planted tanks... tips / journal sticky?

hi all

planted tanks are a minefield for beginners (myself included)

however, I have read for countless hours on forums,
I have battled the usual new tank problems and have almost won
and i'm sure many here have done the exact same.

i think it would be great to have a tips sticky
to pool knowledge on this.

sure, you could read journals all day long on
the big planty sites, but this would be
an irish perspective in regards to where to get supplies etc
what you can get here, what needs mailorder etc, etc

the same questions keep coming up,
so why not pin it as a good reference?

there are many ways to approach a planted tank
and we could "share the wealth" on methods and experiences

if anyone thinks its a good idea
i could start off with points on what i have learned
and what it took to set up my first planty tank

(zig...oil up those fingers, we need you!!!

rgds

4

I think that would be a great idea, I want to start a planted tank soon and I've been doing my homework on loads of different sites. But as you said, there is more than one way to skin a cat. It can be quite confusing and alot of the information on some sites contradicts other sites.

It would be great to have a sticky from a proven planted tank keeper. Possibly broken down to beginner plants which require low to medium light levels, no CO2 and easy care levels, tips on how to battle algae blooms, suitable substrate, Ph etc.

Then some plants that require more care (stronger lights, Co2 etc.)

Fourmations, if you posted your experiences in setting up your tank
that would be a great start, it would certainly help me to read some 1st hand knowledge


Simon

I like the sound of this too. I've been bouncing the idea around in my head for the last while and I'd love to get some firsthand accounts. I just don't trust a website if there's something I don't agree with and no argument behind why I should do that.
I'd love to know things like what to use as a substrate, do you clean the substrate and how? How do you make sure there's enough nutrients in the substrate? How can you tell the level of CO2 in the tank? Whats the best way to get good water flow in the tank so that the plants don't suck up all the CO2 around them?
I haven't even tried to learn the different types of plants and moss' that are available yet cos I'm so hung up on the technical aspects.

Great idea fourmations.

Not an expert plant grower here, just doing low tech. Got two Rekord 70's with power glow bulb and silvered the inside of the hood. Also got an aerobic diy co2 set up. Have 7 different plants between the two tanks.

My tip, pretty simple really, when you have plants and it comes time to trim them, post a thread on the forum to see if anyone wants the cuttings from your tank(s). Then a week later when you have all those bits of plants, instead of destroying them, pass them on to someone, for free.

Thats how I got two of mine, tanks to zuciok;). Will post next time I have some, presently putting all I have into my Rio 300.

hi puggy

i agree, i have some zuciok plants myself!

i regularly hack lumps off ludwigia, hygophilla
and two rotala varieties, i have egeria coming out my ears

but.....do you want wierdos that are into aquarium plants
calling to your house?

rgds

4

hmmmmm,

Would suggest meeting in a public place. Bring plants in a plastic bag. Wear a long leather coat, black of course, carrying yesterdays copy of the Irish Times. Be sure to bring your passport.

By the way, did not think there were any weirdos in this line of businessB) but I am new.

Off the top of my head my tips are

Dont despair:laugh: , haha, we all have algae problems sooner or later, experience will just put them off till later.

Get your CO2 right to avoid 90% of algae problems in highlight tanks.

Water changes are your friend if you do have algae problems along with hand removal of algae etc.

Dose fertiliser if you keep plants, yep an obvious one but amazingly comes up very often on this site, should I should'nt I type question.

If you want to aquascape your tank, spend lots of time on the hardscape, this is the backbone of your aquascape when the plants fill in, it can also be the main focal point as well if you like, spend lots of time on that, growing the plants is the easy part IMHO, getting the hardscape right is the hardest part of a successful aquascape IMO.

Collect hardscape materials locally, lots of stuff you can pick up for free. My current ADA 2009 entry contains 90% hardscape material that was collected on various trips throughout Ireland, keep your eyes peeled for nice pieces of wood, rock etc.

Keep fishloads low in planted tanks.

Use lowlight non Co2 tanks (you must fertilise though) if you want a hassle free planted tank, and use appropriate plants for low light conditions obviously.

Use the right light tubes for planted tanks or you may just grow algae instead.

Use lots of filtration/circulation in highlight planted tanks 10x turnover is good, lower amounts for low light tanks 3-4x turnover would be ok.

External CO2 reactors are probably easiest/most effective on larger tanks.

Glass CO2 diffusers are effective for smaller tanks (bit more work though cleaning etc)

Excel or easycarbo is a good alternative to pressurised CO2, it does have its limitations though, but most plants will do a lot better with the addition of some source of carbon than none at all.

Probably 100's of things Im missing there but thats a start from me anyway.

I think this is great idea!im newish to planted tanks.. took me months to find out those basic tips higlighted above!!

Admin wrote:

fourmations wrote:

hi all

i think it would be great to have a tips sticky
to pool knowledge on this.

Good idea, keep the tips coming and I will creat a sticky out of them.

depending on what planted tank you plan and the size of tank it would be good to research what are those fast growing plants versus slow, those that thrive well on soil or wood, and those that thrive well with less or more lighting. Some websites like tropica would help planted tank hobbyist to read on the plants first before buying.