# Basic guide to planted tanks



## Esfa

*Substrates*

Substrates are not as complicated as you might think. There are two options - complete substrates and base layer substrates.

Complete ones include eco-complete and ADA aquasoil. These you dont put cover (cap) it with anything, it's 100% planted substrate. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

There are far more base layer substrate to chose from, but they all work the same. You put a layer of plant substrate on the base of the tank and then cap it with another substrate, like sand or gravel. Don't worry too much about what you cap the plant substrate with, just get want you like the look of. The plants wouldn't really care, all they want is the nutrients from the plant substrate below.

Plants take in nutrients from the water before taking it in from the substrate, so this means that if you dose your water with ferts, your substrate will last longer. If you never dose with ferts, your substrate will be being drained by your plants, and will soon be no more then just mud. 


*CO2*

CO2 is Carbon Dioxide. To maintain a heavily planted tank with lush growth with little or no algae then CO2 is essential. 

Under low light conditions, (under 2WPG) there is normally enough CO2 already in the wter for the plant to grow. If the light levels are increased to over 2 WPG then the plants will grow well for a little hilw until they use up all the CO2 that is already in the water. After this, CO2 will become a limiting factor in photosynthesis and therefore plant growth will slow down, and you will then be ruthlessly attacked by algae. Therefore if the lighting is over 1.9 WPG then it is advisable to go down the CO2 route.

There are a number of ways of adding CO2 into your aquarium:

*Fermentation:*
This is where you use yeast, sugar and water in a container, with tubing leading into your aquarium. This ferments and prduces CO2. The CO2 goes through the tubing that is normally attached to a diffuser within the tank. The CO2 must be diffused into the water, it can't be allowed to escape from the tube directly into the water otherwise the CO2 will just rise to the suface and escape into the air. The best way of diffusing CO2 is with a CO2 diffuser or a ladder. You can either do a DIY fermentation set using an old plastic drink bottle (e.g a coke bottle). There are pages and pages on how to do this on the internet so I wont write it up here. Alternatively you can use a manufactured fermentation system which work the same but are easier to set up and come complete with an effective diffuser, e.g. a Nutrafin Natural Plant System. 
*Advantages: *Cheap, ideal for smaller tanks, easy to set up, little chance of overdosing CO2.
*Disadvantages: *Unstable CO2 levels, not ideal for large tanks.


*Pressureised:*
A more expensive method is pressurized. A CO2 filled metal refillable or plastic disposable cylinder is connected to a pressure regulator. This brings down the pressure to usable levels and can be adjusted to achieve the desired flow rate using a needle valve. The CO2 hose is usually connected to a safety check-valve, then possibly to a bubble counter. The CO2 flows finally to a diffuser or reactor. Although initially expensive, these will provide a constant CO2 flow for many months (depending on tank size etc.) They can also be fitted with a night-time shut-off solenoid that is connected to the lights thus saving CO2.

*Advantages: *Very stable CO2 levels. Low maininence.
*Disdvantages: *Very expensive to start up, it is possible to overdose CO2.

So, now you have your tank up and sorted, and you want some nice, easy plants to start off with?

*Foreground plants*

java moss
Christmas moss
Willow moss
Flame moss
Cryptocorynes wendtii
Cryptocorynes lucens
Small Anubia
Four leaf clover
Pogostemon Helferi

*Midground
*
Nymphaea species (train them not to grow surface pads, otherwise they are a background plant)
Java fern
Larger Anubia
Larger crypts such as becketii, wendtii etc.
All vallis
Ludwigia repens/rubin
hydrocotyle leucocephala
Cabomba

*Background plants*

Most hygrophile species
Rotala rotundifolia
Egeria densa
Elodea densa
Nymphaea species
Amazon swords
Bacopa species
Alternantera reineckii (with CO2)
Vallisneria
Hygrophila Salicifolia


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## Boothy

My tank hz been runin 4 a while nw, so obviously i crnt pt any substrates in, or cn i?


