# Sticky  My Guide to a Cheap, Beautiful Planted Tank



## solarz

*INTRO*

I am writing this guide as a condensation of everything I've learned since I got into this hobby over 3 years ago. It is written with beginners in mind, although it is also my hope that veterans of the hobby will find some interest as well.

The first rule of keeping an aquarium is: every tank is different. Although there are general principles we can, and should, follow, every tank will be somewhat different from another. This is as it should be, as each planted tank is a little (sometimes not so little) ecosystem of its own.

This guide is not meant to be comprehensive. I will just be writing about what worked (and still works) best for me. Like the title implies, the objective of this guide is to help you set up a beautiful planted tank for as little cost as possible.

To be successful, a planted tank requires the following components:
- Tank
- Filtration
- Substrate
- Lighting
- Plants

Let's now examine each component in detail.

*TANK*

My philosophy is to always go with the biggest tank you can fit into your home. If you are a beginner, you should not work with any tank smaller than 20 gallons. Smaller tanks are much harder to maintain because they contain less water. Less water means less stability. Less stability means more work for you, and higher risks of fish death and/or algae explosion.

Apart from volume, tank dimensions are also an important consideration for planted tanks. Basically, you want tanks with low height and a decent amount of depth. Lower height means your plants will get more light, while greater depth means you can create a better aquascape.

Among the most commonly available tank sizes, I recommend the standard 20-gal, the 40-breeder, and the standard 75-gal. Avoid tanks that are too high and narrow for the reasons stated above.

*FILTRATION*

Unlike in fish-only tanks, the most important filter in a planted tank are your plants. They clean the water in two ways: first by directly absorbing the waste products of the fish, and secondly, by providing huge surface areas on which beneficial bacteria can colonize.

The real value of a mechanical filter is in the water movement. Most aquatic plants absorb nutrients through their leaves, and good water movement is needed to bring that nutrient to them. The amount of water movement needed depends on the size and dimension of the tank.

For a 20-gallon tank, a single HOB (rated or slightly over-rated for its size) is sufficient. For larger tanks, you might want to consider a canister filter. Otherwise, for tanks such as the 75-gallon, I would recommend 2 HOB filters placed on opposite ends of the length, or 1 HOB filter and 1 power-head, again at opposite ends.

Filter media is not that important. If you use an HOB, just use the cartridge that came with it. There is no need to replace the cartridge either: just rinse it in a bucket of tank water to get rid of the gunk. Once your plants are growing well, you can rinse the cartridge under tap water with no ill effects. You can even remove the cartridge and replace it with some water-loving house plants, such as dracaena (lucky bamboo) or pothos.

*SUBSTRATE*

The science behind substrates and aquatic plants is way too complex to cover in this guide, so instead I will just present what works for me.

First, if you are an absolute beginner, you are probably thinking of those pretty colored pebbles. Unfortunately, while they look good on their own, they do not really fit well with the natural look of a planted tank. My recommendation is to stay away from colored gravel if you want to create a beautiful-looking planted tank (as opposed to a cute fish tank with plants).

In fact, with a planted tank, you want to stay away from gravel altogether. Gravel does not provide any nutrients to your plants, and although it can work, it is just not as effective as a good plant-oriented substrate. Instead, I recommend the following options:

1- Fluorite
2- ADA or Netlea Plant Soil
3- Mineralized Topsoil capped with sand

Option #1 is best if you don't want extra work and you don't want to spend too much money. Fluorite is relatively inexpensive (at least when compared with option #2!), and easy to work with.

Option #2 is good if you don't want extra work but you are willing to spend the extra cash. ADA is supposedly higher quality, but it's also more expensive than Netlea. Both will be much better than fluorite for plants.

Option #3 is the cheapest and most versatile option, but you will need to read on and be prepared to do some extra work.

Mineralized Topsoil (MTS) is soil that has leeched away most of its organic content. This is important, because highly organic substrate in an aquarium leads to algae bloom or, worse yet, toxic gases. MTS still retains all the essential minerals that plants need while greatly decreasing the chances of alage bloom, and practically eliminating the risk of toxic gases.

