Planted Tank List

[hexed]

Hi,
I have a 90 gallon tank and want to try my hand at a planted tank. Can I get a list of what I would need to start this?
Thanks,
Frank

[wolfbane]

Will you have a high tech tank, or a low tech one? High tech would include substantial lighting and CO2 addition, a rich substrate too. Low tech would need less lighting, no CO2, more tolerant plants.

[hexed]

I didn't know there was two kinds LOL!

What would I need for either one? All I have is an empty 90 gallon tank, top, stand and canopy. I just want a list of everything I will need to setup a successful planted tank.

[Alight]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/index.php

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/index.php?

Frank, above are some links to some sites to get you started. There is actually much more to know about planted tanks than to know about Discus keeping.

Read a bunch, and ask questions. There are a bunch of ways to go, depending on the type of plants you want, and how you plan to keep your water.

If you are going to have Discus in the tank, I suggest you start with a low tech tank (no CO2 injection) and if you get that down, and want to do more, read up on the high tech tanks, DIY CO2, Milwaukee regulators, etc.

Check out Shalu's tank at http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...?t=11359&pp=15

I'll have to get more pics up of my tank, now that I've gone semi high tech, too.

[hexed]

Alight,
Thank you so much for the response. I actually have a 90 gallon and a 150 gallon. One will be a salt water tank and the other will be a planted tank but unsure which will be what LOL! I bookmarked those pages you gave
Frank

[wolfbane]

Great list of resources! I have a 150 low tech tank, very low tech!! My tank has 120 watts of lighting, but is 5 feet from an East window, so more light there. I can grow anubias, crypticorn wendtii, swords, hygrophilia angustifolia, dwarf lilies and some vals. My Java fern didn't do well. You need 1 to 2 watts per gallon to do low light, low tech plants.

Read Read Read !!!

[tpl*co]

LOL, I have a low tech planted tank too. I'm trying other types of plants though. I have anubias, riccia, retrospiralis crypts (I have better luck with these than vals, and they look a lot alike. I'm trying ambulia and hygro too and they are doing fine. I have a power compact on that tank at about 2.5-3 watts per gallon.

[Vince+Carrie]

There are 3 main differences bewteen your typical tank and a planted tank:

Lighting

You'll need brighter lights. How much brighter depends on what you want to grow and how fast you want to grow it. We went with Compact Flourescents for our large tank with output in the range of 1.5 watts/gallon on our 135 gallon.

Substrate

Although most substrates are capable of growing plants some work better than others. We went with 100% SeaChem Flourite (just make sure you rinse it).

Ferts

You will probably have to supplement your tank with fertalizers. We use Iron, Phosphate, Potassium, and Nitrogen in ours. This is one of the more difficult areas planted aquaria because no one can tell you exactly what you need to do.

Other

We've also found it very handy to have a UV Steralizer in our setup. It will prevent green water and allow a bit more forgiveness while figuring out a fertalizer regiment.

Also a great resource for selecting plants is Tropicas Site since plants are like fish and require certain water parameters to be healthy.

[hexed]

Thank you everyone!
My 150 gallon is 48L X 31H X 24W it is not a long one but a high one
Would this change the light rule? In other words is the watts per gallon still the same to reach the bottom of the tank or would the watts need to be higher?
The 90 gallon is the normal size
I am not sure which tank to use

Frank

[jeep8rus]

Honestly, from my experience I would strongly recommend a low light, low tech tank for now. The cost of all the high tech gear to grow algae really doesn't make my day.

I'd say get some valisnera and other low light plants. Valisnera will reproduce well and you can quickly cover the back wall of your aquarium. Get some rocks or driftwood, and gravel of some sort. To check if rocks are good, put a few drops of vinegar on them. If they fizz, don't use them. Gravel is gravel, a lot of people use enriched substrates, but if you add fertilizers to the water (best route) you don't have to. Besides, buying flourite (a substrate) to fill a 90 or 100 gallon would be expensive.

Go to www.theplantedtank.net . If you want a good deal on plants be patient and someone will put a bunch up for sale for a good price.

READ : This article by Tom Barr. http://www.sfbaaps.com/articles/barr_02.html

READ : This collaboration on fertilizers and where to get them cheaply! The first post is the most important.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...ad.php?t=12585

You can also order all the ferts you'll need from Greg Watson's site at http://www.gregwatson.com

For lighting you can use flourescent shop lights. Try and get the ones with an electronic ballast and (that use T8 bulbs!) in case you decide to overdrive the lights later. For deep tanks I recommend using a more blue light because blue light will go deeper in the water. 6500k full spectrum bulbs are good. I try to mix in a 5000k bulb to make the light "warmer". I get my phillips bulbs from home depot for a decent price.

HTH,
-Russ

[Vince+Carrie]

Would this change the light rule?

If you reserch this question I'm sure you'll get a lot of contradicting responses (I know I did). The majority of people will tell you that you'll need to compensate for having a deeper tank by adding more lighting. Other people will tell you that the tank itself acts as a large fiber-optic cable and won't require stronger lighting.

I don't know the answer for sure but I'd think that at 31" you'd start losing some of the intensity. It also depends on the amount of suspended particles and dissolved substances in the water itself.

[hexed]

I would like to use the 150 gallon for a planted tank instead of the 90 gallon for one reason. I cannot reach the bottom of the 150 unless I am hanging in the tank. If I use it for saltwater with a lionfish I don't think it would be a good idea to "hang" inside the tank with that in it LOL!

[Alight]

http://rexgrigg.com/

Another useful site is listed above. This is sort of the simple start to planted tanks. Start with the "Summary", and If you read the info on the various headings at the top, you'll know enough to get started. If you want info on where to buy various plants, let me know and I'll post some of those sites, too.

Just added the link below, too. It's a very short summary of the essential elements you'll need and need to know before you start.

http://www.plantedtank.net/basics.html

Overall, setting up and maintaining a planted tank has been an interesting intellectual exercise. You'll learn much more about the planet we live on if you decide to get into this.

[pcsb23]

Thank you everyone!
My 150 gallon is 48L X 31H X 24W it is not a long one but a high one
Would this change the light rule? In other words is the watts per gallon still the same to reach the bottom of the tank or would the watts need to be higher?
The 90 gallon is the normal size
I am not sure which tank to use

Frank

Frank, the deeper the water the more the light in the shorter wavelengths are absorbed, ie the blue stuff. The effect it has on the plants is open to some debate by some people, but I believe that you generally need to compensate for it. This can be done by using more power, or different types/spectrum of lamps. You could even add an actinic tube, looks almost ultraviolet! Thats the beauty and joy of this hobby - there is more than one way of skinning a cat!!

You need not up the watts as such, its only a guide anyways, a 36W T8 florry tube gives less 'light' than a 36W T5. The message here is use T5s!. Compacts get good reviews too! On any light in a planted tank add reflectors!!

Personally I'd recommend going low tech too! Some of the anubias and sword and crypts are stunning in their own right. The danger for some with planted tanks is they become aquatic gardeners!! like ernest http://forum.simplydiscus.com//showthread.php?t=44704 who has just sold his discus, as the lights were too bright. Don't get me wrong, thats his choice, I, and I think you, want discus in tanks, planted display tanks for me.

My opinion?? go for the 150!! (though it would make a good reef tank!) The 90 will make a nice reef tank too! fwiw I'm breaking my reef tank and going to convert it to a planted tank. Discus you know, they get in your blood!!

hth,
Paul

[chago09]

are swords low light plant?????