New planted aquarium idea.

[NightStalker]

So given my 55 looks a bit boring now, my 12 inch pleco tends to throw my nitrate levels off the charts.... and its only him and a 4 inch scomb, I have decided to go planted!

I want to seriously plant this tank, make it look fantastic with a lot of plants but also some room, make it sorta look like the rain forest!

So I was wondering If I needed to buy reptile style UV lights for the tank, and what else information do I need? Perhaps recommended plants etc.

Thanks. Also I have noticed the silicone on my tank seems to be deteriorating. So if anyone has an opinion on the matter it would be greatly apprecianted. This is the tank after all that I want to invest some money in to transform into a planted one. The tank is located in my basement.

Thanks,
Igor.

PS as you see pics included showing the silicone.

 

[poly-nomial]

First you need to get some gravel. For example your tank is 55g, you will need around 110lbs of substrate. And make sure you get some good plant substrate like ecocomplete. Than you will need some t5 lighting preferably. You want about 3-4 watts per gallon if you are planning on going heavily planted. You will probably want to add some ferts like flourish, too. Good plants include anubias, swords, java moss/fern, vallisneria, and christmas moss. Driftwood always looks good in a planted tank. Good luck