Help A Moron!

[fishtankearl82]

I've spoken with several individuals about what is the best initial setup for a planted aquarium. I was planning on putting a layer of plant fertilizer on the bottom of the tank and then laying small gravel onto of that. But I'm not sure if this will be good enough for plants to flourish in my tank.

Another question? I there an easy way of figuring out how much gravel/substrate you should use for your tank, I'm setting up a 90 gal tank. Any suggestions or help you can offer me would be great....

 

[lljdma06]

I've spoken with several individuals about what is the best initial setup for a planted aquarium. I was planning on putting a layer of plant fertilizer on the bottom of the tank and then laying small gravel onto of that. But I'm not sure if this will be good enough for plants to flourish in my tank.

Another question? I there an easy way of figuring out how much gravel/substrate you should use for your tank, I'm setting up a 90 gal tank. Any suggestions or help you can offer me would be great....

It really depends on what you want. Do you want a high-maintenance tank or a low-maintenance one? One is not better than the other and both have their advantages. Are you on a budget? Substrate, Lighting play an important part in both types. What kind of lighting do you have in your 90g? Sorry for the questions, but they are necessary.

Glad to see another member interested in planted tanks. Feel free to read over the pinned articles in this section. They are extremely informative. In addition, have a look at the member profiles and journals. Looking at these will help you pinpoint what you want to accomplish with your setup.

As for your amount of substrate question, that I cannot help you with. I usually just buy a lot of gravel and bank on MTS (multiple tank syndrome) kicking in at some point. I always have a supply of gravel, so all my tanks end up looking similar. A long, long time ago, I was told a pound a gallon, but I've been setting up tanks for such a long time, that I really just eyeball it now. I tend to shoot for 1.5-3" of total substrate depending on what I'm planting. But the depth requirements vary depending on what substrate you use.

llj

 

[Themuleous]

Ive known people use tetraplant in tanks to good effect, and its quite cheap if money is an issue. I would aim for around 1-1.5" of plant substrate, with a cap of a further 1-2" of gravel that should do the trick.

There is also the new tropica base layer that I have no doubt would be very good, check out aquaessentials for more options and it also gives you a chart for how much tropica substrate you need depending on the size of your tank.

Sam