for those of you want to start planted tanks...

i found a bit of hair algae as well. im not too worried though. i have mollies, amano shrimp, and red cherry shrimp in other tanks if i need their services
 
my rams spawned :)
 
i thought i would update this thread and reiterate that you do not need a super fancy set up to successfully keep a planted tank. i run no CO2 and i have a shoplight that gives me about 2 watts per gallon. id have to say, if youre going to spend money on something, spend it on the substrate. i have 60lbs of fluorite that makes life a lot easier. i dose with excel (1 capful) per week. thats pretty much it.

left side:
n693104992_2676549_6747455.jpg


middle:
n693104992_2676548_4161588.jpg


right side:
n693104992_2676547_479645.jpg


whole tank shot:
n693104992_2676546_1220556.jpg


two weeks ago, the plants were half as tall as they are now
 
i know you can get it online, but you will pay an arm and a leg in shipping. i found it at a local fish store though. id start at a place like that.

and to be fair, there are other good substrates you can get like ecocomplete and laterite.
 
in reality, any substrate is fine. but it takes more work (root tabs, ferts, etc). i like the fluorite because it is created with a ton of nutrients in it, which means i get to be lazier ;)
 
in reality, any substrate is fine. but it takes more work (root tabs, ferts, etc). i like the fluorite because it is created with a ton of nutrients in it, which means i get to be lazier ;)

same here, i really don't want to setup a co2 diy. too much work.
im try to find this today.
thaknks
 
my setup is really simple, but it works well. the plants as you can see are thriving with minimal effort on my part. the most work i do are water changes and keeping the plants trimmed down. the beauty is that by trimming my plants down, i am propagating them. i started with a handful of stems and now i have more than i know what to do with
 
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