hey gin,

i started the aquarium hobby with freshwater with those little plastic plants, then upgraded to planted for awhile, then went onto reef tanks. the deal with planted tanks is you will need a certain number of certain things. first, a good chlorine remover(unlike reef tanks you CAN use tap water with freshwater unless you get your water from a well), next a good light(nothing real fancy like we use here just a couple of good wattage flourescents) then a bit of sand and gravel(the kind of sand and gravel they use to pave running trails in parks works well) be sure to clean this to the point that no dirt floats out when you add water to it. and the most important piece to a planted tank is...A CLOWN LOACH!

a clown loach is to a freshwater tank what a sixline wrasse is to a reef tank. not only does it get rid of pest snails and worms but also will forage on the bottom for leftovers. these fish are crucial as you would soon see without one when apple snails have completely overrun you tank.(trust me on this one)

some really great chemicals to look into are amquel and novaqua since one takes out harmful ammonia and the other adds a mucus-like slime to the water that gets onto the fish and their scales to help ward off disease.

as long as you keep a good eye on it, the tank can become very beautiful as the plants grow. also to help stimulate growth you will want to check into some liquified plant food(its a lot like phytoplankton for corals just for plants instead) i forget the name but ask for it and anyone who knows what theyre talking about will know(hee hee i guess i dont know what im talking about then :P

for what its worth there's my two cents, steve