Starting my first planted tank

T

thelobster

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Jun 19, 2007
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What site is the best place where i can buy substrate, Light, plants and such.

i have a 20 gallon right now. I am going to finally bite the bullet($$$) and do my first planted tank. any recommendations on light/substrate?

i am a college student and funds arent the greatest but i really would like to do one.

oh and a place to get some nice drift wood.

right now i have a 5 gallon with a drift wood and anubis attached to it and bunch of java fern.

i see Hagen natural system for 26 bucks for Co2.
 
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ya i was thinking about a DYI thats probably what ill end up doing.

is that to much light? i thought if i had near 10 watts per gallon i would be able to grow just about any type of plant?

that gives me 6.5 watts per gallon.
 
i think you would need something thats rated for over 20g. why not get http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3603&N=2004+22777
you get everything you need included in price. $40 more but its well worth it.

one bag of eco complete should be enough for a 20g tank. it depends on how thick you want the substrate to be.

what kind of planted tank are you aiming for? high light plants or low? a 65w pc fixture would be enough to grow almost anything in a 20g. for high light planted tanks, co2 and ferts is a must. the hagen co2 system is a waste of money, rig up a diy co2 system and it can be under $5. all you need is some air tubing, a 2lt soda bottle, yeast, sugar and a check valve. you may want to look into a way to diffuse the co2 into the tank. http://cgi.ebay.com/Rhinox-2000-Co2...ryZ66794QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
i use that brand but the larger model for my 55g planted tank and does its job well. as for ferts buy, 1lb of kno3, k2so4 and 8 oz of plantex csm+b from http://www.bestaquariumregulator.com/ferts.html that will be enough ferts to last over a year for a 20g.

edit: ah sorry for the recommendation on that diffusor. it is not compatible with diy set ups.

forgot to add - try looking for driftwood at your lfs. for plants, look for aquatic plant forums. they have very good prices and many species available for you. www.plantedtank.net/forums is a good one.
 
umm....


"Aquadise on ebay = con artist
I'm not normally one to speak poorly of others but this has really gotten my feathers ruffled. I ordered plants from aquadise on ebay, apparently this person is also an active member on this forum. So I placed my order on Feb 2 and did not receive the plants till Feb 20. all plants were dead except some java moss and what was suppose to be Echinodorus tenellus. now this is enough to deserve some negitive feedback but here's the kicker. It turns out the tenellus was actually mondo grass. I can't believe they're trying to pass that off on unsuspecting ebayers. I complained and got a refund but there was no response to my emails, they just credited my paypal account. Also the plants were very small, hardly worth the money even if they would have been alive.
Just wanted to give people a warning to stay far away from this seller.

on a better note I just received an order from aquariumplants.com and was absolutely amazed by quality and size of the plants I put them in my tank last night and today they are all pearling like crazy."

-bartak @ plantedtank.net/forums.
 
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