Help Me Start A Planted Tank.

[superman1]

Hello

i have a 34L aqua 380 tank and wanted to turn it into a planted shrimp tank.
now i will be setting this up from scratch but have no idea on where to start.
could people please suggest to me what substrate i need. what nutrients i need (if any) what plants are good starters for a noob etc etc...
the tank currently has i believe 11watt lamp which is pretty bright for the tank if i dont say so myself.

thanks in advance

 

[superman1]

so no1 at all can help.

 

[aly_starh]

Are you looking into high-tech or low=tech?

Good starter plants are Java fern, moss balls, camboba carolinia and Elodea Densa.
If you wanted a high-tech-ish type of tank, you should be looking into Co2 and plants fertilisers. Substrate wise you will need some sort of soil. Like ADA. Other wise normal, Argos play sand will do fine.

Hope that helps.

 

[superman1]

hello

well i wanted to setup up a low tech. would this work. some time of aquarium plant substrate and then dose with liquid ferts. or does it have to be co2.

 

[AKGrown]

I'm not sure if this will help at all but I have a 20 gallon tank and have found that bamboo plants are very hearty, my ferns do very well and I have a large leaf plant (dont recall the name but my frogs and platys seem to love them for hiding. I got all of those at a petco and they have done just great very hearty and i use a liquid fert. Some of the plants that I got were ones that came it a plastic "tube" thing like my ferns and they had a gel fert with them i rinsed them and planted them and so far so good my cory cats love them for shelter. Hope that helps you maybe

 

[aly_starh]

hello

well i wanted to setup up a low tech. would this work. some time of aquarium plant substrate and then dose with liquid ferts. or does it have to be co2.

hmm, i think you might end up with nuicence algea, if you have a high wattage light..?!

Not too sure, id say PM a member called Truck.

 

[superman1]

got another question.

when using planting substrate. do you have to cover it with gravel or can you use it on its own

 

[aly_starh]

You would most likely use it own its own, if you were using cat litter, then you would cap it with sand to prevent it ruining the tank

 

[ebi]

you got a very big tank, I'm sure you can have plants that doesn't need co2 and still make the tank very nice. go to tropica.com and you can find lots of plants info, that maybe useful on plants that may suit your need.

To get some ideas what you want for your tank to look like, I listed some website may help you. enjoy and have fun


http/www.blueaquarium.org/2008/10/ada-contest-2007-world-ranking-no1-27/

www.aquashrimps.co.uk

hope this help

 

[superman1]

hello

well i am actually going to only be planting a 34L tank that i have. once i get the hang of it then i will begin to plant my 5 foot.
i have been looking at substrates and was going to purchasing this. Seachem Flourite Black Sand 7kg for £22
http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/planting/planting-substrates/seachem-flourite-black-sand-7kg-p-5077.html

would this be any good.

 

[DanielLB]

Just a quick question which i feel belongs in here: If you have a planted aqaurium what is the proper method of doing water changes/cleaning gravel. The reason i ask is i only have a small 28L tank with 3 guppies with 4 plants and 1 floating plant. i do 25-30% water changes weekly and also use a gravel cleaner. but i find that if i dont take the plants out each time there is still loads of gunk in and on the gravel. is this the right way?

 

[lljdma06]

Just a quick question which i feel belongs in here: If you have a planted aqaurium what is the proper method of doing water changes/cleaning gravel. The reason i ask is i only have a small 28L tank with 3 guppies with 4 plants and 1 floating plant. i do 25-30% water changes weekly and also use a gravel cleaner. but i find that if i dont take the plants out each time there is still loads of gunk in and on the gravel. is this the right way?

Hello DanielLB,

Most planted people will not put too much emphasis on heavy gravel-cleaning, as the plants will readily soak up the nutrients. There are times, however, when you do want to keep the substrate tidy for aesthetic reasons, but you won't have to remove the plants for this.

If you have any additional questions, don't hesitate to post a separate thread.

llj

 

[superman1]

good question which i assume i may have the same problem. but back to my previous post. would that product be sufficient enough as a planting media.

thanks.