So, you want a planted tank.....

[JustOneMore20]

…..well, here is some information that may be useful to you before you start your planting.

There are a lot of things to consider when planning a planted tank. I believe that you should always plan before making purchases, so that you know what direction you want to go in. Some things to consider are lighting, plants you want, substrate, and tank size.

Planting an established fish tank can sometimes create a challenge, since you don’t always know you want to plant the tank when you set it up. Because of this, you may not have the best choice for substrate and may need to consider changing out yours for something different.

Lighting
As far as lighting goes, it is probably the most expensive item on the list. There are many options for lighting, depending on the size of your aquarium. For small tanks, for instance a 10g, you could use the incandescent hood that holds 2 screw in bulbs. This lighting is easy to upgrade. Just go to the lighting section of your local hardware store or Walmart and pick up some screw in compact fluorescent bulbs that are marked “daylight”. Here is an example of the bulb shape: http://www.budgetlighting.com/gfx/li...825S_thumb.jpg. There are also smaller fluorescent and compact fluorescent fixtures for smaller tanks. For larger tanks and other tanks that may not have an incandescent hood, you will have to look into other options. Those will depend on the amount of work you want to put into the tank.

For a low light tank (1.5 watts per gallon and under), you can use fluorescent lighting. This usually comes standard on most tanks and usually works out to less than a watt per gallon. In some cases, you can add more fluorescent strip lights to the tank to add wattage. If you choose to stick to stock lighting, your plant choices will be limited. It will be less work though, as the plants will be slower growing and thus will not take in nutrients as fast, so dosing fertilizers will be an added benefit but not required. Most low light plants should be attached to wood or rocks and not buried, so a nutrient rich substrate is not always needed.

For medium light tanks (approx. 1.5 to 2.5 watts per gallon), you will of course need more light. Fluorescent lighting can be used, but you may need more of it over the tank. With medium light, compact fluorescent lighting may be a better choice, although it can be more expensive. The various watts from a compact fluorescent fixture usually depend on the length of the tank. This can be a challenge on some tanks to find the right wattage fixture. Another option is T-5 fixtures (regular or high output). With medium light, you will have more plant choices and the option of having CO2 or not. Fertilizing will still be needed and the need will be more than a low light tank.

For high light tanks (approx. 2.5 watts per gallon and more), there are even more options for light fixtures. Depending on the tank size, your best bet may be compact fluorescents, high output T-5s, very high output fluorescents, or even metal halides (usually used on large tanks). You will need carbon dioxide injection, regular fertilizer dosing of macro (potassium, nitrates, phosphorus) and micro nutrients. You will have unlimited plant choices, assuming you have a balance between light, nutrients, and carbon dioxide. Most high light plants are best with a nutrient rich substrate, although not all high light plants need this. Substrate choice depends on plant choice, generally. Plants grow faster in higher light, therefore needing to be trimmed more often. High light plants need the most attention, so it’s best to know that you’ll have time for this type of tank before deciding on it.

Substrate
After you choose your light level, you’ll want to decide on a substrate. While regular, small sized gravel can be used, it provides no nutrients (besides the fish waste that accumulates). Other substrates such as Eco-complete, Aquasoil, Flourite, and Onyx sand are nutrient rich and very useful to plants. Some higher light plants will not thrive in a non-nutrient rich substrate. Sand can also be used, but the finer the sand, the more it can compact the roots of plants and this can possibly kill the plant. Larger grain sands are better to use, if you must use sand. Many plants, such as low light plants, will be fine with regular gravel or sand and some fertilizing in the water column.

Fertilizing
Fertilizing a planted tank can be tricky. With low light plants, they take in nutrients slowly, so adding a ton of nutrients to the tank at one time can be an invitation for algae. Most of the time, just dosing a micro nutrient mix, like Flourish, can be enough for low light plants. I recommend using this once or twice a week, using the dose recommended on the bottle. Dosing potassium would not hurt though, since you cannot get this from food or fish waste. For medium light plants, you will want to dose the micro nutrient mix, as well as potassium, but more frequently. I suggest dosing the micro nutrient mix twice a week and dosing potassium twice a week. You can find a Seachem brand Flourish potassium in some fish stores. Another option is a dry fertilizer, such as K2SO4 (potassium sulfate). For high light tanks, you will want to dose micro nutrients on alternating days with macro nutrients (potassium, nitrates, and possibly phosphates). Nitrates will be taken up rapidly, so you will need to replenish them to keep the plants healthy, unless your tank is very overstocked and you are able to keep nitrates between 10 and 20ppm. Nitrates can be dosed via Flourish Nitrogen or dry fertilizers such as KNO3 (potassium nitrate). Phosphates are usually adequate from food and fish waste, but at times may need to be added. This can be done with Flourish Phosphorus or KH2PO4 (mono potassium phosphate).

Some sources for dry fertilizers are: http://www.bestaquariumregulator.com and http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com.

Hopefully this article will give you some things to think about while you are planning your planted tank. I hope it helps you decide what type of planted tank will be best for you.

[oliesminis]

good thread i will look back to it when i set my new planted tank in the near future

[shade2dope]

Very nice guide jom20

[barry stamper]

Great thread thank you for the time and effort!!!!

[cocomania]

great job, I was thinking of getting some real plants soon and will definitly follow your guidelines

[audzter]

Nice info have fun with the plants and fishes ^^