A Begginers Planted Tank?

[lowee]

Hi all,

I am fairly new to the world of planted fish keeping and am looking to get into it.
I currently have a tank which is 39"x18"x15", with a 25 watt daylight bulb, a preety crappy, small internal filter and heater. Fish list is:
4 neon tetras
3 penguin tetras
2 guppies
2 corydoras
1 fairly large angle fish
1 pearl gourami

I have just a layer of gravel as substrate and a few rocks, bogwood and plants.I am also struggling a bit with brown algae on the rocks/plants/tank. The tank has been running since february/march.

The tank doesnt look like anything special at the moment and as said i would like to start a proper planted aquarium. I would be very grateful if someone could give me advice on where to go next or a step by step FAQ(bearing in mind i am not that up on all my stuff, so fairly easy for me to understand).

I have about 60-70 quid to spend right now. And am not looking for anything too complicated.

Thanks alot

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

Okay I well I would buy some Fertilizers. Get some Root Tabs and liquid Ferts. If you can, get a stronger bulb although I think that should be okay. Start out with some Swords, or Anubis, maybe some Java Moss, as these tend to be good for begginers. Make a DIY Co2 Injector as this will help with the algae(look in DIY for a thread on these). Hope this helped.

 

[Puffer punk]

more gravel so it makes about 1 and a half or more imo , and another light or 2 prefferably with refflectors, and if u can get a diy Co2 kit and your plants will grow alot more....


if u search the word beginger planted tank on this forum thn u shuld get laods of help

 

[lowee]

Ok, thanks for the help.

I was thinking of completely re-doing my tank(plants, rocks, bogwood etc)Would it be worth getting some better substrate? Like proper plant substrate? So i could take out all the fish plant ect then put in the new substrate with say sand on top? I was also thinking of putting in some Hygrophila polysperma as i heard its quite easy to grow?

Also which bulb do you think would be best?

Thanks again

 

[BigIan]

there are two schools of thought on the planted aquarium... hightec and low tec,

in the high tec you throw everything the plants will need in abundance into the tank, light co2 and ferts,

in the low tec tank you stock heavily and let the fish ect produce everything the plants need,

personally i went down the hightec route and have recently spent 300 quid on my tank, new lighting new co2 unit and substrate. and hopefully it should all be arriving on monday!.

i spent months reading up about what i would need for my desired look. before i even started lookingfor equipment, try reading some of the articles on the aqua esentials website aswell as on this very forum. so you have a better idea of what you will be looking for.

just remember plants need co2 light and ferts and decide the best method of adding therese to your tank for you

 

[George Farmer]

Welcome to TFF!

I'd spend the cash on boosting lighting levels. Spending it on anything else is secondary as with only 25w in a 45 gal. tank (0.6 wpg) you will have difficulty growing all but the lowest-light tolerant plants.

You'll need to double your lighting at least, even for a low-tech set up. Add reflectors too.

Read the pinned threads for a better understanding of what's involved.

After this you will hopefully have a better idea as to what you need to do to acheive your desired results.

 

[lowee]

Thanks george, i have mailed you.

 

[George Farmer]

Thanks george, i have mailed you.

You're allowed to ask questions in the thread too! This way others may benefit.

You mention upgrading to 2.2wpg. With this much light you will need CO2 injection. Then water column fertilisation becomes important. With a low fish load you may need to add macronutrients i.e. nitrates and phosphates. The pinned EI article will explain this.

Substrate-wise go for what suits your taste and budget. There's loads of decent types to choose from, from complete substrates to plain gravel where you add root tabs or other additives. Ask the LFS. Hopefully they'll have a clue.

Plant heavily from the outset. Read the pinned algae thread for more info.

 

[lowee]

Ok, i dont really want to get into C02 just yet, so what do you think would be the ideal WPG for the aquarium? And does a descent substrate really make a big difference to plant growth?

 

[George Farmer]

1 to 1.5 wpg would work. That's 2 or 3 tubes (25w).

A decent substrate will help any plant with roots. Better substrates require less demand on the water column for nutrients so you can dose less fertilisers to satisfy the plants. This a low-tech, non-CO2 principle.

 

[DarkEntity]

Ill just add my 2 pence.

Rather than buy more/better lighting i would think that adding reflectors would be a cost effective option aswell.
I know for me it made a huge difference, im having to prune plants twice weekly to stop them from taking over the tank

It may not be enough for his tank though, just a thought.

 

[lowee]

Ok, thanks for all the help, i will update you after i get everything tomorrow.

 

[lowee]

Went to my local fish shop today and have bought a 55W light to go with my 25 watt one. Also ive bought some plant fertiliser, will post some pics when everything is set-up.

 

[lowee]

Here is a picture of the tank i its current state, may add more plants and bits but just checking that the plants will actually grow!

 

[lowee]

Ok, to get some real plant growth im thinking of buying 2 nutrafin C02 systems. When i have them would it be worth upgrading my lighting to beyond 2 WPG? I have currently got about 1.7 WPG.
Thanks