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## Esfa

Boothy said:


> My tank hz been runin 4 a while nw, so obviously i crnt pt any substrates in, or cn i?


you can just take all the fish out, put them in a huge bucket with the heater and filter, and then change the substrate. Takes quite a while and is very messy, not really worth it unless at least 80% of your tank is planted.


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## _jake_

Cool, i have a simple 10 gallon tank with a few danios, small loach and a betta. The tank is like artificial. I have plastic plants and castles and that from a pet store. The only natural thing about it is the live sand:lol2:. I want to make a natural set-up. So should i keep the sand and just get some live plants/moss ect and a few peices of driftwood and it'll be fine or do i need different lighting filteration ect?. Any help is appreciated!.:no1:


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## The Chillinator

A few details of your tank such as amount of lighting and type of filter will be helpful.


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## _jake_

The filter is a Elite stingray, lighting is just normal fish bulb from the pet store, not sure if it is UVA/UVB?: victory:

**EDIT**

Sorry, miss read your reply. About 8-10 hours a day for lighting!.


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## Esfa

Aye, you can easily do a planted tank with just a normal bulb. : victory:

get some pieces of bogwood and you can attach these plants to it:

anubias
java fern (there's a few varieties, like java fern "windelov")
java moss

these are pretty much indestructible haha.

then you can gat some vallis for the back, and some pygmy chan sword to crate a carpet at the front of the tank.

for some colour you can whack a tiger lilly in there, to. : victory:


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## _jake_

Thanks Esfa, I'm looking forward to re do the tank. My mum (mom) hates about how many animals i have and if i go " mum, can i get some more fish?" she's like NO!. So I'm going to have to work on her to do this!.:lol2: But my mum wouldn't buy me things for the tank her saying is, my pet your responsibility and i've got to buy the food and that on paper boy wages!!!!. Whats a good (cheap) way of doing this?
:2thumb:


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## Esfa

a cheap way would be to use rocks instead of wood. you can collect rocks from outside... just make sure you drop some vinegar on them first. if they fizz, they're not suitable to put into your tank. dont forget to wash them really well! : victory:


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## _jake_

Cheers, so vinegar fizzy = not suitable, gotch ya!.:2thumb:


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## mike515

just as a note. Lighting is possibly the most important tool for a planted tank. You can throw as much CO2 and fertilizers into the water as you like. Without DECENT lighting the plants aint gonna look as good as they should. Best bulbs on the market at the moment are made by a German company called Dennerle (they are one of the best plant tank equipment manufacturers around). Either T8s or T5s are fine to use, metal halides being an option as well, just no real point as decent T5s will get the same results


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## Bexie

my parents have got a 5 x 2 x 2 tank that we planted, i helped aquascape it and we put 3 different types of plants in it what we could get from ripples waterlife.

we want to completely re-do the tank with new plants, they want to have some really nice small plants at the front with some decent nice plants at the back the tank has got 2 external cannister filters, with 4 lights in it. 2 purple and 2 white. not sure on what they are. think they are t5?!?!?!

the tanks occupants are;

silver shark
15 lemon tetra
10 black neon tetra
5 - 10 red line tetra
royal plec
albino plec
2 sucking loaches
1 angel fish
4 peppered cory's
4 bronze cories

they want to add a few more fish to the mix aswell. any suggestions? 

thanks


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## mike515

Bexie said:


> my parents have got a 5 x 2 x 2 tank that we planted, i helped aquascape it and we put 3 different types of plants in it what we could get from ripples waterlife.
> 
> we want to completely re-do the tank with new plants, they want to have some really nice small plants at the front with some decent nice plants at the back the tank has got 2 external cannister filters, with 4 lights in it. 2 purple and 2 white. not sure on what they are. think they are t5?!?!?!
> 
> the tanks occupants are;
> 
> silver shark
> 15 lemon tetra
> 10 black neon tetra
> 5 - 10 red line tetra
> royal plec
> albino plec
> 2 sucking loaches
> 1 angel fish
> 4 peppered cory's
> 4 bronze cories
> 
> they want to add a few more fish to the mix aswell. any suggestions?
> 
> thanks


T5 tubes are 5/8 of an inch in diameter. T8s are 8/8 of an inch (so an inch lol).

fish wise, other tetras, barbs should be alright with that mix (depending on the temperament of your angel). More corys. Just small/medium sized community fish. That silver shark needs company, but that size tank is too small for a shoal of silvers so ideally re home him to a big tank with more silver sharks in it.


