Planted tank help, Tank size, substrate etc?

I want to start a planted tank but I don’t really know where and how to start.
1. What size tank would be best for a beginner 10 or 20 gallon?
I was thinking of going with the 20 gallon tank because I would really want to get KuhlI loaches in the future. I would also keep my betta fish there and maybe a few shrimp.
2. What kind of substrate should I use? I want a planted tank so what would be the best long lasting substrate that is also safe for loaches?
Also if anyone has any other tips for starting a planted tank please let me know!

 

1. Go for a 20. Not sure if the kuhlI loaches will do well in planted tanks since they burrow and might uproot the plants.

2. Get aqua soil such as ADA or Tropica. Mind you that they are expensive, but they are worth the money.

 

I'd recommend a 20 long (as oppose to a 20 high); they are a bit shallower so the plants will get brighter light. For substrate there is no 'best' per sey. I would avoid 'plant' substrate for various reasons. Just add some root tabs every 3 or so months.

 

1. Go for a 20. Not sure if the kuhlI loaches will do well in planted tanks since they burrow and might uproot the plants.

2. Get aqua soil such as ADA or Tropica. Mind you that they are expensive, but they are worth the money.

KuhlI loaches love planted tanks! I’ve kept them successfully in heavily planted tanks for several years now. They also don’t burrow, but will squeeze into any tight spaces with decorations, plant leaves, etc.

 

1. Twenty gallon long, as mentioned above, or larger if budget and room allow. Other then the volume of water changes, larger tanks are easier, since the water parameters don't change as quickly.
2. Pool filter sand is an economical and attractive substrate choice. Just make sure it's only sand, with no additives.
3. Depending on your individual betta, the shrimp may not live long.

 

Planted tank is the way to go so welcome to the joy of aquatic plants. Agree with JettsPapa - if you have the space and the bling then go 40, but understand we all have to live within limits. Have hear Kuhlis can be a pain with plants but defer to those with firsthand knowledge. It may be worthwhile to divide the substrate area and give the loaches an area to 'play' in but no guarantee they won't get into the plants as the first rule of fishkeeping is they'll find a way to drive you crazy.

 

Planted tank is the way to go so welcome to the joy of aquatic plants. Agree with JettsPapa - if you have the space and the bling then go 40, but understand we all have to live within limits. Have hear Kuhlis can be a pain with plants but defer to those with firsthand knowledge. It may be worthwhile to divide the substrate area and give the loaches an area to 'play' in but no guarantee they won't get into the plants as the first rule of fishkeeping is they'll find a way to drive you crazy.

Yup. In my opinion a 40 gallon breeder (36"L x 18"D x 17"T) is just about the perfect tank size. It's large enough that the water parameters don't fluctuate quickly and to allow a lot of leeway decorating, shallow enough that it's easy to work in, and not large enough to be intimidating to new fish keepers.

 

There’s also the 30 long 36”x12”x16”. It’s a good plant tank. Go with sand or a smaller gravel. I like gravel. The plants stay rooted. Go with a depth of at least 3”. Next is lighting. A good cheap light that grows plants is the vivagrow 24/7. Under $50. Waiting for pictures.

 

Get the biggest tank you can afford. I went with ecocomplete and I’ve been very happy. Plants are taking off and dividing like crazy. I add no co2 or ferts. I’m going to start adding ferts though since I’ve noticed my plants are slowing down and have a bit of algae growing on them. Tank is about 2.5-3 months old now.

 

Never had a problem with mixing kuhlI and plants. Yes they love to swim through the plants but i've not had them damage plants and they are pretty freaking small (little mass) so uprooting plants isn't an issue. Their favorite is the java fern - but they also hide under the anubia.
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Be sure to make the substrate deep enough to hold the plants if you go with rooted plants (I prefer 1 1/2 to 2 inches); but others might prefer deeper or shallower. Folks often make it deeper along the perimeter and middle front shallower and without plants to provide swimming area for the fish. Remember many plants will grow quite large over time and like fishes purchase size doens't always represent growth size. Of course you can always snip plants a lot easier than snipping a fish and in most cases they don't eat each other
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Planted tank is the way to go so welcome to the joy of aquatic plants. Agree with JettsPapa - if you have the space and the bling then go 40, but understand we all have to live within limits. Have hear Kuhlis can be a pain with plants but defer to those with firsthand knowledge. It may be worthwhile to divide the substrate area and give the loaches an area to 'play' in but no guarantee they won't get into the plants as the first rule of fishkeeping is they'll find a way to drive you crazy.

