help...Lighting, substrate... plants!

[SarahCdnNanny]

Hey all... I've got this 20 long looking at me, wanting desperately to get going, but I'm still in the beginnging stages of planning...

-I'm not using an UGF, and I'm going to shop for another HOB filter as I can't get my others to work.

-I need to shop for new lighting/lid because the other one is toast.

-I need to shop for substrate for the new tank, but unsure of what is best...

I'd like to have some fancy guppies or neons or a school of something in there, perhaps a snail or two, two dwarf frogs and ?? thats probably all...

But I need to know what you would all recommend for plants/lighting/substrate....

I'd like things in there that are different textures, don't grow too fast or are too picky.

Also do I need to add CO2? how? is there a special filter that will do this?

help

Sarah

 

[twoluvcats]

let me tell you what i have in my 29g and that may help:

I have a penguin bio-wheel 170 for an HOB filter...i like it, a little bit 'noisy'...but not bad...i love the bio-wheel!

I just have the standard single-bulb flouresecent light fixture that came in my hood. I replaced it with a 'for planted aquariums' bulb from GE.

I have playsand substrate (can get from HomeDeopt for $4 for a 50lb bag)

I have crypts, anacharis, vals, horwort, and java moss for plants...no CO2, use Flourish excel liquid and tabs, and seem to be getting along CO2 free just fine. If you pick your plants right, you don't need CO2, it just makes things grow bigger & faster.

HTH

 

[ilovebillwillia]

i completely agree with tlcats. my plants grow fine with a little fert. and a nutrigro bulb, lighting fixture that came with the tank. i just did (this past wkend) a 29g and a 20long in playsand, they are my prettiest tanks yet ( i have two tanks with Expensive! tahitian black moon sand, they are not as pretty) play sand is awesome, takes some cleaning but is worth it. if you want "rock" not sand, i have one tank in pea gravel and its very pretty too ( and cheap. i know it sounds boring but get a sample (handful) at your local hardware store, looks boring dry but take it home and put it in a bowl of water it has great color.

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

A 20gallon long is a great tank for growing plants in because the lights are right on top of the plants. If you go with high lighting and CO2 (which can be cheap and easy), you will have regular pruning to do as there is not much height to work with there, only 12". I guess in general the finer the substrate the better that plants will do, to a point. You do need to be mindful of the CEC (cation exchange capacity) of the substrate, as ones with a higher CEC will hold onto nutrients and trace elements for roots to have access to later. Porous substrates like laterite have a high CEC.

Having said all of this, great looking plants can be grown in regular old aquarium gravel, and I have been doing just that for a couple of years now. I would suggest that unless you really know for sure that you want to get into live plants, then just get regular gravel. If you know now for sure that you want a nice looking planted tank, then make good substrate decisions NOW, not later, as it is a hassle to change substrate in a tank full of fish and plants like I am doing right now.

PS:In my signature below there are links for both DIY CO2 and for OverDriving your normal flourescent bulbs to get WAY more light out of them (90 Watts ODNO). That's my usual suggestion to people ready to set up a tank for live plants.