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## Bexie

mike515 said:


> T5 tubes are 5/8 of an inch in diameter. T8s are 8/8 of an inch (so an inch lol).
> 
> fish wise, other tetras, barbs should be alright with that mix (depending on the temperament of your angel). More corys. Just small/medium sized community fish. That silver shark needs company, but that size tank is too small for a shoal of silvers so ideally re home him to a big tank with more silver sharks in it.


the angel has a decent temperament to be honest, it isnt a very big one. they have owned the shark for about 2 years, dont know anybody who has got a shoal of silver sharks to rehome him to????

what plants would you reccomend? the lights i think are t8. 

any kind of other fish you would reccomend? me personally id stick some oscars in there and take all the other fish out, but they dont want to do that lol


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## mike515

dwarf cichlids would be ok in there.


The angel could be targeted by barbs, but with a dominant borderline aggressive angel, you often find that the barbs will try their luck get pushed back and no further hassle happens.


You basically looking at basic community fish, so tetras, some barbs, live bearers, small catfish, dwarf cichlids, smaller loachs, gouramis and so on.

You need to work out what sort of fish you want (size, colour, behaviour etc) and then work from there to pick the right species for you


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## strictly_scales

My best tip is substrate, and clean up crew. 

I had a team in my 80 litre CO2 system. Crew:

3x Amano Shrimp
2x Sucking Loach
1x Rainbow Shark
1x Apple Snail

No algae... at all. Net result- plants fluorished

The other occupants played their part too...


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## ianb

:2thumb::2thumb::2thumb:


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## Rachael Grace

Well we just planted our 95l tank last week have got another 95l tank that we have transfered all our fish into while all the plants take root, the only fish we have in atm are some silver clouds.

Now I know a lot of you will scream that you need to cycle the tank but this is how we did it we ran both filters in the one tank with all the fish in for 4 weeks then split the water between the two tanks and topped up just as you would for a 50% water change. We put the newer filter into the tank we were planting and the older one into the tank with all the fish. 

We used an all in one fertiliser and topped it with gravel(just cause it looked nicer ) We opted for hardy plants and still have a few to add as the shop didnt have everything we wanted. We are using a canister co2 system (aquagro ) we are also dosing with flourish comprehensive supplement and flourish excel oganic carbon every 2 days.

We are finding that we are doing well with all our plants that were potted all the bunched plants are not doing so well. So would always advise to buy the more expensive to start with as in the long run it will save you money.

Now we dont intend to add any more fish than the clouds for at least two months and then we will follow the same rules as a new tank and add slowly.

I am interested in finding out about the different lights as ours is due for renewal and would like to see what everyone recommends currently its just the normal floresent that comes already installed.

We will be adding mollies, siamese fighting fish apple snail ramshorn snail clown loach, clown plecs. Our mollies are breeding like wildfire atm so we currently have two tanks just for them as well as the few in the main tank. Lets just say its a mollie nursery in our house so if anyone is close and looking for some interesting colours give us a shout especially if you have some tropical shrimp to swap or balloon mollies. Also may be on the lookout for an extra clown loach in the near future:2thumb:

Also to add when we have finished the planted project we will plant up the second tank but hoping to try something a bit more challenging and difficult to breed so watch this space.


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## dyzan8

Intersting read - good posts. Never had much success with my potted plants. Might take another go!