 

Being it’s your first planted tank I recommend easy substrate. Just sand or gravel. I’ve had absolutely no luck with eco and would not recommend it. I wouldn’t recommend any of the plant substrates. They all have problems which make it harder to keep the tank going. All will demand ferts after a year if not before. With lighting and ferts you can grow plants in sand and gravel with no problems.
Below my 125 planted discus tank. Regular gravel and many different plants all growing great . Tank is about 8months old. I use flourish ferts and root tabs.

 

I used Ecocomplete for our 120 gallon on the recommendation of LFS owner. It has good and bad points. Biggest problem we had was that it had to 'settle' and go through a number of water changes to be viable with certain species. I've done research but can't really explain why or what may have been the cause, but cory's and rummy tetras in particular were a problem for about 2-3 months. Now that's it's aged it has been great - many species of plant and until recently didn't fert and don't CO2 and they've been growing like gangbusters.

Have also used Aquasolum and Fluval brands of closer to dirt based substrate and they work fine. Find the Aqua is 'cleaner' than the Fluval Stratum and easier to work with.

 

My first tank was with eco complete-black (there is a red variant). I can't say anything good or bad about this substrate. My biggest dislike is that it is a bit coarse. I have mostly loaches in my tank (kuhli, clown, zebra, gold zebra); but a herd of 6 sterbaI cory and some mid/top level fishes. As for plants as I said in my original post i've not noticed plants doing better or worse in this substrate. One advantage it has over fine sand (.25mm to .75mm) is that fine sand can form non-oxygenated bacteria. This has pro/con in that it will keep nitrate close to 0 but also cause hydrogen feeding cyano to grow on the substrate (bacteria eat nitrate producing hydrogen gas). I believe 86 ssinit 'plain gravel' is store purchase substrate that is in the range of .5 and 2mm (this is based on a conversation with him but he can correct me if I am mistaken). One of my tank has what I believe to be .5 to 1.25mm substrate which works well - it is loose enough that water flows through the substrate but pact enough that it is easier to vacuum. My kuhlI seem to do ok in all three substrate but they obviously don't dig into the eco-complete too much (which is .25 to 7mm). I've not noticed any damage to any of them. As for plants I read a non-vendor article that suggested the structure of eco-complete does provide some continuous benefits (it provided some detail explanation) but as I said I haven't noticed plants doing better or worse and I think whatever benefit the substrate might provide it is minor compare to other factors (water quality, light, root tabs, ...).
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As others have said this is your first tank and I would not fret too much and go with something that works for you. I would not go with fine sand simply because you will find it difficult to clean but anything slightly coarser than fine sand should be fine. I personally prefer something in the .5 to 1.5 range - so that it is coarse enough to allow water to flow between the grains but fine enough for particles to not sink too deep (easy vacuuming during cleaning). As I noted above it will be a bit easier for planting if you make the substrate layer deep enough for the root system.

 

I agree with getting the biggest tank you can afford and would add that longer or wider is better then taller. Ive got khulis in my planted tank and the don't uproot the plants. Just make sure you add a heap of them or you won't see them often

What substrate to get honestly depends on what you mean when you say planted. If you only want a few plants you can get by with using an inert substrate like grave or sand but if you want heavily planted or a carpet get aquasoil. Do not get eco complete it is inert and basically expensive gravel.

Contrary to popular believe aquasoil Does NOT break down after a few years and need to be replaced. Some of mine is over 7 yrs and still good. Its soft so it fine to use with all bottom dwelling fish and easy for plants to root and grow in.

 

Bigger the better for tank size. The reason is that a larger tank is less prone to crashes and swings in tank chemistry. I have a planted 20 with kuhlis, cherry shrimp and danios. Had a betta there too but she recently passed I use 2cm plus rounded gravel substrate. The kuhlis rarely cause any plant issues may occasionally dislodge a java fern rhizome jammed into the chollo wood holes.