And so it begins

[henryD]

Well. I have finally lost it...I was thinking about trying my hand at a planted tank. Not discus to start because my concentration is to have a thriving planted tank.

The setup will be 100 gallon acylic. With a wet/dry with bioballs.

This was an original shark salt tank that I have torn down.

So my questions concerns subtrate and co2.

What kind of subtrate is the best to use? I have read of using 2 layers.

Is a co2 essential?

The lighting i have from a salt reef setup.

Henry

[Mike_T]

i had good success with a power compact and silica sand, cause that's what i had lying around. i grew swords and java fern very well. i would imagine a halide may be a little too hot or intense, the PC provided a full spectrum. i used 12 on/12 off, no Co2. inhabitants were cardinals, rams, and green spotted cories. of course my plants weren't tough ones to grow, and that's about all the experience i have. many people will tell you that cO2 is more trouble than it's worth, i don't know. you can use flourite under your substrate, but i think it's messy.

talk to my friend john sipes, he's a plant afficianado. you can find him in the forum here (http://www.gcas.org).

-mike t 8)

[Don_Lee]

I would say Seachem products like Onyx or Flourite for substrate, get the substrate right and you never have to worry about it again. Lighting adequacy depends on how much light you have, spectrum, etc. Personally, I would not start out with CO2, if you have enough light and substrate you can grow many starter plants. If you are going full tilt with plants, then you will need CO2.

Don ;D

[Ax]

pH over KH will give you the CO2 level in your tank (I can send you the chart) and you can determine if you need CO2. Also I have good results with using peat moss tablets under the roots. Also I use two level setup in my tank. Where plants with big roots are at the back in 5" of gravel that held by the large stones from sliding to the front area of 2" gravel (free swim area for fish) and very small plants. Also the terrace look is great for depth feel.
But to each its own.

[shalu]

I was into plants before I went nuts over discus. In my view, CO2 is important for good plant growth, even more important than strong light. Anything above 2wpg light requires CO2, IMO. I have a 100g acrylic tank with wet/dry, 100% Flourite substrate, 300w AHSupply PC lighting, automatic CO2 with ph controller set for ph 6.8. The bulbs for reef tanks would be useless for plants, try switch to bulbs close to 6700K. Two layer substrate is more trouble than its worth in the long run IMHO(never tried), the two would get mixed up anyway over time. Flourite/Onyx/EcoComplete would be good choice for substrate, but be aware some people reported dark colored subtrate(Onyx/EcoComplete) make discus turn dark. But if the tank is heavily planted like mine, almost every inch of substrate is covered by plants, so substrate color does not matter.

KH/PH/CO2 chart is useless unless you actively inject CO2. You will always get around 3ppm CO2 embient. If the chart tells you that you have much more than 3ppm CO2 without injecting it, some other PH buffer must be active.

[Ax]

I maintained planted tanks for the past 23 years, and chart is always helped me. I do agree that if a tank is heavily planted you need CO2, but only if you have normal fish load. I find that I use the benefit of a planted tank to some what overstock with fish so you get CO2 this way (and extra water agitation at night time). I don't use pH buffers you are correct they do mess-up reading. And if you don’t have a lot and I mean a lot of plants with constant CO2 without means to monitor, you are asking for an algae problem, and/or you can get fish stressed out.
As the question was on a startup I do strongly recommend monitoring CO2 (and yes CO2 levels are important). What works in established plant tank may not work right from the start in a new tank. I have seen a lot new tanks overran by algae, primarily because they didn't have enough plants and/or had slow growing plants so there was no competition for algae.
Forgive my English (it’s my third language.)

[Ax]

And just to clarify. I do use CO2 my self and I am all for it. Just like to know what is going on in my tanks, to minimize surprises and maintenance.

[henryD]

Thanks for all the replies...

I have done some more reading and research. Wow so much to learn.

Does anyone have a light of low-medium lights plants that can stand high temp?

Henry

[henryD]

Happy birthday Ax.

Hope you have a good day.

[Ax]

Thanks Henry, as for your question, I recommend Anubias barteri var. nana, and Cryptocoryne wendtii, it grows great in my tank (they are slow growing plants).

[henryD]

I have made a list of some plants I was considering. Not sure what kind of lighting they would require...

star grass
becketti
java fern
coffe anubias
nana
wendtii crpt
java moss
phyllantus
tiger lotus
orchilid lilly
and the best one mermaid weed.

[Ax]

What is your email?
I'll send you a word doc. catalog of plants.

[Ax]

Or go too http://www.tropica.com/plant_print.asp Just pick the plant and it will tell you in this format all you need and no junk.
Family Ricciaceae

Continent Cosmopolitan

Region Cosmopolitan

Country of origin

Height 5-1+ cm

Width 5+ cm

Light requirements low-very high

Temperature 10-28 °C

Hardness tolerance very soft-hard

pH tolerance 5-8

Growth medium

Demands easy

[Ax]

email is sent it is 1.4 mb.

[Ax]

This is the list of plants I have seen in Discus tanks and some I have in my that are thrive at +30c in Low to mid light. Sorry all names are Latin.

Last 5 in my tank now. Plus two that I already mentioned.

Anubias barteri ''coffeefolia''
Anubias barteri var. angustifolia
Anubias barteri var. barteri

Aponogeton crispus
Bacopa australis
Bacopa monnieri
Barclaya longifolia
Cabomba furcáta (C. piauhyensis)
Crinum natans
Cryptocoryne beckettii
Cryptocoryne cordata (blassii)
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'brown'
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'green'
Cryptocoryne x willisii 'lucens'
Echinodorus 'Ozelot' (Green)
Echinodorus 'Rosé'
Echinodorus bleheri
Hygrophila polysperma

Juncus repens
Ludwigia repens 'Rubin'
Microsorum pteropus
Microsorum pteropus 'Tropica'
Microsorum pteropus 'Windeløv'

[henryD]

Ax...Thanks...

Also great link. Now I might have to rethink my plants...LOL