MTS is created by repeated soaking your common backyard soil in water, and drying it under the sun. As such, you can only do this when it's still warm outside. First, you need to pick an appropriate container. Wide and shallow boxes are better than high and narrow buckets, since the former will dry out faster. I used a blue recyling box.

Next, you dig some dirt from your yard. If you don't have a yard, try a neighbor's yard.  If that's not an option either, buy the cheapest garden soil you can find. (Make sure that it is soil though, and not some weird soil replacement thing.) Remove any roots, twigs, rocks etc. from the soil and put the soil in your container. You will need as much of it as will cover the bottom of your tank in a 1/2" layer.

Pour water into the container until the water covers the soil entirely. Let it soak for a day, then pour out as much water as you can. Leave the container in the sun and wait for the soil to dry completely. Once the soil has completely dried, repeat the process by adding more water. Keep going through this cycle until the soil has become gray and brittle when dry. Typically, it takes about 6-8 cycles.

MTS needs to be capped with a thick (at least 3") layer of sand. Gravel can also work, but I personally prefer sand because it's more friendly to bottom dwellers like cories and shrimps. Black sand is good for showing off shrimp colors, while white or tan sand is more natural looking.

Fluorite Black Sand or Tahitian Moon Sand will be your best options for black sand. Other options include pool filter sand and landscaping sand. Do not use any calcium-based sand such as aragonite. Any sand made for saltwater or cichlids is not appropriate for planted tanks. These sands will increase your water hardness while most aquatic plants prefer softer water. Avoid using playsand, as it contains a lot of silt and can muddy up your water unless you wash the sand extremely thoroughly. If you find a type of sand that's not mentioned here, make sure you do your research before using it. Some sands can contain elements that are not suitable for aquariums.

*LIGHTING*

Lighting for planted tanks is a hugely complex subject, and this guide will not get into it. Instead, if you want to avoid hassles and get the best bang for your buck, go with a dual-bulb T5HO fixture. Unless you have chosen a particularly high tank (remember what I said before about tank dimensions?), this light will be enough to grow most plants.

The size of the T5HO fixture depends on your tank length. A standard 75-gallon tank should have a 48" fixture. If you have a cubic tank, you may need 2 such fixtures in order to ensure adequate light coverage.

Make sure you use 6500K bulbs with your T5HO fixture. 10,000K bulbs will work but is less effective. Actinic bulbs are not appropriate for planted tanks.

*PLANTS*

Plants need 3 things to grow: light, nutrients, and CO2. What's more, plants need those 3 factors to be in balance, otherwise algae will take over.

By using MTS or a plant-specific substrate, we have already ensured most of our plants' nutrient needs. Fish waste will provide nutrients to the water column. We can therefore consider nutrient to be a constant in our equation.

That leaves light and CO2 as the two variables. The basic rule is, the more light you have, the more CO2 you need (otherwise you get algae). The good thing about a 2-bulb T5HO (over the typical tank) is that it's just enough light to grow medium to medium-high light plants, and still get away with no CO2. Certainly, you could add CO2. You can use a yeast DIY CO2 if your tank is 20-40 gallons, or pressurized if your tank is bigger. (I've found that DIY CO2 is not particularly effective on large tanks.)

However, DIY CO2 requires work and is unreliable: the amount of CO2 created varies over time. Pressurized CO2 is expensive. The best solution I've found is to simply use the CO2 present in air. In order to do this, you will need to have enough gas-air exchange in your tank. This can be accomplished by setting the output of your filter to above water level so that it creates splashes and bubbles (very easy with HOB filters), or you can run an airstone. Air-powered sponge filters will also work nicely, but make sure you have enough flow in your tank.


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## solarz

*Part II*

*SETUP*

I will assume that you have picked out an ideal location for the tank, and that you have an appropriate stand that can support the weight of the tank.

When you add your substrate to the tank, you should shape it so that it is higher in the back and lower in the front. This gives the tank a sense of depth. You can also put rocks on the substrate to enhance the aquascape, but make sure that you use the right kind of rocks. Limestone rocks can harden your water, and rocks with metal veins can be harmful to invertebrates. River rocks should usually be safe.

