help with planted tank

[fishmaniac]

I currently have a 30 gallon freshwater tank,, which I have had for about 8 months, and I want to turn it into a planted tank. I think they look so much nicer than the plastic plants I have now.

The problem with this is, how the heck do I do it? Are there certain fish that can't be in a planted tank, or fish that will eat the plants? What is the first step, besides getting plants, that I need to do?

Thanks

[Bruddah Chrispy]

Aloha e maniac,

Step 1: Determine if your fish are compatible with plants. I understand some cichlids and pl*cos are hard on plants. I don't know what you've got so I can't give you much advice there.

Step 2: Decide on whether you want a high-light or low-light planted tank. High-light (more than 2w/g) makes many more plants available, but is more expensive and usually requires CO2. Low-light (less than 2w/g) restricts the types of plants, and they grow more slowly.

Step 3: If you're going high-light start investigating lighting systems at AH Supply (http://www.ahsupply.com) if you're handy with tools or at Big Al's (http://www.bigalsonline.com) if you've got some disposable income.

Step 4: Buy some plants and give it a try.

Step 5: Admire the new found beauty of your tank.

Step 6: Post more questions and pictures.


Personally, I just dove into the whole thing. Killed off a bunch of plants. Then made the decision on whether I wanted to buy better lighting or different plants. I went the low-light route and don't regret it. I think it's a much better intro to plants.

HTH

[djlen]

Many of us have found that starting with high light plants can create problems if you don't have at least some experience with plants. What kind of light do you now have available? You say you have a 30 gal. tank. Do you have 30 watts of lighting? If so there are quite a few "low light" plants available that don't require a lot of light and look nice. Later, you might find that you want to get deeper into it, and add more light and CO2. When you do that it will create some new issues, but you'll find that the plants grow faster and there are more varieties you can be successful with.
I'd start with low light, and later add DIY(do it yourself CO2) and go from there.
Len

[fishmaniac]

I currently only have 20 w. of lighting.

My current fish stock includes:

4 Zebra Danios
2 Rasbora
1 Chocolate Pleco
1 Chinese Algae Eater
1 Rainbow Shark
2 Painted Tetra
5 Glo-lite tetra
8 neon tetra
1 Rummy nose tetra
1 Silver Dollar
1 Red Claw Crab

[djlen]

If I was going for a low light aquarium I would upgrade the lighting to 1-2 watts per gallon, and look for plants I like in the low light range. There are many of them out there. Read everything you can on www.thekrib.com on plants to get an understanding of what being successful entails. There are many sites that tell you how to set up a planted tank.
I don't have a lot of knowledge of Plecos, but if you have a large one you might have a problem keeping your newly planted plants in the substrate. I do know that Silver Dollars like to eat plants from previous experience. Your other fish should be no problem, but you may eventually have a problem with the "Chinese Algae Eater". I am told that they get aggressive as they mature and are not very good at eating algae anyway. Someone else will have to advise you on the crab. I'm clueless in that area.
Some would say I'm clueless in most areas.......
Len

[Faramir]

Silver Dollars tend to view plants as a self-service salad bar. They probably won't eat Java fern, and I'm told they leave healthy crypts alone as well, because they taste nasty (oxalic acid).

[djlen]

Check the thread on this page started by Fishhunter8 titled "diy fertilizers" and read what Tom Barr(Plantbrain) has to say about the differences in low light-high light tanks. He knows his stuff. I always suggest to everyone that they read his threads carefully.
Len