Simple guide to a Planted Tank Setup

For Daniel who aspires to have his own planted aquarium :)

PLANNING:

It is always important to do some preliminary research and drawings of your setup.

This should include:

Tank Size you can afford to have
What Type / Style of planted tank setup you want to achieve
What Plants will be used for that type / style that you have chosen?
What type of Substrate will you be using?
What kind of Lighting system will be appropriate for the plants?
What type of Heating will you choose?
The type of Filtration used
CO2 to add or not add and why?
Fertilization
Preliminary Drawings of the setup

TANK SIZE :

An important factor. A larger tank holds more water. Any slight fluctuation in water parameters can easily be offset by the large volume of water. e.g Temperature changes are slower in a large tank compared to a smaller one. My suggest is to get as large a tank as possible. Not that small tanks are out. They just required more attention.

TYPE / STYLE:

One of the first choices you will be faced with is deciding on what type / style of planted tank you want. There are two "Main" types / styles to choose from.

The "Dutch" style:
This type of tank is one that focuses more on the overall aesthetic look of the plants and how the colors and shape of leaves interrelate together.

The "Geographic Specific" setup:
This type of tank only uses plants that originate from a certain location. e.g. Amazon river.

PLANTS &/or FISHES?

Before you get started in choosing the plants you want, you have to take into consideration the compatibility of the fishes (if any) and their environmental needs with those of the plants. The last thing you want to have happen is end up with your fishes having constant health problems due to their needs not being met. On the other hand you do not want to plant your tank wily - nilly without any regard for the plants either. You could end up with a tank that has all the plants melting down on you. Or even worse, dinner for the fishes!!!

The basic factors to consider are:

• pH
  
• Total hardness of the water
  
• Temperature range of the water
  

Keeping this in mind the next step is to do some research on plants. One of the best places I have found to do this research is at Tropica's web site. They list all of the requirements the plant will need and some extra info that you will find useful. You will be able to find out about the plants:

• Family name
• Region of cultivation / origin
• Height
• Width
• Lighting needs
• Temperature needs
• Hardness requirements
• pH requirements
• Speed of growth
• Fertilization requirements, if needed.

There are other suppliers of aquatic plants as well. I would suggest hunting for as many as possible to collect as much information as you can.

When doing research on the plants, keep in mind that if you find a plant and its listed needs are, for example, a pH range of 6-10, that specified plant will thrive in the middle of that range i.e.; a pH of 8. This holds true for all their requirements unless otherwise stated by the suppliers site or other's experience with that specific plant.

Ok, so now you have done your research and compiled a list of plants that you know will thrive in, what now?

From my own experience I found that it is best now to break up the list into smaller subgroups. The easiest way to start is to group plants together that have similar requirements, the more similarities the better, this will help you:

In deciding Substrate, Lighting, Heating, Fertilization and CO2 requirements and needs In deciding in what spot in the tank you will be planting your selections and will help pare down that long list of plant choices. You might suddenly find that beautiful plant that you thought you were going to add to your setup will not work because its substrate or lighting r equirements are different than all the other

Try also planting some fast growing plants. These fast growing plants will help in the uptake of excess nutrients out of the water column (water in your tank above substrate level) while the other slow growing plants are trying to get a foothold. This will help in the initial setup for the control of algae.

Once the slow growing plants get a foothold in the tank, the fast growing plants will be removed from the setup. When removing these plants, do it slowly so as not to create an imbalance in the tank. The last thing you want to do is have a sudden major algae bloom due to removing these plants too fast.

Why the combo of gravel and sand as opposed to just using a gravel only substrate? Personally I use only gravel. But let us look at the benefits and disadvantages of both mediums in conjunction with the keeping of fishes in the same tank.

Gravel:	Advantages	Readily available to most hobbyists. Available in different sizes Available in different colors Promotes water circulation
	Disadvantages	Gravel only as a substrate is not a good medium to use due to its ability to act as a catch basin for left over foods, which are then hard to vacuum out of the gravel.
Sand:	Advantages	Sand has a small particulate grain size and is good for planting and keeping down small plants with very fine root systems. Sand also has the added benefit of not allowing left over foods to imbed themselves, thus making it easier to clean.
	Disadvantages	The appropriate type of sand needed is not easy to find. Sand does not promote good water circulation as a substrate. If sand were to be used solely we would end up with anaerobic areas all over the tank, due to it having a tendency to compact very easily. If you do not choose t he right type of sand you may drive your KH up due to leaching of Carbonates into your water column.

