Planting plants?

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H

hazler

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 7, 2011
38
8
38
Australia
Got a 4ft tropical tank. 80 gallon from memory. But ahh black gravel with plenty of green, noticed here and there a few plants that I plant dont always make it, or take longer to 'bloom' as such.

I was just wondering if anybody had any sought of tips to planting plants. I got the whole idea downpat about food and etc, but I just wanna make sure I am doing it right from the get go.

Cheers
 
im pretty new to the planted tanks too but so far my plants are doing fine in my 6 feet tank and i thought i'd help you out a little. you will need aquasoil to plant your plants into and not the gravel. you can use normal organic ground soil from a nursery but i think just spend the extra buck and get aquasoil, its safer im sure. you need to have a good set of lamps. if you're just starting out maybe you could just settle with flourescents and maybe in the future move on to T5s and stuff like but if you can afford T5s right now, i don't see why not. and oh yes, get flourish excel. different plants need different kinds of water. go search 'dustin fish tanks' on youtube, he has a craploada videos on planted tanks that'll be sure to help you out. his language is NSFW btw, just a heads up hahaha, but he's an awesome guide nonetheless. hope i helped a little at least, all the best!
 
You can grow plants in regular gravel under regular light, really depends on the plant. I'm guessing the plants that don't do well in your tank have some higher lighting preferences. There's way too much to cover with planted tanks to post here, but basically if you just want some basic plants go for some easy to grow species and call it a day. If you want to get more serious about it, you can start researching lighting, CO2, fertilizers, etc. Dedicated planted tanks can be extremely complicated, really depends on how far you want to go with it and what your goals are.
 
Ah ok thanks. I hadn't really thought about any soil until I looked around a bit more. Would it be hard to do with the water, fish and plants in the tank or is it more of a dry option?
And I'm an electrician by trade so getting ahold of a half decent light wasn't too much of a drama ;)

I've got chinese evergreen, anubias', ahh chinese ivy for a bit but it died off and a few others. Really just a social kinda tank lol based around the discus
 
You can buy fertilizer tabs that you place in your normal gravel that will provide nutrients to root systems without having to change any substrate. You can also buy a basic liquid fertilizer like Seachem Flourish to dose the water column.
The more light you have, the more you risk algae outcompeting your plants and having problems. This is where CO2 comes into the picture. When you put CO2 into your water, you are basically providing plants with what they need to utilize the light more effectively and outcompete algae. So if you don't want to get into CO2, stick with a lower output light fixture.
Anubias is probably the best beginner plant there is! Very easy to grow and prefers lower light levels. There are some other low/medium light plants that would work well without adding more equipment to your tank.
 
Anubis should be fine without a t5 lighting system. and will grow in gravel in a low lit tank. R/O water is good to use in plant tanks although low light plants are pretty hardy and should grow in your tank with no co2. also check out bulb plants jungle vale and onion plants as these are user friendly
 
Ah ok thanks for that. Well I have used the fertilizer tabs before but I didn't think they did a whole lot and I have also gotten some liquid fertilizer but it seems to harden the water and sometimes brings the PH up a little too much. Considering I've got the discus, I really wanna keep the water ideal for them. I suppose maybe a C02 might be a worthy investment. I got a brand new t5 through work and it's a beaut. I only have it on for about 8 hours of the day though.

Funnily enough when I had the old light setup, which was just two 2 ft fluoros (on for about 12 hours of the day - too much I guess), I had a big algae bloom. But I havent really had a problem since I've got the new setup (and moved the tank further away from the window too lol).

But really appreciate the help, clearly I have alot more to learn about it all. In the next year I am going to get another 4ft tank. So I might make that an experimental tank. Try the aquasoil and what not. But I think I will look into the C02 right away. Cheers
 
Seachem Flourish Excel is a decent CO2 supplement... It basically releases CO2 into the water chemically. Worth buying a bottle and trying it out. Google it to learn more about it.
 
try the flourish excel as clockwork said. its a good supplement for your planted tank. be sure not to overdose as it can wipe out some delicate fish. also seachem makes flourish. its another sup that helps your plants. its not the same as excel.
 
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