new to planted tank

[dhavalsp]

Hi,

Can someone please explain steps of setting up an aquarium plant. stressing more on soil, substrate and actual procedure of establishing the set up.

Thanks.

[wesleydnunder]

The answer to your question can be simple or complex.

The first thing to consider is what type of planted tank do you want. Are you going for a fish tank with some plants or an underwater garden with some fish? Do you want an Amano Nature-type aquarium? If you're just getting started with planted tanks I'd suggest starting slow and adding complexity as you learn.

For light I'd suggest something in the 6500K-6700K range, at somewhere around 1 to 1 1/2 watt per gallon. You can grow many plants at that level of light. They'll grow slowly and give you time to see what you like and what does best for you.

For soil, there are many different types out there. Many love the ADA aquasoil. It is just one of many available. Many like Eco-complete also. Others prefer Seachem's line of substrates. The ADA stuff is ammonia-enriched and should be densely planted from the start, or the added nutrients will be available to algae. Many plants will grow in simple sand or small-aggregate gravel so buying expensive soils for your tank isn't completely necessary.

If you do elect to go for what's referred to as a high-tech setup, light upwards of 2.5 wpg, fertilizers and co2 injection, there is something of a steep learning curve involved. It's doable from the start but can be very frustrating to get balanced. Again, I'd suggest going the other route and learn to grow plants first.

We can discuss the need for fertilizers when you decide what type of tank you want to go with.

Mark

[dhavalsp]

for now i have decided to do it on small scale, i really dont know whether this will work or not.....I didn wanna disturb my set tank of guppies so i have done small bit of planting in small cups and introduced it in my tank....I hav used garden soil and planted my plants and then covered the soil with some gravel...

I have 10 G aquarium light wch is 20w...and my tank is exposed to sunlight for atleast 4-5 hours a day(yes my algae eaters are very happy).....

No CO2...

lets see how it goes, i know my plants wont be great, but just hoping tht they will survive...

I saw some normal lights(bulbs) incandescent/flourocent one's of 100 watt...are they goog for aquarium????...or they just consume too much energy ....

[wesleydnunder]

for now i have decided to do it on small scale, i really dont know whether this will work or not.....I didn wanna disturb my set tank of guppies so i have done small bit of planting in small cups and introduced it in my tank....I hav used garden soil and planted my plants and then covered the soil with some gravel...

I have 10 G aquarium light wch is 20w...and my tank is exposed to sunlight for atleast 4-5 hours a day(yes my algae eaters are very happy).....

No CO2...

lets see how it goes, i know my plants wont be great, but just hoping tht they will survive...

I saw some normal lights(bulbs) incandescent/flourocent one's of 100 watt...are they goog for aquarium????...or they just consume too much energy ....

Incandescent lamps are pretty much useless for growing plants. Normal output fluorescent in the color temp range I gave earlier will do much better. If the light fixture you have is made to use incandescent lamps, you can get self-ballasted compact fluorescent lamps from HD in the 6500K color temp that will screw into the incandescent screw shells. Incandescent lamps are dreadfully inefficient light sources. They rely on a tungsten filament to get so hot it glows white. Only 2 to 3 per cent of the energy used is converted to visible light, the rest is infrared and some UV.

Mark

[dhavalsp]

6500K..are referring to color temperature over here...and does any of these bulbs fit the definition as it says 6500K for some of them...

http://www.thefind.com/search?query=watt+t4+compact+fluorescent+bulb+6500K

Thanks.

Dhaval

[wesleydnunder]

The ones you linked are square pin and sraight pin compacts. If your fixture is designed for one of those specific lamps then they'll be fine.

Mark

[Somefishguy]

This is what I would buy and use with a hood that has the screw in type lights (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...1&d=1221086633).

Then buy these bulbs from walmart. Make sure they say daylight, package is identical to this except the watts may change.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MkIKkTP5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

They sale them at walmart for under 6$ a 2-pack. Get either 2 15 watt or 2 20 watt bulbs(i would use total 30 watts on a 10gallon aquarium) and use those. Note the watts on the bulb are the real watts not the comparing watts (15 watts vs like 60 watts)

Another thing I recommend is to plant as many plants as you initially can so it will help fight off any algae. Lastly start off with about 9 hours of light and increase it until you find a comfortable spot (I do my 11 hours).

Feel free to ask anymore questions

Oh and make sure the garden soil does not contain chemicals or fertilizers, I hear miracle grow organic is good to use.

[davemonkey]

It's sounds like you are going with a "natural" method (a.k.a. "El Natural" or NPT). Soil capped with gravel, relying on sunlight from a window, plain-ole lights...perfect for a super-low-tech start to get your feet wet.

As somefishguy pointed out, the Miracle Grow "Organic Choice" is a good soil to use that is free of chemical fertilizers. You can also use soil from your yard if you are certain that is chemical-free. I personally like natural soil (from the yard..about 1/4 inch) covered with the potting soil (about 1-2 inch) and that capped with something inert (like sand) or another substrate that you choose based entirely based on "looks" (since that's what you'll see).

The main thing is to be patient and READ lots of info. You've already started, so just let experience guide you while you read up on other methods. Then you can decide later if you want to dive into other methods and start spending some $$.

Oh, yes the incandescent lights will waste energy on heat rather than producing light..and the light isn't quite right for plants either. So a spiral compact flourescent (screw-in) or a new flourescent fixture will be beneficial...but not entirely needed since you've got natural sunlight working for you.

-Dave

[dhavalsp]

Thank you all...This info is really useful...

I m using two 13 watt fluorescent lights currently and i guess they should suffice for now.

Dave, I will go through el naturals.

Thanks.

Dhaval

[dhavalsp]

This is what I would buy and use with a hood that has the screw in type lights (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...1&d=1221086633).

Then buy these bulbs from walmart. Make sure they say daylight, package is identical to this except the watts may change.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MkIKkTP5L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

They sale them at walmart for under 6$ a 2-pack. Get either 2 15 watt or 2 20 watt bulbs(i would use total 30 watts on a 10gallon aquarium) and use those. Note the watts on the bulb are the real watts not the comparing watts (15 watts vs like 60 watts)

Another thing I recommend is to plant as many plants as you initially can so it will help fight off any algae. Lastly start off with about 9 hours of light and increase it until you find a comfortable spot (I do my 11 hours).

Feel free to ask anymore questions

Oh and make sure the garden soil does not contain chemicals or fertilizers, I hear miracle grow organic is good to use.

Hi...well these lights are perfect...they sell 26W ones too, n i m using those. Thanks.

[dhavalsp]

Just to update everyone on my tank.

The plants are growing well. Infact I am plannin to cut the extra grown and plant them again to make my plantation dense.
Well when i got these plants from Soyamilk they were red and he said tht it is because of good light tht he has, well he was right the new shoots are green.

Also riccia has darkened a little, i supose because of algae deposition( rest of my tank is pretty clear no algae on glass) any solution apart from Co2 for this???

Thank you all for your help earlier.

[bschulle1]

you should be able to find grow lights at Walmart in the lighting area of home improvement section. there should be different lengths to fit a flourescent hood.

[jennisof]

I just reviewed a website that was very useful to me, printed in plain English.

http://www.aquatic-plants.org/articles/basics/pages/01_intro.html

Very simple, basic, and easy to understand.

Jenn