Quick & Dirty Guide to Planted Aquariums
ok, since there seems to be some interest in this, and I used to keep these exclusively, I thought I would post some basic, quick and dirty guidelines.
What to fill it with:
Substrate: Fine Gravel - if you go with a store bought solution the most ecenomical choice is well washed blasting sand, better choices are Flourite or EcoComplete, awesome (and expensive choices) are the ADA brand substrates (ADA pretty much represents the cadillac in all products)
Water: Personally, I think a mix of RO and Tap is great here in South Texas. RO buffer can add phosphates and fuel algae, and more so than in a reef aquarium, algae is your absolute enemy!
Filtration
No Biowheels, no power filters, there are only TWO basic types of filter you want.
UV
Canister
any filter that tumbles water back into the tank and disturbs the surface of the water is BAD, because it offgasses CO2 which is a vital nutrient for your plants!
UV is a must, it controls algae, and once you grasp the concept that your doing a planted tank, and that algae is a simple plant, and you add fertilizers for your plants, you will realize what a battle you are going to face.
Lighting
Yay! you can do it on the cheap! 1 - 4 watts per gallon w/ normal output flourescents. it's an eay rule of thumb. (just the basics of course)
bulbs: 50/50 mixture of full spectrum and cool white from Home Depot, I kid you not. if you buy the 48" length bulbs they will be the cheapest aquarium lights you ever buy.
you can use metal halides, but you'll be fine w/ say, 2 x 175's over a 200 gallon tank (well maybe 3, but because of horizontal coverage, not intensity.)
Fertilization
This has actually changed a lot in the last few years.. thre used to be 'poor mans dosing drops' and just a few name brand ferts - now big companies like seachem are making good products. The ADA stuff looks like a chemistry set w/ reactors for joining chemicals at the right time etc.. it's pretty neet, but gives me a headache. I stick w/ seachem wherever possible.
CO2 Injection
Ok... CO2 injection is fun! do it during the day, don't do it at night (run an air stone at night if possible!)
You balance your CO2 to where co2 emitted from the diffuser dissolves in your water. if it makes it to the top of the tank, your using to much. there are also bubble counters, etc... but your goal is to use the CO2 to acidify your tank to a specific PH (whatever your desire is, but based on your plants) this is where PH controllers come in handy, the can use an electric solenoid and an air pump to keep you dialed in to the right PH, and thus the right CO2 level all the time.
Putting it all together
Light + Co2 + Fertilization = success.
take any one of those out of the equation and you are gonna be fighting algae.
every plant, much like coral, has it's own traits. Amazon swords and crypticorns are root feeders, (requiring ammedment of the substrate w/ fertilizer pellets) where as other species use their roots to hold on justlike algae and take nutrients out of the water. so learning the needs of your plants is a must.
testing your water is not so much important as it is w/ a salt water tank, your enemies in a planted tank are almost always nutrients. your plants are living filters and will litterally suck crap right out of the tank, but if something is out of balance, or a nutrient lis limited (like potassium or iron) then it may inhibit your plants ability to keep your water clean.
occupants
stay away from full sized plecos, though, in medium to large tank bushy nose plecoes are good. the best algae eaters you can get are Siamese Algae Eaters (look almost exactly like a chinese, but are not aggressive towards tank mates) and ottocinclus.
There are many choices of algae eating shrimp that spice up a planted tank as well, check out the shrimp factory at www.azgardens.com to see some.
ok, quick, and dirty.
any questions? ask, I'll be happy to answer.
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), that would be pretty helpful to fw planted noobs like me.
