starting a 55 gallon planted, need help!

[ryanhayes9]

I have been in saltwater for a few years now but want to0 start a 55 gallon planted aquarium. I really have no clue where to start so could you guys please help me out. Like list what I have to do and ned to buy or link to like a guide or something? thanks

[snickle]

Nothing like a wide open question :-)

Quick list of things to look into:

Tank

Filtration
Lighting
Substrate
Carbon
Plants
Ferts
Fish

Tank: Well you specified a 55G, so that is easy. Dimensions are 48x13x20


Filtration: Lots of options here. I would consider two filter, a small canister and a bio-wheel. Just my preference.

Lighting: REally depends on your plants, but I would go with a 4x55 from www.ahsupply.com. Lot's of light.

Substrate: This is a pretty religious discussion. The gold standard is ADA Aquasoils, the other popular ones are Seachem Flourite, Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil, and lots of others. I currently favor the Schultz, because of price.

Carbon: Plants need carbon to grow, lowlight plants you are okay without adding carbon. Beyond that you need to add with DIY setups, Pressurized setups or Excel. Pressurized is best and cheapest long term.

Plants: What kind are you interested in? Low LIght, HIgh Light, Crypts, etc? The plants you choose will drive a lot of choices.

Ferts: Many Options: Commercial dosing, Poor Man Dosing Drops, EI Natural, and my favorite PPS-Pro: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106810

Fish: Plants only or both.

Hope that gives you somewhere to start.

[ryanhayes9]

i have a canister filter already. I would probably go with the 4X55 watt pc light. I currenty have


2 gold gouramis
1 red tail shark
I want to get some more gouramis and some neon tetras and other fish. how many could i have in a 55 gallon?

[GirlieGirl8521]

Rex has alot of info about planted tanks on his website: http://www.rexgrigg.com/

Planted tank also has some nice articles about starting out: http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Basics-to-starting-a-Planted-Tank/4/
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Necessary-Planted-Tank-Equipment/17/

With that lighting, you are going to need pressurized CO2. ;) That runs around $200 more or less. Rex sells all the necessary parts for that except the CO2 tank which you can find locally.

[ryanhayes9]

Rex has alot of info about planted tanks on his website: http://www.rexgrigg.com/

Planted tank also has some nice articles about starting out: http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Basics-to-starting-a-Planted-Tank/4/
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Necessary-Planted-Tank-Equipment/17/

With that lighting, you are going to need pressurized CO2. ;) That runs around $200 more or less. Rex sells all the necessary parts for that except the CO2 tank which you can find locally.


what do you mean, with that lighting? if i get different lighting i would not need the pressurized co2? what about diy co2?

[phanmc]

Girliegirl is basically saying that 4x55w is alot of light over a 55g tank, approximately over 4wpg since they're compact fluorescents. The more light you have the higher the demand for ferts and CO2, and you're going to need alot of CO2 at 4wpg.

If you cut back to just 2x55w then the demand will be less, and you may get away with just DIY CO2.

[Mgamer20o0]

diy co2 is going to be hard also. your going to need a couple bottles going to keep the co2 up. you need to figure out what you want to do. a low light tank or a high light tank with co2 and ferts.

http://www.bestaquariumregulator.com/
good place to look for ferts and co2 parts.

[jart]

You have received good advice thus far in this thread.
My $0.02.

1) I'm not sure if you have bought the tank yet... however the dimensions of a 55 make it somewhat hard to light (but not impossible) and 'scape. Not much depth (front to back). Consider a 75.
2) It sounds like you are serious about growing plants (judging by your lighting choice). But, as stated, 4wpg to start with is a recipe for algae.
3) I would go pressurized CO2 right from the start. Almost impossible to maintain DIY on a tank that large, and Excel will get expensive really quick.
4) Read Rex's guide. Then read it again.
5) Keep in mind that although people are telling you to spend lots of $$$, almost all the costs in a planted tank are up front. Bulk ferts are dirt cheap. The Flourish line is very good but expensive in the long run.
6) For a beginner I would recommend Estimative Index for dosing, hands down. A bit of reading up front will save you time, frustration, and $$$ long term.
7) Plant very heavy from day 1 with fast growing plants (see Rex's site). This cannot be stressed enough. Forget about a 'scape at first; just get the tank established and growing well. After a couple of months you can begin to plan things out a bit.
8) After I got my pressurized system set up, I cranked up the CO2 to about 40 ppm for the first 2 weeks to give the plants a really good head start. Then, I backed it off, and slowly started adding fish. No need to fishless cycle a planted tank, but remember that planted tanks are most unstable during the first few weeks.