what are the basics to a heavily planted tank?

hey, I am soon going to get my betta a bigger tank (10 - 20 gallon) and I thought I would make it a planted tank with like a ton of plants. so much you can barely see the back! I know nothing about planted tanks, so I am asking for the basics. I need the basics. For example, what plants I should grow, how to grow them, where to get them, what dirt to get, and anything else I need to know. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Tony G - AquaStudent on September 11, 2011 at 11:09am

The most important thing about planted tanks is lighting. you will need to know what lighting class you fall under.

The old system uses a Watts per Gallon rule. It's a bit outdated but I know WPG much better than the new flux systems. Anyway, using the old system my 10 gallon has a 15 watt 8500k (ish) flourescent strip. That lighting is moderately ok for growing plants. Ideally you want a rating as close to 6500k as possible. Also, the 15 watts over a 10g tank will give me 1.5 wpg. that's about the middle of the low light category.

With that lighting i can grow low light plants (these are only ones that I have successfully grown in that tank) including aquatic mosses, java fern, some swords, watersprite, pennywort, and crypts.

Crypts are some of my favorite plants and bettas will absolutely love them! Look up cryptorcoryne wendtii and other species in the cryptocoryne family. Another good bet will probably be mosses like java, peacock, weeping, flame, willow, christmas, etc. Mosses can be attached to rocks and driftwood to really pull together an aquascape.

The next most important thing is substrate. Many people use dirt and a cap two layer substrate on this site. I have a 5 gallon medium/high light planted tank with dirt and tahitian moon sand cap. My 10g low light tank is not dirted but i still have been able to get a nice jungle. With low light I would not suggest using dirt because the extra nutrients will not be able to be absorbed by the slower growing low light plants and will turn into an algae fest. You can supplement your tank with Root tabs which will give a boost to the rare minerals that are required for healthy plant growth. A steady water change schedule will also ensure a supply of these minerals will always be there.

Gravel or sand is a huge question but i can give you my opinion. My favorite substrate is a small gravel size (I like the CaribSea Super Naturals line). It is easy to plant in and allows runners to propagate easily. It's the best of both worlds. This substrate is inert and such will not provide the plants with nutrients. These will have to be supplemented by fish waste or root tabs.

The last thing you should know about is carbondioxide injection. It's really not hard at all to do a DIY setup. All you will need is a glass diffuser (cheap on ebay...less than $6 with shipping to the US), airline tubing, valve check, dry baker's yeast, sugar, and a bottle (24oz for a 5g, 2L for a 10g, etc.). There are many guides out there for c02 injection. Let me know if you want to get into this. The added c02 will help supplement the photosynthesis process for the plants and allow them to grow faster and stronger. Carbon is a very important element for life and is usually the limiting factor in photosynthesis. We are making sure that there is always enough carbon.

Plants can be purchased in many different places. Dustin has a great selection of very healthy plants and can quickly fill your tank. The only problem is he has a $50 minimum purchase. You can ask around the site for people having sales. I may have some moss for sale in the next couple of weeks. Some LFS also have a good plant selection but this varies significantly between locations and stores and you'll usually end up paying more than you would from another hobbyiest. You can also look at ebay and aquabid but it is very hard to tell what quality of plant you will be receiving.

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Permalink Reply by brenden (funnymakeslifesunny) on September 11, 2011 at 4:21pm

wow! you really know your plants! I'm subing you on youtube. I will definutly listen to your advise! Thanks for replying!

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Permalink Reply by Tony G - AquaStudent on September 11, 2011 at 4:33pm

No problem! I have only been in the hobby since December but have learned a lot. Let me know if you have any other questions. The best thing you can do with your tank before you get it is have a plan.

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Permalink Reply by PaducahFishFan on September 11, 2011 at 8:42pm

I would suggest going with Wysteria. A think layer of organic dirt and a small sand type gravel. On a 10-20 gallon tank the Aqueon T5 bulb is very good. There are others just as good but I don't know that you will need T5HO.

The stronger the light the more danger you run into algae issues. Most folks that go with TOO much light also get forced into CO2 systems as a way to have the plants out grow algae that will cover the surface of the plants.

Wysteria is a plant that gets a LOT of it's nutrients from the water. There are lots of plants that do well in lot to moderate light.

Most folks with a DIY CO2 system will sooner or later wake up to dead fish. There isn't a way to turn it off at night so folks get forced into an air pump and aeration of the tank. I might go a CO2 system down the road but if I go with CO2 I want a PH controlled one and those are very pricy.

There are also liquid ferts you can look at that do a great job of helping plants grow.

You'll figure it out. Have fun and keep learning.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=768...

That will hopefully give yo a list of plants that are easy to care for. The Wysteria, Water Sprite and Amazon Swords do great in a planted tank. I've got two banana plants in my 120 gallon tank that are shooting up lilly pads left and right because of the dirt. Dirt is a great thing. You need to do 80% water changes the first few weeks so it clears up.

I would look at getting a python or aqueon water siphon system. Cheap and work very well. Prime is my favorite for that system as well.

Kind regards

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Permalink Reply by frroK on September 14, 2011 at 4:51pm

I believe you can do low light with dirt. Walstad and Dustin suggest it with dirt. Too much light and no c02 = algae. In a dirt sub your nutrients are not in the water column but get fed to the plants through their roots.

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Permalink Reply by Tony G - AquaStudent on September 14, 2011 at 10:31pm

some nutrients will leech into the water column though and can cause algae problems...as a first planted tank I'd suggest just going with a simple low light inert substrate tank and go from there