Substrate for real plants

[aerofish]

I have read many websites instructing me how to start a planted tank that I think i'm just plain confused now. Some tell me to use Fluorite or Laterites. Some tell me to use multiple layers of different substrates...
The bottomline is that I want to just use gravel. I am not going for exotic plants that are hard to maintain. I just want the easy plants. If anybody out there is doing this, how did you go about setting everything up? Is it better to first add some fish for a few weeks so the gravel fills with fish waste, then add the plants? What kinda fertilizers should I use? Please mention exact brand names if you can...it helps reduce a lot of confusion for me.
I have a 15 gallon and I wanna use a UGF. I want to plant real plants in gravel alone. If anybody out there has done something very similar, please share wit me exactly what made ur tank successful!

 

[Bangin]

Usually, UGF's are avoided when establishing a planted tank. I can say that I have maintained planted tanks with UGF's and regular gravel successfully. I'd say it's best to add plants at the time of intial setup, assuming you already have the proper lighting. I simply used the flourish tabs that are placed in the gravel (next to plants). Good luck!

 

[luxum]

I have planted real plants in gravel alone and was not happy with the results. I ended up removing the gravel and replacing it with pure flourite. (I have since topped the flourite with some black sand.) My plants are not demanding, but they didn't grow well and i kept having to add root tabs to keep them from showing deficiencies. I suggest you get a bag of flourite (rinse the heck out of it) and mix it into your plain gravel. That will minimize or eliminate any need for fertilization for a long time if you have undemanding plants. Also, if you want a planted tank, the UGF is not a good choice, the roots will eventually disrupt the filter. A HOB power filter or external canister filter would be much better. Avoid biowheels in planted tanks.

 

[Bol]

On the other hand, my planted tanks (fairly low-light) have just gravel, and they appear to be doing pretty well. Especially after three or four months, when plenty of mulm (decayed plant material, mostly) accumulates in the gravel.

That's not to say that they wouldn't do better in a 'special' substrate, but they do fine in gravel. I mostly have stem plants, though, althgouh I do have a couple of crypts and swords (and lots of anubias, but I'm not sure how you'd categorize those).

If you decide to use just gravel, then here are my opinions ...

I'd also recommend not using a UGF.

Put the plants in right away. The amount of waste the fish that could safely build up in a couple of weeks probably isn't going to be that significant for your plants. Plus, the plants will help 'soak up' some of the ammonia and nitrates in a new tank.

I'd suggest getting some fast-growing plants at the start, too. Something like hornwort, wisteria, or hygrophila polysperma.

The only fertilizer I would use at the beginning is root tabs (e.g. 'ROOT TABS plus Iron' by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc), under any heavily-rooted plants you might have.

As far as other fertilizers, that depends on your conditions, particularly the amount of light you have over the tank. What kind of lights are you planning on running?

 

[cometcattle]

Avoid biowheels in planted tanks.

I'm fairly new to live plants, why not a bio-wheel?

 

[luxum]

I'm fairly new to live plants, why not a bio-wheel?

A biowheel drives off CO2 because it aerates the water so well. This is great in fish-only tanks, but plants need CO2, and will grow better in a tank where the CO2 is not being actively driven off by a biowheel or surface agitation. I saw a big difference in growth when i got rid of the biowheel (ah, the blessed quiet) and minimized surface disruption.

On the other hand, my planted tanks (fairly low-light) have just gravel, and they appear to be doing pretty well. Especially after three or four months, when plenty of mulm (decayed plant material, mostly) accumulates in the gravel.

I should revise my previous comments to note that my plants (low light) did well in plain gravel initially. It wasn't until they had been in the tank for a year or so that the deficiencies began to show, but changing the substrate was such a pain in the bootay they i recommend you save yourself the potential hassle and amend your substrate from the start. I suppose they are well fertilized at the grower and have a store of nutrients, especially ones that grow slowly from a rhizome like anubias and crypts, so it takes a while for deficiencies to surface.

 

[Bol]

A biowheel drives off CO2 because it aerates the water so well.

I may be wrong, but it's my understanding that this is the case only if the CO2 levels in the tank are significantly higher than the CO2 levels of atmosphere. That is, in practical terms, only if you're injecting CO2.

I saw a big difference in growth when i got rid of the biowheel (ah, the blessed quiet) and minimized surface disruption.

Jsut wondering, were you injecting CO2 at the time?

 

[luxum]

Nope, i wasn't injecting CO2, it's a low light tank. There was a noticeable difference in growth.

 

[utahfish]

i have a 29 planted tank with gravel only. i should have put some sand in it to but the gravel works fine. i have a ton of different plants. put them all in when i first put the water in. kept them in the water for about two days before i bought any fish then dropped some fish in an some liquid fertilizer and the plants are doing great. i have a bannana plant that is huge. it was tiny when i bought it and now it's really big. i have an amazon sword some hornwort, bacopa, java fern and micro sword and two reddish plants. i dont get how people cant get their plants to grow. i've never planted any plants until i got my tank a while ago and i just put em in and watch em grow.