Thinking of going planted!

[Mrs.h2012]

I'm wanting to go the planted route for my 55 once I get it up and going. Do I really need to have a sand substrate to have a planted tank? If I go through with it, I definitely want something low tech, and will stick with easy plants.. Amazon sword for sure, maybe some money wort? What would your recommendations be for starting a planted tank?

 

[bettaowner]

Crypts or anubias are good starter plants.

 

[tamtam]

You don't have to go sand. Though when you compare the price to gravel it's a lot cheaper. I just grabbed a bag of silica sand for 10 bucks, did my 30 gallon am going to switch over my 20 and I still have half a bag of sand left. lol. I spent 30 bucks on gravel for my 20.

Water Sprite, water wisteria, jave fern/moss are all great low light plants.

I started this thread on low light tanks for inspiration. You might find it helpful. I was surprised at how awesome some of the low tech tanks were,

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/low-light-planted-tank-224951.html

 

[Mrs.h2012]

You don't have to go sand. Though when you compare the price to gravel it's a lot cheaper. I just grabbed a bag of silica sand for 10 bucks, did my 30 gallon am going to switch over my 20 and I still have half a bag of sand left. lol. I spent 30 bucks on gravel for my 20.

Water Sprite, water wisteria, jave fern/moss are all great low light plants.

I started this thread on low light tanks for inspiration. You might find it helpful. I was surprised at how awesome some of the low tech tanks were,

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/low-light-planted-tank-224951.html

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out the only reason I have gravel in my 30 is because the gravel came with the tank. I'm hopefully going to get to petsmart soon (hopefully today) and I'll look at sand. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

 

[mohican]

I just have gravel in my 125. IMO, plants will grow better/easier because of water movement through and around roots. Sand can have a "choking" affect if not properly maintained.

 

[tamtam]

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out the only reason I have gravel in my 30 is because the gravel came with the tank. I'm hopefully going to get to petsmart soon (hopefully today) and I'll look at sand. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Petsmart has some different options for substrate. I've heard they have one that's like sand but not quiet sand. It's got bigger grains so doesn't compact quiet like sand. It's a bit pricey I think though. I actually got my sand from an auto supply store. It's used for sand blasting or pool filters. It's fine for plants but you need to keep the right depth. Too thick and in will compress and limit/stop root growth. I believe recommended depth is about 1 and half inches. You want to stay under 2 I believe.

I expected it to be a lot messier than it was but it actually isn't bad. I set up the tank and I had practically NO clouding at all. I put a plate in the bottom to pour my water in onto and it barely disturbed the sand. I had my fish in the tank within 2 hours.

 

[Coco1019]

I really like the look of planted, but with this being my first tank and all, I was worried about having something else to keep alive. Plus, I have a black thumb. I can look at a plant and it dies.

The more I'm reading though, the more it seems like it isn't too difficult.

 

[Aqualady40]

I really like the look of planted, but with this being my first tank and all, I was worried about having something else to keep alive. Plus, I have a black thumb. I can look at a plant and it dies.

The more I'm reading though, the more it seems like it isn't too difficult.

Don't feel bad...I feel the same about my poor thumb...lol...I am giving a shot at live plants as we speak...I hope my thumb turns green

 

[jetajockey]

Pick a high cec substrate material if you are going planted. It can be done without it, but it's better for the plants if you do. You can do this as cheaply or expensively as you want. Oil-dri is around $10 for a 40 or 50lb bag, or alternatively you could go with ecocomplete for about $25 or so per 20lb bag.

 

[FishWorks AK]

This is a very low tech 55, substrate is one thing you do not want to skimp on. If you like black, Eco-complete is amazing stuff, the longer you use it the better it works. You filter the sand out putting it on bottom and the more corse on top.