all accessories for only 100 bucks. I'm going to take more time planning this one. I want to make it a fully planted tank and was hoping for suggestions on how to go about it. I've seen plenty of pics online the past few days and I'm leaning toward an amano style. Any advice on substrates, plants, and lighting (as I will need a better source then the standard one bulb balance provides) would be welcomed greatly.
I did attach the aquaclear 50 filter that came with it onto the 47 gal I have in the hopes of having the media cycled by the time I set it up. And i plan on waiting until the bigger tank has fully cycled before I attempt the 2nd.
I've read so many different and conflicting things over the past few weeks. I would like to hear from anyone here about what has worked best for you.

 

[cmor1701d]

Moved to FW - Planted.

 

[JohnPaul]

When you say a planted tank, do you mean a very very basic, low-light, low-tech setup? Or do you mean, moderate-to-high light, (likely) CO2-injected, regular fertilizer regime planted? The answers are going to be very different depending upon which of the two you have in mind. Also, how much money you have available to sink into it is going to be a big factor too.

Regarding substrates, ideally you would want to use a planted tank substrate; that is, a substrate that is nutrient-loaded and designed to deliver critical nutrients to plant roots. These substrates come in both (smallish) gravel-sized varieties (Eco-Complete, Flora-Max, and Flourite) and true sands (Flourite Black Sand, Onyx Sand). Eco-Complete comes in black or red, Flora-Max comes in a black, a red, or a black-red mix, Flourite comes in four color varieties (black, brown, red, and something kind of like a really dark brown), Flourite Black Sand is (duh) black, and Onyx sand actually pretty light colored once it is wet, I would call it a medium grey. All will load nutrients to plant roots, but buying enough for your 30g tank is probably going to run you in the $75-100 range. Also note that some of those substrates (Flora-Max, Flourite) have individual pieces that are more jagged than rounded; that tends to look very natural (IMO at least) but is not going to be healthy for certain bottom-dwelling fish like cory cats, loaches, anything that likes to burrow, etc. So if you plan on having fish like those in your tank, you would want to use Eco-complete, Flourite Black Sand, or Onyx Sand.

Less ideally (but cheaper), you could buy a 50 lb. bag of pool filter sand for $10, a small box of pure laterite for $10-15, and use that as your base substrate. Put a thin layer of laterite down on the bottom glass, then cover it over with the sand. If you have some heavy root feeding plants, you can buy a pack of fertilizer tabs and pop a few of those in the substrate at strategic locations.

As for lighting, if you just want to grow very low-light plants you can probably get by with a standard flourescent tube (or better yet, a double tube fixture) appropriately sized for your tank. But we are talking very low light plants only. Or (again, if you have the money) you could invest in a T5 fixture, which will be able to output significantly more light and increase the possible plants you can use probably fifty-fold. One online store I have seen others recommend for buying such lighting is this one.

Hope some of that helps.

 

[BigJim]

Amano-style tanks require lots of attention. You'll need to dose fertilizers daily to keep the tank looking good.

As JohnPaul said, start with a substrate intended for a planted tank. I don't think you could pull off the Amano look with sand. You'll need something with more nutrients.

Look at T5HO fixtures for lighting. You'll need ample amounts of potent light to pull of the Amano style. Minimum is 2Wpg. 3-4Wpg is probably better. You will need a pressurized CO2 system to keep your tank from exploding with algae.

If this is your first time attempting plants, I'd suggest starting a little slower. You can still buy the good substrate and lighting, but get a light fixture that allows you to use fewer than the maximum number of bulbs. This way you can add more later once you decide exactly how high-tech you want to go. Start with some good basic plants and make sure you're prepared to keep up with those, then you can work your way up to the fancy high-light plants. I'd hate for you to get in over your head and get frustrated.