The basic rule of aquascaping a planted tank is this: tall plants go in the back, short plants go in the front. Of course, when determining tall plants vs short plants, consider their final, mature size instead of their current size. Vallisneria are a great plant to aquascape with. It is easy to grow, very beautiful in dense clusters, and will fill up a tank by itself, without any intervention on your part!

To make planting easier, do not fill up your tank at once. Fill it partially first, allowing only two inches of water above the substrate. Fill the tank up only after you finish your planting. The first time you fill up your tank, you will likely see cloudy, perhaps even muddy water. That is normal. Just turn on your filter and give your tank a few days to settle. Your tank should clear up in a few days at most.

If you have filter media from established tanks (aka "seeded media"), you can cycle your tank in just a few days. This is the best option by far. If you simply can't obtain seeded media for some reason, then you have two options. First, you can go through fishless cycling by adding fish food (or even straight ammonia) to the tank. The tank should fully cycle in 2 months. You will need a test kit in order to make sure that your tank really is cycled. During a normal cycle, you should first see ammonia, then a nitrite spike while ammonia falls to 0, and finally ammonia and nitrite both falls to 0 while nitrate rises. Once you have ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate > 5ppm, then your tank is cycled.

If you don't want to wait 2 months for fishless cycling, you can try a silent cycle. Let your tank settle for a week. Once you notice some new growth on your plants, you can add a few small fishes or some shrimps. Be very careful not to add too many animals at once. The success of this method depends on your plants consuming all the waste your animals produce. New plants will not consume a lot of waste at the beginning, so go slow.

*MAINTENANCE*

The good thing about a planted tank is that it doesn't require a lot of maintenance. Water changes are not necessary in a healthy, balanced planted tank, although topping up evaporated water is still needed. Note that I'm not saying you can go without changing a single drop of water for years. However, you can probably get away with just changing a bucket or two every few months.

There is also no need to do any gravel vacuuming. In fact, gravel vacuuming a planted tank would do more harm than good. You actually want all the dirty stuff to go into your substrate: it's all plant food.

Finally, in a planted tank, you also don't need to worry about accidental feeding. Unless your tank is smaller than 10 gallons or you dump an entire can of food into the tank, planted tanks are stable enough to buffer any temporary ammonia spike.

Malaysia Trumpet Snails are also a great little addition to any tank with a sand substrate. They burrow under the sand during the day, effectively turning the sand over for you. This ensures that large waste particles get buried and no anoxic regions develop from compacting sand.

*ALGAE*

In all my freshwater planted tanks, I've ever experienced the following kinds of algae:

green hair algae
black beard algae
green water
green spot algae

Green hair algae is easiest to take care off: just introduce some algae eaters and keep your CO2/Light/Nutrients in balance. The best algae eaters are Siamese Algae Eaters, Otocinclus, and Amano Shrimps. All three love green hair algae.

Black beard algae is harder to get rid of. Only Siamese Algae Eaters have the ability to eat those, and only some of them will actually eat them. Again, CO2/Light/Nutrient balance is the key to keep BBA from growing out of control. If your tank is large enough, introduce some SAE to (hopefully) mow down existing BBA. Keep in mind though, that SAE can grow up to 5 inches. Not recommended for small tanks.

In the end, it is probably more effective to just remove BBA by hand. You will need to be aggressive, and you will likely need to sacrifice some plants altogether. Worse, you'll never be able to get rid of it completely this way. However, you *can* keep it under control.

If you are lucky though, you might get an SAE that readily eats BBA. When that happens, you will never have to worry about BBA again. I had an SAE that did this, and I never saw any BBA in that tank. In fact, whenever I put in some BBA-covered moss (from another tank), the BBA would be gone overnight!

Green water can be a problem if your water is nutrient rich. Dirt tanks are especially prone to this if you used too much dirt. Black outs are a quick and easy way to solve the symptom, but the underlying cause (nutrients) will still remain. Too prevent green water, you need plants that suck up a lot of nutrients from the water column. Duckweed and Frogbits work well, as will fast-growing stem plants. Another trick is to use willow branches: branches from the willow tree will readily grow roots in water. Just cut a few branches, prune them of leaves, and stick them in your tank. They will grow roots after a few days, and will soak up a lot of nutrients.

