Is it possible to set up a cheap high-tech aquarium?

[Meg0000]

I don’t even know how to aquascape, can you guys give me the info? Back ground and mid ground plants and stuff?

You can look videos of george farmer, the cine scaper, green aqua, and aqua design amano on youtube. Other than that I would say that you would want to create shades with hardscape if you can and details are important (small plants, little rocks, moss ect). It's also important to create depht and you can create a nice sense of scale by putting for exemple a small rock next to a big one.

 

[Colin_T]

I don’t even know how to aquascape, can you guys give me the info? Back ground and mid ground plants and stuff?

Ambulia, H. polysperma, Elodia/ Hydrilla and Vallis are tall plants that do well along the back. Rotala macranda is a medium/ tallish red plant that usually does well.

H. ruba/ rubra is a medium height plant that looks good on the sides of the tank.

Cryptocorynes are small/ medium plants that are taller than pygmy chain swords but shorter than H. rubra. They also come in a range of colours, mostly different shades of green, brown or purplish red.

Most Amazon sword plants can get pretty big and are usually kept in the middle of the tank as a show piece. There is an Ozelot sword plant that has brown spots on green leaves, and a red ruffle sword plant (name may vary depending on where you live) with deep red leaves.

There is a pygmy chain sword plant that is small and does well in the front of the tank.

 

[AbbeysDad]

High tech uses bright light, lots of ferts, and CO2 to push plant growth to the max. Frankly, perhaps great for plants, but in my opinion, not really fish friendly.
I'm a fishkeeper and certainly believe that living plants create a much more natural looking aquarium, they also aid in water purification by converting nutrients (aka pollution) into plant tissue they we eventually remove in trimmings. This is especially true for fast growing floating plants that use ammonia as their nitrogen source.
So I much prefer low tech with 'normal' light and modest fertilizer.
To the OP, will you be a fishkeeper or an aquatic gardener?
If the former, then low tech is for you. If the latter, you'll need an LED light made for a planted tank, lots of ferts (check out the 'EI' [Estimated Index] method), and a CO2 system. Don't skimp on the CO2 system as too much CO2 kills fish!
Inexpensive? To go high tech can be a few hundred dollars. A good planted tank light can be $150USD.
In any case, it's always good to get a stable low tech planted tank and then decide if you want to go high tech...as you can get a better light, then later add CO2 and more ferts. But still, I prefer fish friendly low tech.
Just my $.02.

 

[Barry Tetra]

will you be a fishkeeper or an aquatic gardener?

I really like George Farmer and Green Aqua styles, I just wanted to keep fish in a planted tank.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I really like George Farmer and Green Aqua styles, I just wanted to keep fish in a planted tank.

You can have a really nice fish friendly low tech planted tank with far less expense and headache....

 

[chkltcow]

Inexpensive? To go high tech can be a few hundred dollars. A good planted tank light can be $150USD

Getting back into the hobby recently, this is still the most amazing thing to me. In years past, $150 would get you some crappy Compact Fluorescent lights that would go through bulbs moderately quickly. If you wanted TRUE 'high tech' lighting you had to build your own High Pressure Sodium or Metal Halide or whatever it was, and you could expect to spend $500+

LEDs have changed the game massively.

 

[seangee]

LEDs have changed the game massively.

Very true. The tank I posted in #8 has basic Nicrew LEDs. I run these at 40% power because more than that creates algae. And still my red plants are red - so there is enough light.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Yep, cool LED's are the new standard for aquarium lighting. I was drawn in with the Finnex Planted Plus 24/7 for my 60g planted display tank as in 24/7 mode it cycles like nature from dawn to dusk/twilight. A surreal and natural effect for the fish and viewing.

 

[Wills]

It depends on why you want to do it as to how much you need to spend on it. I've spent way way way more on my 2 foot high tech tank than I ever did on my 6 foot cichlid tank. And I still feel like I need more to get the high tech look - next step is to get an RO filter and then I think, think I should be able to move my tank to where I want it to be. High tech on the cheap does not sound like a great route and you will end up with so many work arounds it will make it pretty difficult to maintain.

Wills

 

[Barry Tetra]

Do you have a specific goal in mind?
This is low tech (still growing in)

My signature is low tech too

What kind of substrate and what’s that red plants? Looks good!

Make me changed my mind on low-tech, most plant store would tell you “You can’t grow red plants without Co2”

 

[Colin_T]

Make me changed my mind on low-tech, most plant store would tell you “You can’t grow red plants without Co2”

That's because most red and purple plants sold in pet shops belong in the garden, not in the aquarium. There are only a couple of red plants that do well underwater and the only one I can think of now is Rotala macrandra.

Any Alternanthera plants belong in the garden.
Purple waffle belongs in the garden.
Basically, half the plants sold for aquariums belong in the garden, and 99% of red, blue, silver and purple plants belong in the garden.

 

[seangee]

What kind of substrate and what’s that red plants? Looks good!

Make me changed my mind on low-tech, most plant store would tell you “You can’t grow red plants without Co2”

Substrate is just sand (unipac kivu in this case). The red plant in the centre is alternanthera rosaefolia and ludigia repens on the left - green leaves with pink undersides.

Even though I have the light (Nicrew classic 2 LED) at 40% intensity this tank is brighter than my other tanks. In my other tanks the a.rosaefolia is a lot more green with only a hint of red.

I am not qualified to contradict @Colin_T but if I search for alternanthera rosaefolia or alternanthera reineckii all the results are aquatic.

For completeness hygrophila polysperma on the right and heteranthera zosterifolia (spider grass) at the back.

 

[Wills]

I can think of a few more that go pretty red that have submerssed forms. Rotala H'ra, quite a few Bucephalandra species, Hygrophila Araguia.

I think for low tech success soft water (achieved by luck from your tap or RO water) is a big help. MD Fish Tanks on YouTube has a really annoying level of success with low tech set ups (some even no tech) and has soft water. I've read a couple of things about it some saying single celled organisms like algae dont do as well in soft water and something else about how softwater holds more Co2 than hard water (not injected just natural from the fish etc).

Wills

 

[Barry Tetra]

I just starting to do the aquascaping and...

my Anacharis melts when I moved it to another tank, is there anyway I could do to stop this?

@PheonixKingZ

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Anacharis usually melts when it is moved from a cold water tank to a heated tank.

There is literally no way to stop it - the damage has already been done.