Planting My Tank

[Cossie1111]

as the time to cycle my tank draws nearer, i began to start thinking about plants, i do NOT want a heavily planted tank, only moderately planted, something along the lines of:

4-5 small foreground plants
1 mid range plant
1-2 background plants

so, what should i do?

the tank is 20 gallon being run by UG filtration.

should i put plants in before cycle and let them cycle?
should i cycle in the dark and then put plants in?
how deep should the gravel be?
dp i need to add carbon?

ANY advice would be appreciated.

thanks

 

[PDSimon]

I would stick to 1-2 foreground plants to be honest. Depends on your hardscape I suppose.

What hardscape are you thinking of and what is your lighting?

I planted the day before I added fish when I did my fishless cycle. You can add plants right at the start but it might burn them a bit of you're adding fair amounts of ammonia to the tank.

If you're just using gravel, about an inch and a half should be sufficient. You don't need carbon but if you have it already you can use it.


I would stick the plants in at the end and keep the tank in the dark through the cycle. Depending on your lighting I would go with some cypts at the front, some plants like java fern/java moss/anubias to attach to your hardscape and some background plants like bigger crypts, crinums and various other stem plants.

Are you thinking of dosing ferts? If your lighting is low you might not need them.

 

[Cossie1111]

My hardscape is just driftwood (bogwood?) placed in somewhat of an island setup.

lighting is a 15 watt standard Fluorescent light.

 

[StandbySetting]

I'd add plants at the end, species I'd recommend:

Microsorum pteropus various varieties, tie to wood or rocks.
Anubias spp. again various species, tie to wood or rocks
Cryptocoryne spp.
Valliseneria spp.
Echinodorus spp.

There are also various mosses you can use, but how you plant them depends on variety.