Green spot algae is the algae I hate the most, simply because it's the only algae that can't be removed any other way than through manual labor. There are people who say nerite snails eats green spot algae, but I've never had such luck. Pretty much in all my planted tanks, I need to manually scrub the glass eventually.

My advice about GSA is this: the more often you scrub it, the less effort you need to expend. GSA is easy to remove in the early stages, much harder if you let it accumulate.

If GSA is a recurring problem, consider investing in a magnetic algae scrubber that's rated for thicker glass than what you have. For example, I use one rated for 10-15mm glass on my tank with 5mm glass. The scrubber that's rated for 5mm glass wouldn't even make a dent on entrenched GSA (though it will work for the early stages).

*BEGINNER PLANTS*

There are plants in this hobby that are very easy to grow and look beautiful to boot.

My favorite is the vallisneria. They grow well even in low light, and they pretty much aquascape themselves by sending out runners and spreading all over your substrate. A tank filled with vals, with colorful fish swimming through the flowing blades of flowing underwater grass is a beautiful sight.

Most stem plants are also easy to grow. Water wisteria (hygrophila difformis) and hygrophila polysperma are two of the easiest stem plants. The water wisteria especially grows beautiful leaves.

When looking for beginner plants, look for plants that are fast growers, and do well in low light. Slow-growing plants like anubias and crypts are vulnerable to algae.

Finally, keep in mind that sometimes, a certain species of plants just won't do well in your tank, and usually there is no way to know why. I've found that it's easier to just give up on that plant and try something else. Working with Nature is a lot easier than working against it.


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## notclear

Very well written!

I also used to keep discus and planted tank before I got deep into the salt side 10 years ago.


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## cichlid_mainiac

Yes very well written indeed! I always had the impression planted aquariums where more trouble than they were worth. But from what you are describing it could be well worth the trouble if it provides a more balanced eco system and cuts back on stressful water changes. 
I have to ask, do the plants require trimming? or any other maintenance once they are mature? 
I only ask because I see a lot of photos of planted aquariums that look way over grown to the point where any fish living amongst them appear to be pressed up against the glass.


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## notclear

Also may I suggest to add the following in your guide as well?

Type of wood and material used to make and keep the water more acidic as I believe the tap water has a pH around 8.


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## Ryan.Wilton

notclear said:


> Also may I suggest to add the following in your guide as well?
> 
> Type of wood and material used to make and keep the water more acidic as I believe the tap water has a pH around 8.


The pH of your tap water depends entirely on the area you live in. For instance, in Richmond Hill, my tap water has a pH of 7.6, where as my parents in stouffville who are on a well, have a 7.0, my brothers in Whitby is closer to 8.0.


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## pyrrolin

some plants require a lot of trimming, others very rarely, some you just have to remove the odd dead leaf. Also, many plants reproduce by runners in the substrate and suddenly a new plant pops up somewhere, eventually some of these need to be removed. It's mostly the vine types that need a lot of trimming. Currently in my main tanks, all I have to do is trim the vals once in a while, remove the odd dead leaves and remove extra plants that pop up.

Just an add on about water changes for planted tanks, newer setups often leach tannins from the soil substrate or tannins from wood added to the tank that can bother some people and water changes help reduce this but after a while the tannin's won't colour the water much if at all. Using activated carbon can also reduce the tannins in the water.

Great guide for beginners


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## cichlid_mainiac

Would I be able to add a few potted plants to a well established 10 gallon fish aquarium utilizing an average run of the mill gravel substrate? The substrate is pretty deep and could probably con seal the pots. 
The hood has been fitted with 2 mini curly 13 watt light bulbs (6500k I think) and I can up the co2 intake with a few aeration stones.

If I could add a couple potted plants, what plants do you suggest and what precautions should I take to protect the inhabitants of my aquarium if any precautions are needed?

