First Planted Tank

[robbie carrobie]

Hi, was reading this most excellent article on forum, 'your first planted tank' and the following was stated,

Plants are Just like any other living being, plants need nutrients to execute their basic biological functions. The 3 most important nutrients for any kind of plant are nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (N-P-K), so garden fertilizers are made with compounds containing these elements, called macronutrients. However, aquarium water tends to naturally accumulate large amounts of N and P in the form of ammonia, nitrates, phosphates, etc, and an excess of these compounds tends to cause a wide range of problems (fish intoxication, algae growth, pH fluctuations, etc), so aquarium fertilizers should only have high concentrations of K. Of course, several other elements are needed in smaller quantities but are also essential. These are called micronutrients or trace elements: Fe, Zn, Mg, Mn, S, B, and others. There are several good commercial aquarium fertilizers which supply all these nutrients in appropriate quantities, which you can buy and "feed" the plants just as you do with the fish. But there's an extra advantage that in general you'll only need to do this a few times a month, not every day.

Its this last part thats confusing me !!!

If i have a 65 gallon (uk) tank, can i grow healthy plants in this way (i mean avoiding the EI method of feeding every day and 50 % water changes ) and if so can anyone advise on substrata (i would like gravel with additive and then sand on top), lighting ( i was advised not to go above 2watts per gallon if i wanted to avoid EI method) , co2(a dude called dave who was really helpful said that for this size i would need a pressurised system) - kind regards in advance robert.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Just been reading your other post and I agree it does all seem very confusing at first.

What kind of budget are you on?

I went for using ADA ferts and substrate. The reason being that it was very simple to understand and also didnt change my normal fish keeping routine (not 50% water changes). The down side is that it is a lot more expensive when compare to using EI.

What I used on my tank at setup:
ADA power Sand (goes under the main substrate)
ADA Aquasoil (this is a very nutrient rich substrate and does a good job for root feeding plants)

What I use for regular ferts:
ADA Step 1 this is dosed 3 times a week for the first 4 months. Then you just switch to step two.
ADA Brightly K this is dosed everyday
CO2+lights. If you are going for 2wpg then you want pressurised CO2 and to keep the CO2 level at 30 ppm (if you get a drop checker its very simple to do this).

And thats it. Everything is made up in bottles. I give 7 squirts from one bottle every day, 7 squirts from the other bottle every 3 days and just make sure my CO2 levels are stable. Water changes are just my normal 10% every week that I do in any tank.

There are other ferts that you can add from the ADA range which will help plant growth but have not been needed in my tank so far (and probably by the time they are needed in your tank you will have a much better understanding of why they are needed and how to add them).

The ADA ferts are much more expensive then any others I have seen but they are so simple to use and do a great job. Once you get into it and start picking everything up you can actually make up identical ferts for a fraction of the cost. To use from the start though they make life a lot easier (and I like life to be as easy as possible ).

You could mix the ferts with another nutrient rich substrate but they wont work so well with inert substrates. Unlike EI which doses everything in quanties higher then needed by the plants this method doses the minimal amount and then the substrate provides the rest.

There are a lot of ways to do it though and they all have there pros and cons. I researched planted tanks for about 3 months before I actually set mine up but still learnt more about them in the first month of having it running then in all 3 months combined

 

[SuperColey1]

I would also suggest staying under 2WPG.

CO2 is not necessary for low light tanks but is still beneficial

You can then use a normal off the shelf fert like Seachem Excel, ADA or TPN+ to fertilise once a week.

This is George's low light tank to givce you an idea of a low light setup. He has chosen to dose TPN+ daily but it can be done weekly instead.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=208540

Andy

 

[robbie carrobie]

High i quite like the idea of ada aquasoil, can i put this in the bottom and cover it with sand, (do i need to mix it with gravel first)i really want to use white sand ? and if so how much do you think i will need for a 65 gallon (uk ) tank - regards Robert.