What Do I Need For A Planted Tank?

[KieranBoyne]

Hi, I am thinking of giving my current fish into a store as the tank is too small and I will be starting again with my tank if I can persuade my mum to let me, she's so.... I don't know the word but she thinks she owns me, I can't do anything. And I want the new tank to be heavily planted, all live plants with a cave and a bit of driftwood. What I want to know is what are all of the things that I need, at the moment I think I would need:

Fertiliser substrate- to provide nutrients. If I get this, do I still need to add the ferts that come in a bottle or tabs? And can I put an extra layer of substrate, such as sand or gravel on top???
 
Co2 system- The hagen co2 system seems alright. Why do I need this again? I forgot

 
Ferts in tabs and bottle? I don't know if I need these if I get fertiliser substrate
 
A good, high wattage bulb? I am guessing that a 30 watt or higher bulb would be ok for a 60 litre? Maybe not... I don't know.
 
Fish waste- Optional but there will be fish sooo......
 
Is that all?? I know that the tank is small so what plants would be able to thrive in there?
 
Thanks

 

 

[McCool]

It depends on what sort of set up you are going for. Do you want to go low, medium, or high demand plants? Since its your first planted tank, I would go with low. There's a ton of great plants you can do that are fairly easy! If you want to do a low tech tank, personally, I don't think you need CO2 at all. For substrate, you could do something like eco complete or flourite, and put a layer or sand or gravel over top. It's not necessary, but certainly wouldn't hurt. Or you could leave out the plant substrate all together and just use root tabs with regular substrate. I personally like sand for plants, because they are easy to bury. You could also just do plain substrate and dose ferts. I've always had luck with flourish excel.
I will admit I'm not the best with lights, but I don't think you need a 30watt. I think that's too much. If you go by the Wattage Per Gallon rule, which I know is a little outdated, you only need around half that. Wait until someone else chimes in here though, as lights are still confusing to me
If you do a low tech to moderate tank....
Java fern
Java moss
Amazon swords
Corkscrew vals
Other vals would probably work too
Wisteria
Take a read through these
http/eveliens.hubpages.com/hub/Aquatic-Plants-for-Beginners
http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/plants/beginners.php
http/www.fishchannel.com/freshwater-aquariums/planted-tank/beautiful-and-easy-to-keep.aspx

 

[attibones]

I would like to add that amazon swords do benefit from root tabs. If you get all the other plants on the list above, then get some root tabs but only put a couple near the swords as java fern and others wouldn't need it. I would also dose with flourish. I'm getting excellent results with my plants right now.

Plants to consider:
Anubius nana, barteri, etc
Cryptocoryne
Bacopa
Elodea/anacharis
Moss balls

With the anubius, you'll need to leave the rhizome above the substrate. I bury the roots of mine and weigh them down with just a few stones or tuck them into the holes in my driftwood. Moss balls can be pulled apart and then spread over stones or wood, attached with a bit of superglue or thread/fishing line. Doing this creates a really cool look. You can also leave them alone and toss them in the water. Shrimps love to pick at the moss balls, too.

 

[KieranBoyne]

Hey, and thanks for the replies. I want to go with a low demand plant setup. So, can I do this:
Eco-complete substrate with a layer of Black sand on top.
I will use the flourish tabs and I will also use liquid flourish. Therefore I should get a lot of rapid growth shouldn't I? Or is that too much nutrients for the plants??
 
And can I just leave out the co2 system? Just let it be?
 
And as for the list of plants I will use:
Anubias Nana- For the front, get 2 or 3 of them
Cyrptoryne- Nice wide plant, Probably at the slight side from the middle.
Elodea- Loads of these for the back. Really nice plants.
 
Is that ok with n 18w bulb?
Also, according to the first link I was provided with earlier, it says that the root tabs are "placed at the base of a rooted plant" So does that mean that I have to attatch it to the root or something? Or can I just drop it in beside the plant??
 
Also, I haven't heard much about seachem Excel, but on the same link, it says how it can be used as an alternative to co2 systems, so how would I use that? Put it in at certain times of the day? If so, what times.
 
Sorry for all of he questions but I might as well ask them.

 

[attibones]

You just bury the root tabs near the plant. Don't worry about attaching them to any roots. 
 
Before you get the plant substrate, you'll need to consider the number of plants you'll need to have. If you don't have enough plants, you'll have too many nutrients in the water which will encourage algae growth. For now, just use some sand, root tabs and liquid fertilizer.
 
No CO2 needed. However, it may be eventually beneficial to get liquid CO2. I use that in my tanks for the plants that have higher demands than others. I wouldn't worry about using it right now though.
 
That bulb should do well.
 
I'm not sure about Excel, but I know it's similar to Flourish with a little extra. I don't know as much about it. 
 
You may also consider doing something along the lines of the Walstad method which involves using dirt and a ton of plants with little CO2 requirements and it is supposed to cycle your tank in a matter of a couple of weeks. I haven't personally tried it, but I'm planning on attempting it when I build my 100 gallon angel tank.

 

[KieranBoyne]

Thanks for all of this useful information. I bought amazon sword and anubias nana! Thanks for the help guys!

 

[McCool]

Thanks for all of this useful information. I bought amazon sword and anubias nana! Thanks for the help guys!

Goodluck with them!