Transition To A Planted Tank?

[Alps]

have a 4 year old 10 gallon tank that has 2 neons, 2 hatchetfish, and 2 corys
-right now i just have some regular, inexpensive gravel in it and I am testing a plant to see how well it will grow

I am looking into fluorite and laterite, but am unsure which is recommended and the easiest for a beginner. Any suggestions?

Also, I am trying to keep my costs down because my parents won't be funding any of my project so what are the basic essentials for maintaining the plant life? In all I'm hoping to keep the cost of maintainence equipment and fertilizers under $40 US dollars, more or less under 30 pounds. I am not looking to plant very densely and am planning on moving to a 20 gallon tank within a year.

Thanks for the advice

 

[kenneth_kpe]

Read the pinned articles or do a google search on basic plant care

if you would like to save mega bucks on planted tanks, search for alternatives to branded substrates, i have planted tank friends here that use regular soil for their substrate, there are more ways to save money on planted tanks, one of the most obvious methods would be to choose plants that do not require too much, low lighting etc, etc, this would mean that you do not have to shine too much light over your tank..

 

[Alps]

Read the pinned articles or do a google search on basic plant care

if you would like to save mega bucks on planted tanks, search for alternatives to branded substrates, i have planted tank friends here that use regular soil for their substrate, there are more ways to save money on planted tanks, one of the most obvious methods would be to choose plants that do not require too much, low lighting etc, etc, this would mean that you do not have to shine too much light over your tank..

Which substrate would you recommend though? I was planning on just using plants that are difficult to kill.
The soil around my house isn't the greatest, I'm positive it will really just make my tank into mud. What are the essentia fertilizers that I will need? Do I even need them?

 

[Alps]

anyone?

 

[Discomafia]

How much light (how many watts) do you have? Since you want to save money, you should just use the lighting system you have now. Less light means plants require less nutrients & CO2 to thrive. Less light also means less chance for algae to thrive, and trying to remedy an algae problem using various methods (CO2, less/more nutrients) is not a good idea.

Since you're not looking to plant very densely, just buy a few slow growing plants such as anubias and cryptocoryne species, in addition to java fern and java moss. You can also try stem plants, which are usually cheap and easily found, and provide a nice background plant.

Also, a good idea is to join your local aquarium society, as you can find a lot of people selling a lot of stuff (fish, plants, equipment...) at very cheap prices!

Check out this plant guide for ideas.

http/www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

 

[Alps]

I have 30watts total of incandescent bulbs, so 3wpg.
So you think I can grow the plants just fine with the incandescent bulbs and some good substrate.
By the way what substrate should be used, fluorite or laterite?
-and i don't need any fertilizer pellets or anything?

thanks for the help

 

[BWBettas]

most people throw away the WPG rule when using smaller tanks but im not sure what it is im no expert