new bird here need some advice

[Coddy Tan]

I was reading through a lot of article and thread posted by everyone here be it from pro or from rookies .

I have long wanted to have my own planted tank , but till today i dare not try it , reason because its so complicated to me .

need to know what soil for what plant what and need co2 need refill co2 tank if finish it tends no set me back .

I have given up hope in planted tank but after I saw this guy video on youtube , his creation inspire me to give it a try

can all brother and sister here give some advice or share how you all start with ur very first planted tank..?

[Aquaguy]

You can try doing a low tech set-up. Don't need to use CO2. Preferably you should try with low maintanence plants such as java ferns, moss and anubias.

[SeVenZ]

my very first planted tank was just a simple 2 ft tank, one 9l bag of ada amazonia new , a few drift wood and very simple plants like hornworts, fanworts and a simple HOF. java ferns moss and anubias may be worrying because it doesnt seem to grow especially in a low tech tank.

get around 2wpg and thats about it i guess? ferts can just use those avaliable in liquid form. flourish , excel etc

have fun ! and welcome to aq!

[VSGenesis]

Hiya coddy

Hope you don't get discourage. As what Aquaguy and SeVenZ said, we all happen to start from somewhere. Some failures and some success. part of being an aquarist. Learning.

You just need a few things to start. Like what SeVenZ mentioned.

Aquarium - Try 2ft for a start on your plant journey (check Ads in here and get a used will do)
Aquasoil - ADA Amazonia (sometimes in ads you get members selling unused portion of their soil)
Lighting - 2wpg as mentioned (haha again ads also have)
Driftwood - Depending on where you live, Members here can point you at the right direction
Filter - HOF. I have Fluval C4 myself. Not too sure how it compares to Eheim's (same thing ads)
CO2, now this depends entirely up to you. For starters, you might like to go with what SeVenz has mentioned. Simple plants for you to work with first. Get flourish and excel. Dose as stated.

Some of the guys here wants the best for their hobby. So they get top of the line filtration system and co2 system. some know what they are doing while some don't. But eventually everyone learn. For co2, you got them solenoid, regulator, needle valve, bubble counter, tubing, check valve, diffusor, reactor and some even attached it to a PH controller. I don't think you need to go for the top in the beginning. There's nothing wrong starting small and experiment. What works for you might not work for me.

It's learning, researching, reading and a lot of patience. I hope to see a planted tank of yours in a month or two? Hehe. good luck.

[Coddy Tan]

1st of all I would like to Thank everyone who encourage , advice & help .


seems like a planted tank with no co2 is possible just that I do not have to many option for the plants , but its also good in a way that I could start from the most basic as Old bird always say : Start from the very basic ,even if you fail you know where you fail on and learn from there , rather than jump in advance stage and fail but don't even know where you fail at .

By the way just my personal point of view .

I know in planted tank we enjoy the plant and the scape rather than the fish inside , often i see a lot of planted tank only have some Tetra , angel fish , discus ,etc..
But I find it a waste of the tank scape so nicely but cannot keep the fish that i enjoy.

some advice needed on above personal point of view , is it after we scape our tank nicely automatically will fall in love in the scape so deeply till the extend we don't bother anymore what fish is inside.?

[VSGenesis]

It depends Coddy. We're all different. Some of us here like to aquascape. Some people after 6months to a year will rescape their tank or start on a new tank. They enjoy aquascapping. It gives them satisfaction at the work they have put in. These I say are the artistic ones. Who pursue perfection. Finding the balance between scape and the plants. Ensuring not just the beauty but an ecosystem that actually thrives for all living things in the tank.

Some of us pursue in creating the natural habitat of the species we want to keep. The focus is the fish. Providing a home as close to their natural habitat as possible. Giving them a sense of comfort that their fish are living in the condition they are supposed to in the wild. There are those who focus solely the fish. Most of the time, you see their tank void of decoration. Those arowanas, flowerhorn, etc keepers. They spend a lot of time providing the best stuffs for their fish. Then there are breeders and those who specialise in one particular species.

It all depends on the aquarists. No scape, no artificial habitat that we create or tank is complete without the fish. Hence the fish/shrimps etc is never secondary.

Well, that's my point of view. The hobby is not just about keeping fish. It is not about the scape. It's not about the best filtration system. The best this or that. It is the end product of what you have sow. The joy not only felt by you but shared among those around you. It's the coming together of all different elements making your work a masterpiece in its own right.

[tetrakid]

Strictly speaking, plants and fish are inseparable, they ensure each other's survival in nature, eg lakes with fish. In nature, there's no such thing as CO2 reactors. There's only the atmosphere and fish which provide the necessary CO2, in a balanced environment. If a tank filter is constant throughout, the additional CO2 produced by the plants at night, together with the fish's will be abundant. But this CO2 will be diluted if the filter's throughput is high, especially during daylight, in which case CO2 supplementation will be called for.

[Coddy Tan]

Indeed true that i can see a lot people try so hard to scape their tank to look as close to nature.

perhaps after scape your very own tank you feel very good when you look at it .

Its just like your looking at your very own master piece .