I choose to go "high tech", but on a budget. About two months ago, after discovering this and other sites, I decided my tank needed an upgrade if I wanted it to be planted. Previously, I'd had a plant in ther, but it wasn't growing.
The steps I took were thus:
1)Built a DIY CO2 system using yeast to create my CO2. This is a relatively inexpensive option. You can build it for as little as $15(I spent a little more getting a better diffuser.) To learn what a diffuser is, and to learn how to build a CO2 Yeast "Machine" out of old soda bottles, head over to the DIY forum. There is a sticky in there with lots of DIY threads, including DIY CO2. I purchased a big bag of sugar at costco for $.35/lb.
2) Once I completed my DIY CO2, I decided that to fully utilize this new addition to my tank, I would be needing better lighting. I then proceeded to spend ~$100(can be made for less) building a hood with incorporated lighting to give me about 126 Watts of lighting in my tank. Previously, I had only 17 watts. I built my lighthing into a nice wooden hood, but you can find cheaper ways of upgrading your lighting, including some stuff on Foster and Smith. Generally, people use a "3-5 watts per gallon" rule which is a good guideline for bulbs rated as "T12". Generally, I believe, lights tend to come with T8 bulbs these days. Therefore the "3-5 watts per gallon" rule doesn't apply directly. If I remember correctly, T8's are a little more efficient than T12's, therefore you'll need a little less than that.
www.ahsupply.com has a kit to upgrade your current lighting system to be able to handle these more powerful bulbs. It's ~$60 + the bulb(s).
3) I will be upgrading my substrate, but this will coincide with me getting a bigger tank. The tank is for my fish, the substrate for the plants. I personally have choosen to use Soilmaster Select(~$13.50/ 50 lbs) from
www.lesco.com. I like this option because the charcoal color is what I'm looking for, I already add ferts, it's cheap, and I have a store near by so I don't have to pay shipping. Other substrates include Eco-Complete and Flourite. These other substrates will have certain ferts imbedded in them that will be released.
4)I add good ole Flourish to my tank on a weekly basis. This is a fantastic fertilizer, and is really cheap on Foster and Smith. It's like ~$22 for a 2L bottle(compared to ~$15 for a .5L bottle at my LFS), which will last a while(I keep it refrigerated to help it last). If you go with a substrate like Soilmaster, Flourish will provide the trace elements your fish need. Flourish tabs will also work for this. I've never used them so I can't provide to much advice on how to use them nor how effective they are. I believe they work fine.
5)I also keep a bottle of Flourish Excel around. This is a carbon containing liquid. This can be used in place of a CO2 system, but in the long run I think it would be pricey. Again, Foster and Smith have it for ~$22 for a 2L(compared to ~15 for a .5L at my LFS). I use this, personally, for algae outbreaks and during yeast changes/refeeding(sugar) which I have to do about every 10 days. I just through a capful in my tank to help keep the carbon available while the yeast start to pressurize/process the new sugar.
This is kind of a "high tech" high maintenance setup, but I'm enjoying the work involved. I will enjoy the rewards even better. All and all, I'm going to spend some bank on the entire thing. I've done some DIY stuff, so that cut down the cost, but it still wasn't cheap. For smaller items, I always check out
www.froogle.com for the lowest price. I will say, however, for what I'm doing, I've avoided purchasing online, because I don't want to pay shipping. I will be making a pretty large purchase from Foster and Smith soon, since they have a more or less flat rate for shipping.
I hope this gives you some ideas.