WHERE TO FIND SUBSTRATE:

Gravel:

Can be found at any aquarium or pet supply store. You want to get 3mm sized gravel. Some substitutes that will also work; Test it to make sure it is inert using the Strong Vinegar test.

Sand:

Can be found at a building supply or from a sandblasting supply company. Look in your regional yellow pages for listings. The type you want to get is Quartz Silica Sand, do the Strong Vinegar test on this also, just to make sure.

TESTING SUBSTRATE:

Why:

You want to test the materials you have chosen to see if they will leach Carbonates into your water column. If they do, this will drive your Carbonate Hardness (KH) up, if you bought your materials (substrate) at an aquarium supply store, the chances are they will be fine and no test is needed. I would test just to make sure.

How:

To do this test all that is needed is a very strong vinegar. Use in a well-ventilated area.

Put a small sample of material to be tested in a glass jar. Fill the jar with vinegar and leave for 24hrs. If the next day you notice bubbles rising from the material it has carbonates in it and will not be suitable for your setup, pick another material and test again. To be super safe I soak all the sand I need to use in vinegar over night and throughly rinse it.

What Depth should the sub strate be?

In my 'mock' setup I have decided to have an overall depth of 10cm in the back sloping to 3cm in the front. The reason for the depth of 10cm in the back is some of the plants that I have chosen need a lot of depth of substrate to accommodate their root systems. The degree of slope chosen is to facilitate cleaning of the tank. All the debris and mulm will make its way to the front of the tank, easier for sucking out at water change time and regular daily cleanings. We still need a good balance of water circulation in the substrate and also enough depth of sand to utilize its benefits. I will be setting the depth of the sand to 1" and the rest will be made up by gravel.

There are many sites out there that you can look at to find the right choice of lighting that you will need, (i.e. type and color temp needed). I will just cover some of the basics. If most of the plants that you have chosen are light loving plants you will need at least 3-4 watts of light per gallon. If most or all are shade-loving plants you can get away with 1-2 watts per gallon. The duration your lights should be on is 10 to 12hrs a day no matter what type of lighting you choose. I will provide some links at the end.

COOLING:

There is enough info out there to easily be found. The choice of what type of cooling system you will have is dependent what temperature is required.

Some things to keep in mind when choosing the right filter for the job: Plants do not like fast water currents, they prefer a slow gentle current, if you are adding CO2 to your setup th e more vigorous the agitation the more CO2 loss you will have, do not add carbon to your filter, it will negate any of the fertilizing you are doing and will adsorb any of the beneficial micronutrients that you are adding to the tank as food for the plants.

CO2 plays a ve ry important role in the planted home aquarium. To understand this better we have to go back to the basics for a second.

During the daytime hours plants and fish need oxygen to survive. Both exhale carbon dioxide. The plants on the other hand also use carbon dioxide during the day for photosynthesis. The act of photosynthesis on the plants part creates oxygen. At night fish and plants use oxygen and produce carbon dioxide.

So from the above statement we know that plants need both oxygen and CO2 in proportion to survive during daylight hours. One of the other factors in this relationship we have to keep in mind is that; the more light you give the plants the faster they will grow, the faster they grow the more oxygen and CO2 they will consume to survive and thrive. If there is not enough CO2 for them to consume the plants will look for it anywhere they can get it. One of the places they can get CO2 from is extracting the Hardening Constituents from the Carbonate Hardness (KH) this process is called: Biogenic decalcification.

Biogenic decalcification is when there is a deficiency in CO2 in the water. The plants take the Carbonates and break them down into CO2 and precipitates carbonates. What this means in your tank is that the pH will rise and you will see calcium carbonate deposits on the leaves of your plants. Calcium deposits look like a coating of "white powder". If left unchecked for an extended period what will eventually happen is; the KH of your water will drop to dangerously low levels and you will suffer a pH crash! To avoid this, the addition of CO2 is recommended.

Do you need CO2? :

Your tank setup will dictate whether or not you need CO2 addition. If you are choosing a setup where the lighting needs of most if not all the plants will be low, then I do not think that you will need a CO2 setup. If on the other hand the plants that you have chosen need high lighting amounts or CO2 to thrive, then yes more than likely you will need CO2 addition. If you have decided not to add CO2 to your tank you may need to add it later on. The best way to tell if you will have to is to do daily testing of your water parameters and keeping an eye out for the tell tale signs of "white powder" forming on the leaves.

What method of CO2 injection and equipment needed? :

Ok, so you have decided to add CO2 to the tank or the tank has decided for you. How do you set it up and what equipment will you need. The cheapest way is to make a DIY (do it yourself) setup. There are many sources out there for this type of setup.

