How to do a PLANTED tank?! Help!

HI all! So I am about to set up a new 60 gallon freshwater tank. I am moving into a new apartment and it is going to be modern. My roommate and I really like the idea of a brilliant green planted tank, with maybe some rocks and caves, fields of grass, and maybe a bonzaI tree or something.

I have been keeping fish for a while, but I have never entertained the idea of a planted tank before. I really have no clue how to set one up, the equipment needed, or the price to set up a nice one for a 60 gallon regular, rectangular tank. I know I would need a CO2 system. What else? Do I need fertilizer or anything?

The equipment I have is as follows:
- Rena Filstar XP4 Canister Filter
-Eheim Jager 200w heater
-Whisper Air Pump w/ 18" flexible air stone
-Aquatic Life T5 HO Dual Bulb System with one white T5 bulb and one blue (actinic) bulb at 420nm.
-Natural Sand substrate- coarser than sand, but finer than gravel.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. While price is very important, so is maintenance. Is a planted tank that much more difficult to take care of than a regular freshwater tank?
Thanks so much!

 

I haven't had a planted tank before, so please double check all my advice. Thanks!

Um, generally plants can go fine but it depends on what plants your getting. I would actually get another heater because if that heater fails, and your away, then you could be in big trouble. You may want to consider getting flourish or something like that to help your plants

What fish are you planning? If you get a cichlid tank, than you need hard to eat plants, fish pick plays a part into plant pick.

Have you purchased the tank yet? Are you planning on cycling?

A planted tank (from what I've heard) is not a lot harder to take care of a freshwater tank, or even not harder at all, but that all depends on if you set up everything correctly, cycle, pick compatible choices all that.

Best or luck, and hopefully more experiences members here can give you better advice!

 

Hello,

I have had my planted tank for about 3 months now, and absolutely love the tank.

As for your aquarium, planted tanks are a bit more costly than a regular freshwater tank. The first question that you need to ask yourself is whether you want a high tech tank or a low tech tank.

Basically, a high tech tank requires sufficient Co2 and fertalization, while a low tech tank mostly relys on the lighting, with minimal ferts or Co2. Do you happen to know how many watts your light fixture. The reason that I ask is because to determine what plants you are wanting to keep you will need to meet their lighting requirements. For plants that require low lighting you will need about 1-2 watts per gallon. For medium require plants you will need about 2-3 watts per gallon. For high lighting required plants you will need about 3-5 watts per gallon.

Since you have a 60 gallon tank, you will need a Co2 injection system. I'd look on ebay, they have them for reasonable prices, or somewhere else if you find a better deal. Or you could do a DIY Co2 system, but depending on how many plants you want, I would recommend Co2 injection because you will get more sufficient Co2.

As far as ferts go, with a larger aquarium like that, you could start out with liquid ferts like seachem flourish comp. But with a larger aquarium like that, especially with a lot of plants. I would recommend dry fertalization. At that piont, you will not only safe money, but your plants will benefit more from dry ferts. Dry ferts are cheaper and have more micro nutrients that your plants must have in order to stay really green and healthy. Macro nutrients can be obtained from the fish through their poop and your water supply, your macro nutrients will be your: Iron, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, and etc. Seachem makes these ferts as well, but usually phosphorus is plentiful in the water supply and potassium is only need for plants that have flowers. If you have enough fish in the tank, they will most likely supply your plants with enough, but most of the time, people find themselves dosing nitrogen, especially if they have a lot of plants. You sould get enough Iron from your ferts, liquid or dry.

Other than that you will also need to research and research some more on the plants you want to be in there. Some are root feeders and some are leaf feeders. The root feeders are typically your swards and crypts, they get their nutrients through their roots. Leaf feeders are more common, they get their nutrients through their leaf structure. Plants are a lot different then fish. But they aren't hard to take care of either, you just need to do plenty of research and care for them.

Let us know if you have any more questions

 

Thanks for the responses! The lighting I have is only 108 watts... Meaning I would have to do low light plants, or shell out another 140 bucks for more lighting, which would put me at 216 watts, or 3.6 watts/gallon. I don't have that right now, but do you know off hand if that "underwater grass" I've seen is low light? I feel like it wouldn't be. The fish I am going to stock are:
- 1 red tailed shark
- 2 bristle nosed plecos
- 2 angelfish
- 3 dojo loaches
- 4 swordtails

Thanks again everyone!


That's all for now. The people at my LFS said that if I shelled out the twenty bucks for tetra safe start and used it properly, I could add the fish the next day! So while my tank isn't cycled, if after I add the safe start and my API freshwater master test kit says I'm good to go, I'm going to add the fishes!

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "underwater grass", for their are many types. If you are looking for a carpet type then maybe willow moss, or Hemianthus 'Cuba', or most other mosses. These generally do fine in low lighted aquariums.

 

Welcome to Fishlore.

Planted tanks can be a joy and require very little of your time, especially when care is taken to add the plants that are suited to your lighting and fert plans. Or they can be a money sucking disaster.
The key to success starts with lighting. The watt per gallon rule does not apply to high output lighting. You have too much light actually. But this can easily be remedied by raising the fixture a foot above the tank or by running a single tube.

The first thing to do is to get rid of the actinic tube. It is meant for a saltwater coral or reef tank. And will grow algae in a planted tank.

