Anyone else is free to share their plant methods.
This will depend on how much you want to get into planted tanks and the kit you have or are prepared to buy.
Let's take your existing kit as a starting point. It's a 30g tank, but how many watts of lighting do you have?
What sort of plants do you like?
Do you want minimal effort, maximum output (like me), or do you like constantly working with it.?
Sand is not really a problem with a planted tank, you need an inch and a half to two inches to ensure there is enough substrate to anchor the plant and give the roots some space to grow. Whe i used sand i put a layer of first layer laterite underneath, and this seemed to work ok. First Layer laterite has to be rinsed a bit to get the worst of the clay colouring out, but not too much or you will lose the nutrients you bought it for in the first place. This stuff lasts about a year or so, then you need to start thinking about adding root tabs to the subtrate rooting plants to subsidise the nutrients.
I had sand for quite a while, but it does show up the mess a bit unless you keep on top of it. I have now gone with a small black gravel which i am really pleased with. It's only just a little bigger than sand really. Underneath the gravel I have used Tetra complete, and i have been really pleased with the results. It didn't need washing either. Both sand and gravel needs rinsing until the water becomes clear. This will save loads of hassle in the tank.
I have low light in my tank, only 1.3 Watts per gallon (WPG), but this does not stop a thriving tank. Mine is in desperate need of a trim now. I have added a small amount of DIY CO2 (see the pinned topic) using the nutrafin kit. I don't have up to the high levels of co2, but its not that binary. In a low light tank, it's really UP to 30ppm, but every little helps, and also helps to keep the algae down.
When doing a low light/low tech tank you just have to be a little more selective of your plants. Have a look on the tropica plant site, and the pinned topics around here at suitable low level plants. These include things like crypts, java fern, valis, HC, and many other plants. Contrary to many peoples beliefs you can have a very lush and colourful tank with not a lot of effort. Take a look at lljdma06's (the mod ) 20g tank journal in the journal section. That will give you plenty of ideas. Also in a low tech tank, you don't have to go mad with ferts or monsterous water changes.
I am about to change my DIY CO2 and use a regulator with a fire extinguisher. This will help to keep the co2 levels up, and more importantly consistent. It will also help my laziness, as it should last 4-6 months in my tank
. If CO2 is not the route you want to go, you can buy things like Seachem Flourish Excel online / ebay too. This is an alternative method of getting carbon into the water for the plants.
Let us know more about what you are after and we can answer with more information.
EDIT: one last thing.. you don't have to spend £50 on plants.. go to somewhere like greenline aquatic plants online and buy cheaper stuff there. I bought a big mixture (individually) and planted them all in my 48g tank. I will see what works well and then chop the stems in half and replant them.. The tank is looking pretty busy now with plants for about £20. Get some fast growers in the first instance too. This helps to keep the algae at bay. Read the journals for good info, i learnt loads from them. Take a look at Jimbooos 50g tank journal too.. that helped me loads.
Squid