I'm sure my kribs would appreciate the improved water quality.


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## pyrrolin

you could take them out of the pots and plant in the gravel, not the best setup for plants but it does work still


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## cichlid_mainiac

Recommendations for a low maintenance and harty plants?


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## Kimchi24

cichlid_mainiac said:


> Recommendations for a low maintenance and harty plants?


I wouldn't suggest cichlids with plants. But if you aren't putting cichlids in, I say some good, hardy plants are plentiful. Here are some on the top of my head...

Anubias, Vals, crypts, wisteria, any moss, elodea anachris, Amazon swords, and ambulia. I've grown all of these in a low light tank with low maintenance. Growth is slow on most but elodea grows like a beast and grows weirdly so it is hard to aquascape with. Prepare for major trimming! Also I have tried some ludwigia in low light and have grown it. Only thing is that the leaves grow compact and small rather than broad and spread further apart.

Also remember that if you have a dirted tank, once you plant, it's probably permanent unless you want to deal with a whole new set of problems. I suggest fluorite or something like that to never have to deal with tannin filled deadly gas water haha.


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## aniroc

Thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us your knowledge of low tech planted tank.
There are few things that I would add (sunlight, water column fertilizers such as potassium and sometimes iron) and others that I would stay away (carbon in the filter and air bubbles) but it's a good general guide.
It takes patience and good observation to be successful. A well established tank is quite different than a new setup, the key, in my opinion is to search for the right balance between light, nutrient and CO2. There is a balance at every level (low or high tech). You know you found it when plants are growing and algae are not. It seems to be a moving target sometimes. Add the fish, and it becomes a challenge.
As someone once told me- there is no higher level for freshwater. If you are bored with planted tank, you might as well move to the reef...


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## Kimchi24

aniroc said:


> Thank you for taking the time and effort to share with us your knowledge of low tech planted tank.
> There are few things that I would add (sunlight, water column fertilizers such as potassium and sometimes iron) and others that I would stay away (carbon in the filter and air bubbles) but it's a good general guide.
> It takes patience and good observation to be successful. A well established tank is quite different than a new setup, the key, in my opinion is to search for the right balance between light, nutrient and CO2. There is a balance at every level (low or high tech). You know you found it when plants are growing and algae are not. It seems to be a moving target sometimes. Add the fish, and it becomes a challenge.
> As someone once told me- there is no higher level for freshwater. If you are bored with planted tank, you might as well move to the reef...


I don't know if I agree with that. In the freshwater world you can do planted predator, cichlids, brackish, cold water, goldfish, and even region specific tanks! I have a planted tank and. Is not super high tech but it I'd definitely not low tech. I don't feel as if I have reached the final level of freshwater lol. I could go for a huge tank of arowanas or do a mbuna tank. I feel as if reefers look down upon us freshwater folk. Just the vibe I get. I feel comfortable in freshwater and don't plan on changing it any time soon


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## cichlid_mainiac

Kimchi24 said:


> I wouldn't suggest cichlids with plants. But if you aren't putting cichlids in, I say some good, hardy plants are plentiful. Here are some on the top of my head...
> 
> Anubias, Vals, crypts, wisteria, any moss, elodea anachris, Amazon swords, and ambulia. I've grown all of these in a low light tank with low maintenance. Growth is slow on most but elodea grows like a beast and grows weirdly so it is hard to aquascape with. Prepare for major trimming! Also I have tried some ludwigia in low light and have grown it. Only thing is that the leaves grow compact and small rather than broad and spread further apart.
> 
> Also remember that if you have a dirted tank, once you plant, it's probably permanent unless you want to deal with a whole new set of problems. I suggest fluorite or something like that to never have to deal with tannin filled deadly gas water haha.


I appreciate the advice and plant suggestions, I honestly don't know zip about planted aquariums and had zero interest in them before reading this guide. 
The aquarium I would be adding them to will be a cichlid aquarium. I may actually add a few plants to my 55 gallon setup that I'm in the process of putting together. Which will be housing a juvenile green terror and juvenile electric blue jack dempsey. I will be aquascaping it with lace rock and possibly some drift wood. I think a few plants a few months down the road once the aquarium is established would complete a very natural and beautiful look. Oh and of course I will be posting some pics!