Next, ferts. There are many options...liquid, dry, substrate tablets, etc. I recommend dry as this allows you the luxury to customize to your tank's needs and is quite cost effective. And, if you end up with root feeders, then substrate ferts will also be needed.

The third wheel of aquatic plants is CO2. Not every tank needs this carbon supplement; however it will be required with your lighting. Carbon supplementation can be by liquid, DIY with yeast and sugar or by injection. Any method can be used in a 60G tank. It really depends on your budget and on how much time you have.

These three components comprise the trinity for having a successfully planted aquarium. Once we know your choices we can then begin to recommend plant options.

Good luck setting up your tank!

 

Thanks so much for the input on the grasses and all the other points! So, I guess my questions now are:
1. Are the fish I mentioned above alright for a planted tank?
2. When I get rid of the actinic bulb, do I replace it with another white T5 light or is the one I already have enough? And when you say I have too much light, that means I could grow high lighting plants?
3. I will probably go with the dry ferts, any suggestions on which ones I should use?
4. I've already invested a lot in the tank and am trying to do it right. Which Carbon input method is the best? Second best? Approximate price for each?
5. Is having the air pump and air stone still beneficial in a planted tank? I got it before I thought it would be a planted tank. I know the plants will release O2...

Thanks so much! I am itching for my filter to get here on Wednesday so I can finally set everything up!

 

Thanks so much for the input on the grasses and all the other points! So, I guess my questions now are:
1. Are the fish I mentioned above alright for a planted tank?
2. When I get rid of the actinic bulb, do I replace it with another white T5 light or is the one I already have enough? And when you say I have too much light, that means I could grow high lighting plants?
3. I will probably go with the dry ferts, any suggestions on which ones I should use?
4. I've already invested a lot in the tank and am trying to do it right. Which Carbon input method is the best? Second best? Approximate price for each?
5. Is having the air pump and air stone still beneficial in a planted tank? I got it before I thought it would be a planted tank. I know the plants will release O2...

Thanks so much! I am itching for my filter to get here on Wednesday so I can finally set everything up!

1. Yes the fish you mention should be ok. The problematic ones will be the loaches as they like to dig. If you add them last, after the plants have had a chance to root well, they shouldn't dig them up too much.

2. If your fixture will run with a single bulb, you could do that. Or replace the actinic with a bulb in the 5000-10,000k range. If running 2 tubes, you will need to raise the fixture at least a foot above the tank. Otherwise, you will have too much light and things will not work out very well. Your tank will be considered high to very high lighting. You will be able to grow just about any aquatic plant you'd want to grow.

Do keep in mind while researching plants that they are rated easy to difficult. Beginners should stick with the easy plants as these are the more forgiving varieties. Even with all my experience I still struggle to keep difficult plants in my tanks.

3. Dry ferts are a good choice. And, very cost effective. I purchase my ferts from Green Leaf Aquariums. Here is a link to their starter pack: . Their $20 starter pack will last you close to a year!! The owner, Orlando, is very knowledgeable and very helpful too!

4. Carbon supplements can be a hard choice.

Injected
If you can afford it, go with injected. It is more costly to set up, but it is cheaper to run long term. You have the choice of semi-automatic or fully automatic. The difference is whether you use a simple timer or purchase a pH Controller.

Semi-automatic setups include the regulator, diffuser, tubing and sometimes a bubble counter; and of course a CO2 tank. I purchased this set up for my 90G tank: . There are many options in a wide variety of price ranges. You will need to shop around.

A fully automated system includes the pH Controller. Instead of using a timer to turn on/off the gas flow, it constantly monitors the pH of the tank. You set the min and max values. Just this controller will run about $200. I don't have one yet because I cannot afford one; but am looking forward to the day I can.

Liquid
With a 60G tank, you could consider a liquid carbon supplement. You could use Seachem Excel or purchase it's counterpart marketed for the medical profession. The downside of this form is that some plants will melt in its presence. When using a liquid carbon supplement the trick is to build up to full strength. I have a bottle around as this stuff is great at killing BBA when it tries to get started in my tanks. A 1G jug of Seachem Excel will cost about $50 and when dosed as directed may last up to a year in your tank.

DIY CO2
Very cheap to set up and run, but requires your time each week to refresh to yeast mix. It is critical to maintain a constant level of CO2 in an aquarium as the swings can actually trigger algae. For a 60G tank you'd need to run 5 or 6 generator bottles. Each bottle is filled with yeast and sugar water. Then every week refresh the mix in 2 bottles. With this type of rotation, you would be replacing the mix every 3 weeks. This has worked best for me in maintaining a steady level of carbon. Set up cost is about $10. Monthly running cost $5.

5. Air pumps and CO2 gas supplementation do not mix. The only time I run an air line on a planted tank is when using DIY CO2. And then only during the lights out period to ensure there is always oxygen available to the fish.

I know this is a lot of information. Just keep asking questions until you understand and can make informed choices while setting up your tank.

 

The people at my LFS said that if I shelled out the twenty bucks for tetra safe start and used it properly, I could add the fish the next day!

I've never used TSS, but I believe you actually add the fish about two hours after adding the TSS. If you wait too long, the bacteria will die from lack of nourishment (provided by the ammonia from the fishes' waste), however I'm not sure how long this would take.