I have been reading for years about high light high nutrient aquariums. I call them Global warming tanks. Sometimes I call them Zen and the Art Of CO2. Don't get me wrong I love them. You can spend thousands of dollars on such a tank. 200 + dollars on lights, 100+ dollars on substrates, use daily doses of expensive aquatic additives and trace elements and costly CO2 systems. How about hand blown glass diffusers? I have nothing against that per se. As I said I like it. Actually I am moving toward it right now as one of my goals.
For many people, especially those who are new to plants this is often not the best approach to take. Not only are you about to pour a huge amount of money into a glass full of water but you are also very likely still trying to understand how to keep the plants alive, assuming you have already figured out how to keep the fish alive that is. Quite likely what you are going to end up growing in this tank is algae.
One of the great myths circulated by the Global Warming crowd is that fish can not provide all the nutrients needed for plants. This is not true. Some fish and a little fish food are perfectly capable of providing more than enough nutrients for many plants provided, and this is a big caveat, you are growing the right plants in the first place.
Substrates are extremely important but to begin with you are not going to grow a lot of plants that need a highly enriched substrate. Old dirty gravel is good for this, for those of you who already have this, as is a fortified substrate such as Fluorite, Eco Complete or laterite. Some people add a little peat moss, others use a kind of clay that you can mix into balls and scatter about the bottom of the tank before you add the substrate. Tom Barr posted the other day that he uses onyx sand and leonardite among other things in his low light substrates. You don't need all this to be extremely high in nutrition, you don't have the light for that in the first place you just need some nutritional value in the substrate. Use what you have and add a little extra nutrients to begin with. RTR mentioned a mixture of old dirty gravel, with some flourite and a trace of peat moss the other day as one substrate he uses. I add some Seachem Plant tabs.
You don't really need that much light either. The simple florescent light that comes with a normal florescent hood is fine. Especially if you are just starting out with plants it will provide you with enough light to grow a few plants, it most likely will not cause an algae bloom and you won't have to add a bunch of supplemental nutrition to keep up with plant growth. The only thing I would suggest here is that you buy a good Daylight florescent bulb, change the bulb every six months or so and aim for between 1 and 1.5 watts per gallon. I have grown Java Fern and Java moss using standard incandescent aquarium bulbs. If that is what you have then use it. Or find a place in your house that is bright but doesn't get any direct sunlight and leave the light out.
As for the plants, this is the part you have to learn. Many years ago I ran into a aquarium shop where the owner actually knew about the plants he sold and I was lucky enough to be able to ask if this or that plant would grow under low light. It was very helpful. Normally in this type of setup people use cryptocoryne, Java fern, Java moss, anubias, guppy grass, hornwart , and maybe a sword plant or two. After that you just have to try and see what will grow. That is the fun of it really. You will be surprised at how many things you can grow and you will be disappointed when you find that other things will not grow at all. Take it in stride. If something will not grow remove it. Don't buy plants without knowing what they are. Decide what you want and then go out and find it. I really can't emphasize this enough. It is up to you to learn what will grow and how to grow it. All too often the Local Fish Stores are full of plants that either need very high light, don't belong in an aquarium and/or have been grown emersed and are bound to die back when you submerse them. Don't become a victim of your shopping whims. Be aware that I still am.
In the mean time if you read around a bit and ask questions you will begin to learn that the holes in the leaves of the anubias are most likely caused by a lack of potassium. That a little extra fertilization under the Dwarf Sagittaria will help it a lot. Your little planted aquarium will be growing, and soon enough you will be thinking about adding more light and some CO2 and you will have enough of an understanding to do so without suddenly realizing that you don't have the slightest idea how to do this.
FWIW
Ergo Sum.
For many people, especially those who are new to plants this is often not the best approach to take. Not only are you about to pour a huge amount of money into a glass full of water but you are also very likely still trying to understand how to keep the plants alive, assuming you have already figured out how to keep the fish alive that is. Quite likely what you are going to end up growing in this tank is algae.
One of the great myths circulated by the Global Warming crowd is that fish can not provide all the nutrients needed for plants. This is not true. Some fish and a little fish food are perfectly capable of providing more than enough nutrients for many plants provided, and this is a big caveat, you are growing the right plants in the first place.
Substrates are extremely important but to begin with you are not going to grow a lot of plants that need a highly enriched substrate. Old dirty gravel is good for this, for those of you who already have this, as is a fortified substrate such as Fluorite, Eco Complete or laterite. Some people add a little peat moss, others use a kind of clay that you can mix into balls and scatter about the bottom of the tank before you add the substrate. Tom Barr posted the other day that he uses onyx sand and leonardite among other things in his low light substrates. You don't need all this to be extremely high in nutrition, you don't have the light for that in the first place you just need some nutritional value in the substrate. Use what you have and add a little extra nutrients to begin with. RTR mentioned a mixture of old dirty gravel, with some flourite and a trace of peat moss the other day as one substrate he uses. I add some Seachem Plant tabs.
You don't really need that much light either. The simple florescent light that comes with a normal florescent hood is fine. Especially if you are just starting out with plants it will provide you with enough light to grow a few plants, it most likely will not cause an algae bloom and you won't have to add a bunch of supplemental nutrition to keep up with plant growth. The only thing I would suggest here is that you buy a good Daylight florescent bulb, change the bulb every six months or so and aim for between 1 and 1.5 watts per gallon. I have grown Java Fern and Java moss using standard incandescent aquarium bulbs. If that is what you have then use it. Or find a place in your house that is bright but doesn't get any direct sunlight and leave the light out.
As for the plants, this is the part you have to learn. Many years ago I ran into a aquarium shop where the owner actually knew about the plants he sold and I was lucky enough to be able to ask if this or that plant would grow under low light. It was very helpful. Normally in this type of setup people use cryptocoryne, Java fern, Java moss, anubias, guppy grass, hornwart , and maybe a sword plant or two. After that you just have to try and see what will grow. That is the fun of it really. You will be surprised at how many things you can grow and you will be disappointed when you find that other things will not grow at all. Take it in stride. If something will not grow remove it. Don't buy plants without knowing what they are. Decide what you want and then go out and find it. I really can't emphasize this enough. It is up to you to learn what will grow and how to grow it. All too often the Local Fish Stores are full of plants that either need very high light, don't belong in an aquarium and/or have been grown emersed and are bound to die back when you submerse them. Don't become a victim of your shopping whims. Be aware that I still am.
In the mean time if you read around a bit and ask questions you will begin to learn that the holes in the leaves of the anubias are most likely caused by a lack of potassium. That a little extra fertilization under the Dwarf Sagittaria will help it a lot. Your little planted aquarium will be growing, and soon enough you will be thinking about adding more light and some CO2 and you will have enough of an understanding to do so without suddenly realizing that you don't have the slightest idea how to do this.
FWIW
Ergo Sum.
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