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## goldie1212

Rachael Grace said:


> Well we just planted our 95l tank last week have got another 95l tank that we have transfered all our fish into while all the plants take root, the only fish we have in atm are some silver clouds.
> 
> Now I know a lot of you will scream that you need to cycle the tank but this is how we did it we ran both filters in the one tank with all the fish in for 4 weeks then split the water between the two tanks and topped up just as you would for a 50% water change. We put the newer filter into the tank we were planting and the older one into the tank with all the fish.
> 
> We used an all in one fertiliser and topped it with gravel(just cause it looked nicer ) We opted for hardy plants and still have a few to add as the shop didnt have everything we wanted. We are using a canister co2 system (aquagro ) we are also dosing with flourish comprehensive supplement and flourish excel oganic carbon every 2 days.
> 
> We are finding that we are doing well with all our plants that were potted all the bunched plants are not doing so well. So would always advise to buy the more expensive to start with as in the long run it will save you money.
> 
> Now we dont intend to add any more fish than the clouds for at least two months and then we will follow the same rules as a new tank and add slowly.
> 
> I am interested in finding out about the different lights as ours is due for renewal and would like to see what everyone recommends currently its just the normal floresent that comes already installed.
> 
> We will be adding mollies, siamese fighting fish apple snail ramshorn snail clown loach, clown plecs. Our mollies are breeding like wildfire atm so we currently have two tanks just for them as well as the few in the main tank. Lets just say its a mollie nursery in our house so if anyone is close and looking for some interesting colours give us a shout especially if you have some tropical shrimp to swap or balloon mollies. Also may be on the lookout for an extra clown loach in the near future:2thumb:
> 
> Also to add when we have finished the planted project we will plant up the second tank but hoping to try something a bit more challenging and difficult to breed so watch this space.


do you have the clown loach in the 95l tank? they grow large to around a foot long. sorry if i have mis-read and they are in a bigger tank :lol2:


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## Lee2211

I'm moving my fish to a new tank. 60L and I was wanting to put some live plants in.
I was thinking of putting some Hornwort and Pond Weed in their new tank. Would I need substrate for these of just gravel?


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## THEMADFIFER

Hi there.
Just wanted to say I never used substrates in my tanks of which I had many. For me was simply a case of allowing the tank to mature, clean filters and partial water changes and never clean the pea gravel or sand.
Bare in mind I would also run perhaps 3 to 4 times the filtration required for the said tank which also allowed me to clean filters in rotation. 

A note on Co2 absorbtion, if you have access to it you could make a bell jar, this is simply a device in the bottom of your tank that traps the Co2 in like a bubble. Being at the bottom the Co2 is defused easier due to slightly higher pressure.

Again Co2 is something else I did not use so I reaally cannot say on that one.

Matt




Esfa said:


> *Substrates*
> 
> Substrates are not as complicated as you might think. There are two options - complete substrates and base layer substrates.
> 
> Complete ones include eco-complete and ADA aquasoil. These you dont put cover (cap) it with anything, it's 100% planted substrate. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
> 
> There are far more base layer substrate to chose from, but they all work the same. You put a layer of plant substrate on the base of the tank and then cap it with another substrate, like sand or gravel. Don't worry too much about what you cap the plant substrate with, just get want you like the look of. The plants wouldn't really care, all they want is the nutrients from the plant substrate below.
> 
> Plants take in nutrients from the water before taking it in from the substrate, so this means that if you dose your water with ferts, your substrate will last longer. If you never dose with ferts, your substrate will be being drained by your plants, and will soon be no more then just mud.
> 
> 
> *CO2*
> 
> CO2 is Carbon Dioxide. To maintain a heavily planted tank with lush growth with little or no algae then CO2 is essential.
> 
> Under low light conditions, (under 2WPG) there is normally enough CO2 already in the wter for the plant to grow. If the light levels are increased to over 2 WPG then the plants will grow well for a little hilw until they use up all the CO2 that is already in the water. After this, CO2 will become a limiting factor in photosynthesis and therefore plant growth will slow down, and you will then be ruthlessly attacked by algae. Therefore if the lighting is over 1.9 WPG then it is advisable to go down the CO2 route.
> 
> There are a number of ways of adding CO2 into your aquarium:
> 
> *Fermentation:*
> This is where you use yeast, sugar and water in a container, with tubing leading into your aquarium. This ferments and prduces CO2. The CO2 goes through the tubing that is normally attached to a diffuser within the tank. The CO2 must be diffused into the water, it can't be allowed to escape from the tube directly into the water otherwise the CO2 will just rise to the suface and escape into the air. The best way of diffusing CO2 is with a CO2 diffuser or a ladder. You can either do a DIY fermentation set using an old plastic drink bottle (e.g a coke bottle). There are pages and pages on how to do this on the internet so I wont write it up here. Alternatively you can use a manufactured fermentation system which work the same but are easier to set up and come complete with an effective diffuser, e.g. a Nutrafin Natural Plant System.
> *Advantages: *Cheap, ideal for smaller tanks, easy to set up, little chance of overdosing CO2.
> *Disadvantages: *Unstable CO2 levels, not ideal for large tanks.
> 
> 
> *Pressureised:*
> A more expensive method is pressurized. A CO2 filled metal refillable or plastic disposable cylinder is connected to a pressure regulator. This brings down the pressure to usable levels and can be adjusted to achieve the desired flow rate using a needle valve. The CO2 hose is usually connected to a safety check-valve, then possibly to a bubble counter. The CO2 flows finally to a diffuser or reactor. Although initially expensive, these will provide a constant CO2 flow for many months (depending on tank size etc.) They can also be fitted with a night-time shut-off solenoid that is connected to the lights thus saving CO2.
> 
> *Advantages: *Very stable CO2 levels. Low maininence.
> *Disdvantages: *Very expensive to start up, it is possible to overdose CO2.
> 
> So, now you have your tank up and sorted, and you want some nice, easy plants to start off with?
> 
> *Foreground plants*
> 
> java moss
> Christmas moss
> Willow moss
> Flame moss
> Cryptocorynes wendtii
> Cryptocorynes lucens
> Small Anubia
> Four leaf clover
> Pogostemon Helferi
> 
> *Midground*
> 
> Nymphaea species (train them not to grow surface pads, otherwise they are a background plant)
> Java fern
> Larger Anubia
> Larger crypts such as becketii, wendtii etc.
> All vallis
> Ludwigia repens/rubin
> hydrocotyle leucocephala
> Cabomba
> 
> *Background plants*
> 
> Most hygrophile species
> Rotala rotundifolia
> Egeria densa
> Elodea densa
> Nymphaea species
> Amazon swords
> Bacopa species
> Alternantera reineckii (with CO2)
> Vallisneria
> Hygrophila Salicifolia


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## fionayee

Is there any other way I can get Co2 in my tank?Frequent water changes?


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## THEMADFIFER

Yes, breathe more! lol. I am sure I heard something about pill like things that release it in water. personaly I wouldn't you may just encourage more algae growth. 
You also have to remember that Co2 is higher in your home that outside in nature due to the fact we exhale Co2, we use gas for cooking and use gas heating so they emit Co2 aswell.


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## fionayee

Esfa said:


> The CO2 must be diffused into the water, it can't be allowed to escape from the tube directly into the water otherwise the CO2 will just rise to the suface and escape into the air.


Dosen't breathing realease Co2 into the air and not the water?


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## HABU

fionayee said:


> Dosen't breathing realease Co2 into the air and not the water?


 fish respiration releases CO2 into the water... CO2 needs time to dissolve into water from a gaseous state... it needs time and surface area...


pumping gaseous CO2 into water wastes the gas... it has to be slow...


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## HABU

i've never used a CO2 system... never needed it and i have a fine planted tank...


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## fionayee

okay,but I only have 3 fishes in the tank and 5 newts...newts release Co2 too.


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## Lee2211

What fertlizers should I use? 
I'm having shrimp snails and tetras in my tank so how much should I add, and while it harm them?


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## THEMADFIFER

In word "dont". Well that is my view. Allow the tank to mature then plant direct in to the substrate.
As for Co2 it diffuses in water as does oxygen, an air pump is really there to agitate and break the surface tension of the water.


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## Morgan Freeman

Good guide to lighting.


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## joelllmorelssss

hi i am read your question but not able to give u answer right now. I suggest u to go any other expert.
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## johnkickin

sorry sir i don't know he answer of your question if you'll see the other post then 
it will be help for you
.............

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