Basic Questions to start planted aquarium

[sjshobhit]

Hi All,

I have had an aquarium for over 3 years but never had a planted one. This wonderful website has generated interest in starting a planted aquarium.

But before I jump into it, I want to be extra cautious so that I do not harm the environment for my fishes. Couple of questions:
1. I want to start with simple plants like Moss. No LFS sells that in Delhi (atleast I could not find one). Can someone plz guide me where to get hold of it.
2. Does fern require substrate? Or just attach it to a wood or a rock?
3. For micro & macro nutrients, can I use small dosage of Multi-vitamin tablets?
4. For other plants, can I use regular sand (used in construction - also called 'reta') as substrate. Ofcourse if would be cleaned well before introducing in aquarium.

Primary reason for using thinking of other options is that in Delhi, it's a pain to find a shop where I can find live plants or related products.

Pardon me if these questions might appear as naive to lot of users.

Thanks,
Shobhit

[sjshobhit]

On point 4. On second thought, sand might have chemicals in it. Not sure if it would be a good idea.

[SCORPIO]

Welcome here, first of all please introduce yourself here http://aquapetz.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2

1. I want to start with simple plants like Moss. No LFS sells that in Delhi (atleast I could not find one). Can someone plz guide me where to get hold of it.

LFS of Delhi/NCR do not keeps plant regularly. So it is best to contact hobbyists. Fortunately hobbyist of Delhi/NCR feels very happy in sharing plants/fish etc. with other fellows. So don't worry about plants. Join our meet on August 11. Most of hobbyist brings lots of plants to share with others.

2. Does fern require substrate? Or just attach it to a wood or a rock?

No substrate required for ferns. Attach ferns with wood or rock.

3. For micro & macro nutrients, can I use small dosage of Multi-vitamin tablets?

No. Brought lab grade chemicals to use as fertilizers.

4. For other plants, can I use regular sand (used in construction - also called 'reta') as substrate. Ofcourse if would be cleaned well before introducing in aquarium.

Before 5-6 years no planted tank substrate was available in Delhi. Latarite was also very rare for Delhi. So I used construction sand and normal soil available in Delhi with my planted tanks.

On point 4. On second thought, sand might have chemicals in it. Not sure if it would be a good idea.

Wash it 4-5 times before put it in aquarium.

[sjshobhit]

Thanks for the Quick reply Rajiv Ji. Saw the post on 11 Aug meet. Count me in (will vote myself in that post).

If someone can share some Fern & instructions as well, that would be great!!

[parthapratim22]

Hi Shobhit, Welcome here.

Plant is not an issue.

Better way to start a planted tank is to understand the requirements on the following;
1) Lighting source
2) CO2 source
3) Substrate(though u mentioned)


All these depends on your tank size.

So dont do hurry, if you travel few hours at hobbyist place on Sunday you will get few numbers of plants for sure. So first just collect the information as given above and then cooly start plantation. Loads of information available in the forum on the basic. If you ready with your requirements I will try to bring moss and few stem plants.

[prajjwal]

Better way to start a planted tank is to understand the requirements on the following;
1) Lighting source
2) CO2 source
3) Substrate(though u mentioned)

Balancing above factors will bring good health on plants and will keep algae away

[sjshobhit]

Thanks guys. This is really encouraging.

My tank Specs:
-------------------
Capacity: 75 L
Filtration: Sponge filter
Substrate: Common white chips as of now.
Light: 12 Watt CFL
CO2 source: Fishes + an air pump that pumps air. To keep water cool in Delhi summer. Can this be used? (Let's hope high pollution in Delhi comes handy somewhere)

I want to gow slow on the plants. So first I want to start with simple plant(s).

[sushant]

Thanks guys. This is really encouraging.

My tank Specs:
-------------------
Capacity: 75 L
Filtration: Sponge filter
Substrate: Common white chips as of now.
Light: 12 Watt CFL
CO2 source: Fishes + an air pump that pumps air. To keep water cool in Delhi summer. Can this be used? (Let's hope high pollution in Delhi comes handy somewhere)

I want to gow slow on the plants. So first I want to start with simple plant(s).

for planted tank (even with low light plants) you will have to change your lights, its too loo to sustain any plant. if the white chip that you have is marble change it as soon as possible.

[parthapratim22]

Lets understand what basic things you need, without that its tough to get a good looking tank

Your tank size is good for start, still better if you tell us the height of the tank also. We mention ?(length)*?(breadth)*?(Height) like this. Your light will depend on you tank height also. Still as you want to go with low maintenance tank you total lighting needed to be atleast 60watt. Lets follow 3watt pr gallon.

Co2 source: you need a manageable CO2 source like glutaraldehyde or yeast sugar CO2. Or you may invest on Co2 Cylinder(pressurized system the best, worth investing 7-8K).

Filtration: Sponge filter will not do here. You need atleast a internal power filter. Read a bit on filter choice for an aquarium.

Substrate: When you are planning for moss or fern go for simple yellow color sand 1-1.5inch height. White chips are not at al suggested for fish tanks.

But as a whole I would suggest go for stem plants...few easy to grow with glutaraldehyde dosing. Condition your filtration and lighting upgraded. Loads of information available in internet, read a bit more, planted tank is enormous fun with a bit balanced care.

For study follow the subforum viewforum.php?f=16

Hope this helps.

Any issue feel free to ask

[sjshobhit]

Thanks for your response guys.
@Sushant: What is the harm does chips do? I understand that it will not hold the plant roots. Any damage to fishes or to water quality? I have the same chips for over 1.5 years.

@Parthapratim: My tank size is 2ft x 1 ft x 1.5ft.
Substrate: I will start with Moss & tie it to a rock. After Rajiv's post, I was planning to use grey sand as well.
Filter: Actually I am using the internal power filter. I thought that it is called sponge filter since it has a foam in it. (Feel like an idiot)

Thanks once again guys. These responses are helpful.