Trying My Hand At A Planted Tank

[RebeccaLouise]

Hi guys.

So thing is im wanting to give live plants a go. Both of my current tanks have ornaments and artificial plants in and i use gravel substrate. Ive been looking around this forum and in pfk looking at other peoples tanks and their experiences and have made a decision to try it out. I have a nano tank on its way as we speak.

So i have a few ideas and questions and im hoping you shall help me out and keep me on the right track.

Basically im not planning on keeping fish in this tank. The sort of look im going for is to get a centre piece of small bogwood which i can attach java moss to and surrounding the bog wood (back and sides) im thinking of having bunches of java fern.

So now for the questions:

What substrate should i or is best to use for a planted tank?
Also will i need to add anything to the water eg. Dechlorinator, fertiliser, co2. And if i have to add fertiliser which would you reccomend?

Sorry for the lengthy post just want to make sure i get it right. Hope you can help me out.

Rebecca

 

[attibones]

If you want just java moss and java fern, then you'll need nothing but driftwood and clean water. Java fern needs to be attached to a piece of driftwood or a stone or something. Java moss can be super-glued, tied, or weighed down to something such as driftwood. These plants don't need CO2 or any kind of substrate because they are not meant to be in the substrate. 
 
However, if you really want to flesh out this tank, try species such as amazon sword (which will outgrow nano tanks, but is super easy and can be moved to a larger tank later), dwarf amazon sword, any anubias species, many varieties of crypts, elodea/anachris, and water wisteria or water sprite. The more plants you have, the more you should be considering adding nutrients in the form of liquid fertilizers. If you plan to use plants which are planted in the substrate, you may consider root tabs or a more nutrient rich substrate, but they are not necessary for the plants I've listed. These plants also do well in fairly low light and do not need CO2 injections.
 
You will need the dechlorinator, and, should you decide to use liquid ferts, you can use any number of products. Currently I am using Aqueon Plant Food, but I've used API's similar brand with great success. Just take a peek at what your LFS sells. There are a variety of good products out there. 

 

[kevingrods]

Your a brave brave sole.  I actually have the same exact plan, to have a specific tank just to grow plants and create a beautiful scene.  I can picture the tank in my mind.  I also have become bored with the plastic tank decorations and decor.  I look at the collection i have bought and its pretty massive.  Everything from petsmart and i also bought everything from petmountain lol and have gone through many rescapes.  I decided to save the planted tank for last because i plan to make this one my prize possession.  I'm going to do like you with a smaller tank, which would probably be upgraded to a larger tank as everything is tuned up and growing.  Do me a favor and keep me posted on your progress, i would love to see the end result.
 
Kevin

 

[RebeccaLouise]

Thankyou for the information attibones. I think ill stick with my idea on Java Moss on my wood but i think i will pass on the Java Fern (due to my plan was to plant into the substrate. Thankyou for the other ideas too on plants that i can plant into the substrate. Im hoping to choose sand so just to double check that the ones youve listed will be ok in sand? 
 

You will need the dechlorinator, and, should you decide to use liquid ferts, you can use any number of products. Currently I am using Aqueon Plant Food, but I've used API's similar brand with great success. Just take a peek at what your LFS sells. There are a variety of good products out there. 

 
If the planted nano goes well i am planning on progressing to planting a larger tank and this one will have Cichlids in. As long as all the plants listed are ok for them. As you stated about the plants outgrowing the nano will be perfect as i can use them once i have the right amount and need no more growth in my nano. Also another question (sorry

) I know the shopkeeper will point me in the right direction but just to do my notes i assume that the fertilisers are safe for fish too and that i hopefully wont come across any unsafe ones in a store?
 
 

I also have become bored with the plastic tank decorations and decor.  I look at the collection i have bought and its pretty massive. 

 
I am exactly the same Kevin, and when you see all those beautiful planted tanks out there with lovely fish it no were near compares to ornaments and fake plants in my eyes. Although im happy with my current tanks being just false decor im wanting to experiment and broaden my knowledge too. We have the same ideas by the looks of it. Yes ill keep everyone posted on my progress and if i have any more questions. Ill probably post on this thread or make another in planted journals. 
 
 
Thankyou all so far!
 
Rebecca 
 

 

[attibones]

Thankyou for the information attibones. I think ill stick with my idea on Java Moss on my wood but i think i will pass on the Java Fern (due to my plan was to plant into the substrate. Thankyou for the other ideas too on plants that i can plant into the substrate. Im hoping to choose sand so just to double check that the ones youve listed will be ok in sand? 
 

You will need the dechlorinator, and, should you decide to use liquid ferts, you can use any number of products. Currently I am using Aqueon Plant Food, but I've used API's similar brand with great success. Just take a peek at what your LFS sells. There are a variety of good products out there. 

 
If the planted nano goes well i am planning on progressing to planting a larger tank and this one will have Cichlids in. As long as all the plants listed are ok for them. As you stated about the plants outgrowing the nano will be perfect as i can use them once i have the right amount and need no more growth in my nano. Also another question (sorry

) I know the shopkeeper will point me in the right direction but just to do my notes i assume that the fertilisers are safe for fish too and that i hopefully wont come across any unsafe ones in a store? 
 
 
 

They should be safe. Be sure there is no copper, but iron supplements are good. Cichlids should be fine with plants, but African cichlids, I hear, destroy them.

 

[daizeUK]

I wouldn't worry about copper, it's hard to find a trace element fertiliser that doesn't include it.  All aquarium ferts are fine for fish (don't use terrestrial ferts, obviously). 
Invertebrates e.g. shrimp are a bit more sensitive but even so they should be fine with reasonable doses of any aquarium fert, even those with small traces of copper, at least in theory!

 

[snazy]

Trace amounts of copper are essential for shrimp. They use Hemocyanins for oxygen transportation(copper based) not Hemoglobin(iron based). Obviously at the same time high amounts can be toxic but copper is toxic to everything in high amounts.

 

[daizeUK]

I used to worry about copper in my Flourish comprehensive mix until I realised it works out as 0.0002 ppm Copper if I dose at full EI levels - my local water quality report says I have 0.1 ppm copper straight out of the tap so it suddenly seems a bit irrelevant!

 

[RebeccaLouise]

Ok thats great. Thankyou all. Now got some useful knowledge to go on now. Ill certainly do my research. I cant wait to get started.