planted tank questions
 

ok guys, ive decided to get back into the aquarium hobby after a year of no aquariums.

i owned two regular freshwater tank, and my big boy, a 75 gallon marine reef aquarium(see avitar). but with school and life, just couldnt handle then,and especially when it went to my reef, WAY TOO EXPENSIVE, so i sold em.

ANYWAYS. ive come back, to try a small (about 20 gal) planted aquarium, and see how it goes.

now to the point, a few questions.
1.recomend me a type of substrate too use.
2.what kind of light.
3.the best c02 system for the lowest price/ or the DIY c02 thing.

thanks for yer time.

Use fine gravel. Dep on the plants you wanna get for Swords & Cypts I'd use root sticks on top that (inexpensive and you'd need 1 per year) and for any Stem plants use a comprehensive liquid fert (eg Flourish).
Def full spectrum daylight around 6500K; you can find these at your home store for few bucks. If you get a T8 size i'd go for anything 0.5 to below 1 wpg that'll be sufficient enough.
I'd not use any add co2; I'd assume you'll stock the tank with fish eventually right? That's all your co2 right there; if you OD on co2 you can create yourself a neat algae issue.

Look at my tanks to the left here under my name the tap called "Aquariums" all my tanks are set up with no ferts, no special substrate no add co2 others then fish and low lights.

Oh btw just seen this is your first post so - Welcome to the forum :-)

thanks for your help!

and yea, ima put just a few fish in it, i dont like alot of fish, makes it look unnatural too me.
so i can just keep the stock lighting when i get the tank, and replace it with some 6500k bulbs?
and that's good, i was worried about the cost of that c02 stuff, it's crazy.

Have a read of the four-part stickies at the head of the Aquarium Plant section, they describe how to set up a low-tech natural planted tank. If you have questions from those, ask away.

By the way, I will also be moving this thread to that section as it is dealing with planted aquaria.

Byron.

Yea if you go to Homedepot or Lowes (whatever you have in town) the bulbs by GE, Phillips and Bright effects is what you're looking for.
In the tanks where I have room for 2xT8's I usually get the GE Sunshine and Daylight (5000k & 6500k). In the small tanks (like 10g) I get the Bright effects daylight lil screw in bulbs.
And well like I said the result of these lights on plants you can view under my Aquarium log here :-)

No I'd not add co2 machinery. Keeping a nice planted tank does not have to be expensive at all nor complicated :-D Just take the lights for example; you get these at the pet store for about $20-25 per bulb and the same stuff at the home store for like $5-7 for 2-packs....So really its just a matter of knowing what you need and do not need and where to best buy it.

Another idea, if you are short in your town on nice live plants here's where I order mine Sweet Aquatics (and plenty other members here also started buying there now as well; good quality, good prices all good lol)

You posted the following on my profile page, so I have moved it here to the forum to respond.

1. On a standard 29g I would use one full-length T8 or T5NO tube. T8 is the standard fluorescent, T5 is a special one requiring a different fixture because of the different tube prongs. And "NO" means Normal Output as opposed to HO which is High Output. The NO T5 is comparable to T8 intensity. The problem with T5 is fewer choices in tubes, though more are coming on the market. But standard tubes are more widely available and less expensive with just as good light output. And when I say full length, I mean a fixture that will fit across the tank lengthwise and have the longest tube possible.

The wattage is standard for the tube length, although some manufacturers now make higher output tubes with lower wattage to save energy, so if the T8 tube fits the fixture, it will work.

The kelvin is the colour of the light, and around 6500K is in my view the best; mid-day sun is around 5700K. The tubes highlight the red and blue that plants need, plus have green to balance and the fish and plant colours will appear natural. With one tube over a tank I always choose full spectrum around 6500K. You can buy inexpensive tubes like Phillips or Sylvania Ultra Daylight or Daylight Deluxe, or similar names, that are enhanced full spectrum around 6500K. These at hardware stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, etc.

2. [Thank you sincerely for the compliment.] The fish and biological processes in the aquarium provide the CO2 for the plants. It is amazing how much is available. There is no need for CO2 systems unless you have very special requirements, and this also requires more light and more nutrients to balance the CO2. My approach is natural, using nature as much as I can rather than interfering with it.

Byron.

thansk guys for your time, that answered my questions :).