planted aquariums?

Question

any tips on making a planted aquarium? i have a 30 gallon bowfront aquarium! i kno i want to keep eth little slate tunnel cave thing i made i just dont kno what to do wit eth rest i have a bunch of plants but it still looks boring! i want it to be natural no fake lil ornaments!




~i have 4 guppies 5 glolite tetras, 1 snail, 1 African dwarf frog, tomaro i am getting 2-3 dwarf gouramis, and 6 more tetras of a different species!~i keep teh aquarium @ 78 degrees and around 7.0 Ph~



thnx

i want it to kinda look like a rain forest

Answer 1

You should first determine your wattage. You need fluorescent lighting, of course. Calculate how many watts per gallon you have. Under 1 watt per gallon, and you should be able to grow low-light plants. 1-2 w/gal, and you can grow mid-light plants. Any higher than that, and you can be able to grow most plants.

Anyway, growing plants is usually pretty easy. If the plants die, remove them, and try something else. Eventually, it'll all come together.
There are lots of plants out there, they look great, but some great ones are
anubias http://www.aqua-passion.com/fiches_plantes/images/Anubias_glai.2004316185215.jpg
java fern http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/images/Java%20Fern.jpg
java moss http://www.aquamoss.net/Java-Moss/images/Java-Moss-01.jpg
pennywort http://www.british-wild-flowers.co.uk/00%20John%20Somerville/Pennywort,%20Floating%202.jpg
vallisneria http://aquavisie.retry.org/Database/Planten/Vallisneria_spiralis.jpg
amazon swords http://naturalaquariums.com/plants/echbleheri.JPG
Those are all pretty easy to grow. Amazon swords may need some fertilizer pellets, though. Other than that, you probably won't need fertilizers, but if you want to get some, get some micro / macro trace elements for plants, NOT an iron based fertilizer.

As for aquascaping, do what you think looks good. Typically, you put tall plants in the back (like amazon swords or vallisneria), you put short/bushy plants in the mid-ground (like anubias), and small plants (like rotala, pygmy chain sword) in the front.

http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2006.cgi - flip through those pics and you'll get some great ideas!

You may run into algae problems, so be sure not to overfeed or to overfertilize, and make sure to keep your photoperiod (the amount of time your tank light is on) to 10-11 hours per day.

You can also look into a DIY CO2 injector. CO2 helps plants grow, thus keeping algae away and making your plants look better. Just get a 1.5 or 2 litre soda bottle - drill or melt a hole in the lid the width of some aquarium air tubing. Insert the tubing about 1/2 inch into the bottle and seal the space in the lid hole with 100% rubber silicone. Then put 1 cup of sugar and 1litre of warm water, stir until disolved, and add 1/2 tsp of ordinary baking yeast. Close the bottle, and attach the other end of the tubing to an airstone, which you can put in your tank to break up the CO2 bubbles.
http://aquagarden.iespana.es/fotos/botellas.jpg - that is a DIY CO2 (with 2 bottles).

Anyway, that's about it. Try locating your local fish club for great deals on plants that are way nicer / bigger than petstore plants.

Answer 2

in my 55, I like to create depth. The way you do it is to have a blank background. I prefer black. I use bulk rock to create stable rock structures. I set up structures on both sides of the tank, leaving a diagonal line from front to back somewhat centered with nothing. It's really hard to explain! It almost looks like a path in the woods, only in your tank. When the empty "Path" is at an angle, it creates the illusion that your tank goes back farther than it really does.

I really like Java fern in a planted tank. You can thread it to bulk rock or drift wood and have it grow off the natural deco.

There is a book called The Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants by Peter Hiscock (nope, not joking!) that I love. It goes over everything from the soil to the light and everything in between. You can get it at borders or Amazon. Love the book!

Good luck and happy aquascaping!

as far as what plants to choose, it depends on your lighting, space, basic beginning structure, and water quality. Unfortunatly, there is too much to a planted tank to discuss here. It also get's really hard to sort through what's good info and bad on the forums and websites.

Get a book that goes over the basics. Start with the right equipment and a sound structure for your plants to grow around. Then, know what plants you are getting and what they need. Once you know the care of the plants, then you can adjust your lighting and suppliments to fit the needs of both the plants and the fish.

As long as you do your research first, it should go off without a hitch.

Answer 3

it seems as though you have a bunch of info on what plants to buy, but there is one very important thing to know about having plants in your tank

You need to clean out the dying plant matter.
Build up of decaying plant matter in your gravel or under the rocks creates high levels of nitrates and nitrites which can poison your fish. This happened to me what i first got my tank. But now i bought a tank vaccume and vaccume out the gravel every other day and add clean water. I dont vaccume out alot of water though, too many water changes can kill your fish.

Just one thing i think you should know because i had no idea and i lost a freshwater puffer fish because of it.

Also, like all living things, you have to feed plants.

Answer 4

Having a planted tank isn't that hard. The biggest thing is making sure you pick the right plants for your water and making sure they get enough light.

Stop by the planted tank forums at FishGeeks for help on picking the right plants for you water.