Planted Tank it will be! Is this a good start?

kmiceray

Today I went to several aquarium stores around Houston and got to see some really awesome stuff. I did end up going with byrons suggestion with the Life-Glo bulb. It does not say life glo 2 though. It is a full spectrum 6700 k 30w 36" bulb.

Side not here.....I went to a aquarium store on the yuppie side of town and they sure did try to make me feel stupid with the not going with 2 t5 bulbs, and co2 injections. Kind of pissed me off and I let the sales person know how he lacked the knowledge of a natural aquarium. He was very quite after I asked him how in the world did planted tanks survive before t5 came out? Oh, wait they did

Byron

That will teach him . Good for you. It pays to remind ourselves that healthy fish tanks with good plant growth existed long before we had heaters, filters and even light.

The tube I assume says Life-Glo without the "2", that's fine, it is a bit more intense actually.

Byron.

kmiceray

Hahah.....I think I had a WWBD (What would Byron Do) moment hahah. Lets just say I did not buy my heater nor bulb there.

I believe tomorrow I will set my tank up in my new apartment and put in the new substrate.

Soon I need to sit down and think about what plants I want and where to place them in the tank. I would really like a foreground plant that is almost like grass (or just short and looks like a lawn). Not sure what to go with there.

kmiceray

Oh, my bulb does just say life Glo.....no 2 included. Since it is a little brighter I will look into some plants for the surface

Byron

The "grass" or "lawn" type plants are what need most light, so those may be difficult. I don't even try. For my substrate I use Pygmy chain sword. It is now completely covering the substrate in the 70g, I cannot even see the Flourite. In the other tanks I thin it at each water change (remove runners)to keep some open substrate, I like to see it in stream or river habitats.

kmiceray

That is ok, I like what you suggested. My goal is to keep the Pygmy chain sword trimmed to a fairly low height and also make sure I still have some substrate showing. From what I have seen it seems like planted tanks that show some substrate gives off a better contrast. Tomorrow I will take the first picture of my tank. It should have the flourite in it a betta and 4 neon tetras. Oh, and those dang pesky fake plants. Give me some more time and those dang things will be history! I will be watching my water parameters closely

kmiceray

Finally got all the moving done. I got the flourite in the tank and I am getting about two inches thickness all around the tank. Is this going to be enough substrate to go with? Ive read in a few places that the back substrate should be thicker.

Byron

Larger plants with larger root systems go in the back, so yes, the substrate should be deeper than it need be in the front. With Pygmy chain sword you only need an inch in front, so you can slope it or better yet use a terrace system, building up the substrate just where the larger plants will be with a rock or two. Sloping on its own usually levels out with water flow I find.