Planted Tank Lighting & Substrate

[Nospherith]

Greetings. Now is the dawn of my time here on these forums. I'm dealing with some issues about my aquarium. I really like plants, they are really green and add alot of aesthetic appeal to an aquarium. I have a 20g tank with a few plants already (grass, crypt lutea and some other stemmy-leafy plant) and 5 zebra danios, some driftwood and a really awesome natural lava rock over 3" of coarse gravel. I guess I need some help setting up a good planted tank that lets my plants and fish be happy. Basically, I plan on getting more plants to make an aquascaped aquarium. I do not plan on using CO2 injection or one of those expensive 100w+ lighting set ups.

1) Lighting: I've read 1 watt per gallon is sufficient for a planted tank, but 2 or even 3 watts/gallon would be optimal. Would plants (not just low light like java fern) be able to flourish (in other words grow and propogate instead of merely existing) with a single 25w flourescent bulb for my 20g aquarium?

2) Substrate: I now have about 3" of pebble gravel, with which I am content, however; the added benefits of substrates such as flourite and Eco-Complete Plant Substrate are difficult to ignore. I'm probably going to end up replacing the gravel, but with what I do not know yet. I know about flourite (it the flaky-pebbly reddish stuff with lots of iron), but what about other substrates? My LFS carries this stuff:

.
What does it look like, dirt or sand or what? My tank is already established, so I need something that won't kill my zebra danios by overclouding, since I'm not willing to drain my tank of all of the water.

 

[modernhamlet]

1) Lighting: 25w isn't going to get you any of the high light plants, but there are a number of good options for a lower light tank. Here is a good place to start looking for lower light plants. Make sure you've got a decent 6500K bulb. You don't need to spend a fortune for an "aquarium" bulb, but at least get a full spectrum one.

2) Substrate: I had good luck with Fluorite, but have heard good things about Eco-Complete as well. You should wait to hear from someone who's used it though. Whatever you get, RINSE IT really, really well first. Like 3 times more rinsing than you think is necessary.

Hope that helps. Sorry if I went over anything too elementary. Sounds like you're definitely doing your homework. You might want to ask over in the Planted Tank section as well, since traffic here in Beginner can be a little high.

Good luck with your tank!

 

[Discomafia]

Can you fit a tube under your hood or will it allow for only bulbs?

 

[freddyk]

You can use a layer of flourite or similar underneath your current gravel if you prefer the look - plant roots will have no problem finding it.

 

[Nospherith]

Thank you for all your helpful information. It has served me well in my quest for knowledge and to ultimately transcend the vile shackles that merit worthy of a dilettante.

Well, I've decided that by various factors, I should substitute my gravel for Eco Complete Substrate and get a High-Output 55w 9,000k flouro tube. That'll give my plants a nutrient-rich substrate with about 2.75 watts/g in my 20g tank.

Now the next challenge that exists herein is of the aesthetic nature.

1) Draining the tank... I know I said I wasn't going to drain the tank, but I'll probably end up having to anyway, which is kindof a pain considering where I live. I just hope my fish don't die from it.

2) Terracing... I'll probably end up getting some slate rocks or something if I can find them, or, I think I've read that someone created "hills and valleys" using the Eco Complete without terracing. Maybe I'll peruse through one of those Amano books someday.

BTW, I have a 15w tube assembly lighting my tank as of this moment. It is insufficient for the needs of my aponogetons.