On the other subject of salt versus fresh:

Some of us just can't afford the massive investment a decent sized saltwater aquarium requires. Years ago I dabbled in a very small 10 gallon nano cube that I put 1 piece of live coral and a few damsels in and I seem to recall it costing around $800. I didn't have enough experience to even attempt it and the first time I attempted a water change the damsels died so that was the end of it for me. I have a great deal of respect for reef aquarists but I don't have the funds to afford such a costly investment.


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## pyrrolin

Its actually best to add the plants right away, they help with your cycle and if you wait a few months, the fish will be larger and will probably tear them all out then.

It might be time for a non cichlid tank so you can truly enjoy the planted experience.


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## cichlid_mainiac

pyrrolin said:


> Its actually best to add the plants right away, they help with your cycle and if you wait a few months, the fish will be larger and will probably tear them all out then.
> 
> It might be time for a non cichlid tank so you can truly enjoy the planted experience.


I may consider a venture in to a plant only aquarium, however to me it seems like I would just be maintaining an underwater garden. 
I think I will try a simple and reversible approach, I will start simple and add a couple simple low maintenance potted plants to an established fish filled aquarium and see if the plant thing is for me.


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## solarz

cichlid_mainiac said:


> I appreciate the advice and plant suggestions, I honestly don't know zip about planted aquariums and had zero interest in them before reading this guide.
> The aquarium I would be adding them to will be a cichlid aquarium. I may actually add a few plants to my 55 gallon setup that I'm in the process of putting together. Which will be housing a juvenile green terror and juvenile electric blue jack dempsey. I will be aquascaping it with lace rock and possibly some drift wood. I think a few plants a few months down the road once the aquarium is established would complete a very natural and beautiful look. Oh and of course I will be posting some pics!


I've never kept cichlids, so I can't tell you from experience. However, I've seen cichlid tanks with anubias in Big Al's. Unfortunately, anubias don't grow very fast, so you will experience minimal benefit related to water quality.

I can think of some plants that *might* be hardy enough for cichlids: hornwort, vallisneria, java moss, crypts. Hornwort and vals grow quickly, java moss and crypts grow more slowly. You can also experiment with java ferns, though I haven't kept them myself.



Kimchi24 said:


> Also remember that if you have a dirted tank, once you plant, it's probably permanent unless you want to deal with a whole new set of problems. I suggest fluorite or something like that to never have to deal with tannin filled deadly gas water haha.


You will only get gas pockets if you use a highly organic soil. If you use mineralized top soil, you will not get any gas pockets.

Uprooting plants in dirted tanks is an issue, and I have experienced that first-hand. However, it can be minimized by keeping the soil to sand ratio low. In my current 20-gal, I put in only 1/2" of MTS vs 3-4" of fine sand. I have not experienced any muddiness from uprooting staurogyne repens or water wisteria.


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## solarz

notclear said:


> Also may I suggest to add the following in your guide as well?
> 
> Type of wood and material used to make and keep the water more acidic as I believe the tap water has a pH around 8.


Yes, Toronto tap water has a pH of 8, but it's not that bad as it is only moderately hard. Plants care more about hardness/softness than actual pH.

If you use ADA or Netlea, they will lower your water pH for you, no extra work needed.

If you use MTS, you can add some peat moss to your dirt. Same if you use fluorite.

Still, if you use tap water to do water changes or even just top-offs, you are essentially fighting a losing battle. Eventually, the acidity of whatever you use will be exhausted and the pH will go right back to tap water pH.


