want to do a 30 gal planted tank

[kevinly]

i decided that i want to do a planted tank. does anyone have some advice for me? or any info.. i have no idea what to do.

[Mzungu]

Wow. Yes, there are many people here who can offer you great advice. But you're going to need to give us a bit more info. First of all, what are the dimensions of the 30g tank? Do you own the tank now and want to plant it, or are you just thinking that 30g is a nice size?

How much money are you willing to invest?
What kind of plants catch your eye?
How much work are you willing to spend on it daily? Weekly?

A little background would help us to get you started. :) There are also a lot of threads here on HFB that you can look at, as well as on other forums. Aquatic Plant Central is a good forum that comes to mind.

[imagirlgeek]

I completely agree with Mzungu. You are going to have so much fun...I am fairly new to the whole planted tank thing and let me tell you...the people around here who are experienced are so very willing to help. Have you thought about what soil you are going to use? What kind of plants you like? Are you going to do CO2? What kind of lighting do you have? There are lots of options...even if you just want to take it slow. I started with DIY CO2, and a couple of strips lights I had around the house, and after I got hooked...I upgraded. Also, NASH is a local nature aquarium club and they are all awesome people. You should come to a meeting...you have no idea how much you can pick up just listening to these guys talk.

[kevinly]

I recently picked up a 30 Gallon Long. I want to start small before I do a bigger planted tank. I'm free this entire summer so this is my summer project. I have seen Dan's 8 foot tank. I want to model my tank after his, but a scaled down version.

[kevinly]

I'm new to the whole fish hobby. I just got a tank up and running recently. Now I want to do a planted tank, but my knowledge about them is next to nothing. So I don't know what kind of soil or plants to get.

[Darbex]

Which tank are you referring to is it the one that is heavily planted or the one with sand bottom and planted in the back only. If you want the second then I would say you dont really need CO2 dosing with excel should be fine just make sure you have a good light system.

[Darbex]

Here is my 29G planted with high lights and CO2. I am also using ADA Amazon soil.

http://www.houstonfishbox.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=25322&page=5

[kevinly]

Here is my 29G planted with high lights and CO2. I am also using ADA Amazon soil.
http://www.houstonfishbox.com/vforum...t=25322&page=5

Very Nice tank Darbex.

I am referring to the 8 foot tank Dan has in the back with the angelfish. I want to scale down his tank basically.

[Mzungu]

If you can make it to the GHAC auction tomorrow, there are great deals to be had. NASH will be bringing some awesome plants, and there will be a lot of people you can talk to and pick for info. :)

Is a 30 long 30" or 36"?

[kevinly]

I am definitely going to the auction tomorrow. I am looking forward to talking to people and learning new things. The tank is 36" long.

[Darbex]

Thanks Kevin that was my first endeavor into the planted tank world and it took some getting used to. I would say figure out what you want the tank to look like and plan the requirements based on that. And note it never really turns out exactly like you want so lean on people from NASH to help you out in what plants look like. From experience what the plant looks like when you buy looks different when it grows 3-4 months later.

[Mzungu]

Great! See you there!

You have better options with 36" than 30" when it comes to lighting, so that's good.

[i_am_poor]

I just took over a 15g planted tank 2 wks ago and co2 killed all my fish on Wednesday =( It was a really sad sight.

[myjohnson]

I just took over a 15g planted tank 2 wks ago and co2 killed all my fish on Wednesday =( It was a really sad sight.

plants must be doing good then.

[wesleydnunder]

I just took over a 15g planted tank 2 wks ago and co2 killed all my fish on Wednesday =( It was a really sad sight.

I'm really sorry to hear that, i_am_poor. Unfortunately it happens all too often.

Kevin, before you dive headlong into a hi tech tank with high light, co2 and ferts I'd suggest starting slow. Learn how to grow plants first and gradually ease your way into the more difficult set ups. I've seen too many folks jump in with both feet only to wind up with a first-class algae farm. Often they get fed up and quit. Just my 2 pennies.

+1 on all the other suggestions you got. Research, talk to the NASH folks and research some more.

Mark