Setting Up A Planted Aquaria

[aquagardener]

here is a short guide i thought i would right for anyone who wants to set up a planted aquaria. this is by no means the only way but i thought i would share my experinces

ok so first the tank
doesn.t really matter i would avoid talle rones though because they are more dificult to light

next substrate
i use john innes no2 or garden soil (mine is good because it has alot of clay and low organics)under sand or a layer of sand and then gravel if gravel is the desired look. commercial substrates are good but are usually too expensive for my tastes but can be used if woried about soil

filtration
not to strong it is mainly for mechanical filtration as most of the biological filtration is done by the plants which will utilise ammonia directly.

lighting
the most important part the more light the quicker the growth but also the quicker the uptake of nutrients/co2 so if you want a lot of growth then provide high light but balance this with additional ferts/co2

co2
only needed if using high light and/or demanding plants. larger tanks will need pressurized systems but for smaller tanks you can use the yeast method.


if anyone has any questions especially about the substrate post and i will be happy to answer to the best of my ability

Tom

 

[nry]

So, err, Tom, you're not barr'ed from this form then?

 

[aquagardener]

no i'm no where near as knowledgeable as Tom Barr on i side note he does use soil substrates sometimes and has done investigations finding improved plant growth. (discussed in another forum)

Tom (Brown)

 

[nry]

Just checking

Tom (Barr) uses loads of (very good!) methods, not sure if it is nice to have a job in the trade or not though!

 

[plantbrain]

I like nano's, and suggest not going CO2 unless you want a temporary display or a lot of work in a small space.

Since they are small, they would require lots more trimming to maintain the scape.
I'm admittedly a little lazy time to time.

The above tank does not use CO2, nor soil, but soil does work very very well for non CO2 nano tanks.
As Tom mentioned.........clay and low organic matter helps.

You can remove the NH4 and organic matter(OM for short), by soaking the sediment in water in a shallow tray for 2-3 weeks and let the bacteria do the work. You may also bake the soil for 1 hour at 300C, or boil it for 10 min.

All these methods remove OM and NH4, which are your two biggest issues for folks and new soil tanks.
Folks do this, I think a lot more successes will come about using soil.

I like to mix 3:1 sand/soil in the lower 4-6 cm of the sediment, then top with sand for 3-5cm.
This prevents a juicy messy layer of solid soil.

All sediment should be washed and screened to remove larger pieces of wood etc.

Keep doing nice nanos that are well scaped!!
You can add excel and perhaps a little nutrients if you so chose, but a deep well processed soil tank can go many months without any ferts other than some fish waste.

Also, add zeolite in the filter to start with and leave it.
That will remove some NH4 as well.

Regards,
Tom Barr