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## cichlid_mainiac

solarz said:


> I've never kept cichlids, so I can't tell you from experience. However, I've seen cichlid tanks with anubias in Big Al's. Unfortunately, anubias don't grow very fast, so you will experience minimal benefit related to water quality.
> 
> I can think of some plants that *might* be hardy enough for cichlids: hornwort, vallisneria, java moss, crypts. Hornwort and vals grow quickly, java moss and crypts grow more slowly. You can also experiment with java ferns, though I haven't kept them myself.
> 
> You will only get gas pockets if you use a highly organic soil. If you use mineralized top soil, you will not get any gas pockets.
> 
> Uprooting plants in dirted tanks is an issue, and I have experienced that first-hand. However, it can be minimized by keeping the soil to sand ratio low. In my current 20-gal, I put in only 1/2" of MTS vs 3-4" of fine sand. I have not experienced any muddiness from uprooting staurogyne repens or water wisteria.


Thanks solarz for your input!

So from reading some of your later posts about certain plants reducing PH, it would be best if I avoid such plants for my 55 gallon as the fish I keep are accustom to the current PH and if the PH were to drop it would make it far more difficult to add more fish in the future which is what I would like to do.

Also I don't want to get into plants that grow at crazy fast rates as it may make my experience a bit of a hassle lol.

So my next question:

Someone suggested I add the plants immediately, my aquarium has only been running for about 48 hrs and the 2 fish have been in it for about 24 hrs. However it is being filtered by an established filter, Which came off my 35 gallon and is rated for a 70 gallon aquarium. Is it safe to add the plants this soon with the fish in the aquarium?
I ask because I am concerned about dangerous nitrate/ammonia spikes which could harm my precious fish.


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## pyrrolin

plants actually use ammonia


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## cichlid_mainiac

pyrrolin said:


> plants actually use ammonia


Learn something new everyday! I guess it couldn't hurt to add some plants immediately perhaps 2 or 3. Now I just have to find some hardy and easy to care for plants.


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## solarz

cichlid_mainiac said:


> Thanks solarz for your input!
> 
> So from reading some of your later posts about certain plants reducing PH, it would be best if I avoid such plants for my 55 gallon as the fish I keep are accustom to the current PH and if the PH were to drop it would make it far more difficult to add more fish in the future which is what I would like to do.


Plants do not reduce pH. I was talking about ways to reduce pH with substrates.


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## cichlid_mainiac

solarz said:


> I've never kept cichlids, so I can't tell you from experience. However, I've seen cichlid tanks with anubias in Big Al's. Unfortunately, anubias don't grow very fast, so you will experience minimal benefit related to water quality.
> 
> I can think of some plants that *might* be hardy enough for cichlids: hornwort, vallisneria, java moss, crypts. Hornwort and vals grow quickly, java moss and crypts grow more slowly. You can also experiment with java ferns, though I haven't kept them myself.
> 
> You will only get gas pockets if you use a highly organic soil. If you use mineralized top soil, you will not get any gas pockets.
> 
> Uprooting plants in dirted tanks is an issue, and I have experienced that first-hand. However, it can be minimized by keeping the soil to sand ratio low. In my current 20-gal, I put in only 1/2" of MTS vs 3-4" of fine sand. I have not experienced any muddiness from uprooting staurogyne repens or water wisteria.


So I picked up a crypt lingua, java fern and hyprophila for starters and we will see how that goes  I will keep everyone updated on there growth if any lol.


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## IMCL85

I'm alway curious, how do u remove fish poo from a planted tank? I used to keep a planted tank but eventually I find the substrate is over run by fish poo, and theres no way for me to vacuum due to plants gets in my way. my past experience with substrate bottom is not a very pleasant one.


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## solarz

IMCL85 said:


> I'm alway curious, how do u remove fish poo from a planted tank? I used to keep a planted tank but eventually I find the substrate is over run by fish poo, and theres no way for me to vacuum due to plants gets in my way. my past experience with substrate bottom is not a very pleasant one.


Simply put, you don't.

If you use gravel, fish waste will eventually break down and fall to the bottom of the substrate as a sludge.

If you use sand, then you need malaysian trumpet snails. They will turn over your sand and ensure that large particles fall to the bottom.


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## solarz

Updated the guide to add two sections about algae and beginner plants.


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## KeyLime

Suggestion for quick cycling: Tetra Safe Start. It's amazing. Almost instant. Most other don't even work.
You can do just as recommended. 
Add it to the filter and add some fish. Done.


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