If you are intending to use a CO2 bottle and regulators here is what you will need:

A CO2 bottle. Size will depend on tank size and plant requirements. A set of regulators. Pay extra and get good ones. They must be approved for CO2 use. This regulates the amount (pressure) of CO2 that will be flowing into your tank. Solenoid valve. This is used to automate your system so the CO2 shuts down when your lights do and turns on when the lights come on. I need not explain why to turn off the CO2 when the lights are off do I? Secondary Regulator, that you can fine-tune the pressure down with (the amount of pressure needed to supplement the tank with CO2 is very small). Again it must be approved for CO2 use. Needle Valve. Again pay the extra bucks and get a good one. This is the super fine tune for the system. Bubble Counter. This unit is used to count the amount of CO2 entering the tank. Diffuser or Generator. What these units do is mixes the CO2 into your water. You can substitute #'s 4,5 and 6 by buying a pH controller that monitors your pH levels and at the same time automates the CO2 injection by the levels at which the pH is read. CO2 resistant airline tubing.

Most of the CO2 equipment you will need from the above list can be purchased at a Specialty Gas Supplier or aquarium shop, they can be found in our yellow pages. The Bubble Counter and Diffuser or Generator can be found at an Aquarium supply.

How to set it up? :

First off let me say that I will only be able to tell you in what order to set your equipment up in. You will have to figure out how much CO2 to inject into your water by the needs of your particular setup and by the water parameters in your area. A little fiddling and patience is all that is needed.

First the CO2 Bottle. Make sure that when you attach the regulators that they are on tight. Use a crescent/adjustable wrench. I have placed mine at the inside of the tank cabinet.

Next run the CO2 resistant tubing to the Solenoid. The Solenoid should be wired to a timer. Run more airline now to the Secondary Regulator.

The next piece of equipment is the Needle Valve. Run the CO2 tubing to it from the Secondary Regulator.

From the needle valve we now run the CO2 tubing to the Bubble Counter.

To the last piece of equipment! Run one last length of tubing to the Diffuser or Generator. In my setup I am using a Diffuser which is inside the tank.

I would explain how to setup a pH controller instead of all this other stuff but since I don't use one you will have to do that research on your own.

FERTILIZATION:

You will need to fertilize your plants on a regular basis. There are two ways to fertilize.

One is to fertilize the water column using a liquid fertilizer. For liquid fertilizers it is recommended to use products specifically meant for aquatic plants. These can be purchased at any Aquarium supply. There are many to choose from. If you are going to experiment with them to see which one will give you best results may I suggest using one type for at least a couple of months following the manufacturers instructions before switching to another product.

The other is fertilizing the substrate (Recommended) under the plants to feed the root system; this method uses solid fertilizers. I mixed 1/3 of the gravel with the fertilliser and use it as the bottom layer. The remaining 2/3 of the gravel will be covering the 'fertillised' gravel.

Another way of fertillising the bottom substrate is by using fertilliser tabs/ sticks.

A lot has been written about fertilizing plants, the things to look for in case of deficiencies (fertilizing, micronutrients etc.), and too much of any of the aforementioned. Again the links provided latter on will help you on this topic.

PRELIMINARY DRAWINGS:

So you are ready to plant! Not yet! One of the things you should do now is do some Preliminary Drawings of your setup the way you would want/think it should look like. This will save you a lot of grief and headaches later on. Try to do it to scale this will help in the placement of your equipment, depth and incline of substrate and layout of your plants. Do Topographical, Side and Frontal view sketches.

STEP BY STEP SETUP OF PLANTED TANK

The first thing that you need to do is rinse the gravel that you have purchased. If you have the ability to do this outside it is preferable since this process creates a lot of sediment that will go down your drain no mater how careful you are. Alternatively get pre-washed' gravel which needs only 1/2 washes. Saves time and $$$.

If using a bottom substrate fertilliser, mix 1/3 of the gravel as throughly as possible.

DO NOT dump in the gravel in bucket loads. This will create a lot of pressure and may even crack the bottom of the tank. (Place a layer of Styrofoam between the tank and the tank stand or cabinet to compromise for the uneven floor and help distribute the pressure out.)
Slope the gravel as according to ur plans. I found it easy to do using an unused plastic card.

On to the plants! So you have made all your purchases of the plants you want for your tank, what to do now? If your plants have come in a pot with rockwool packing or they are a tangle of roots you must separate them or take the rockwool out and free the plants. Get yourself a small basin and fill it with Luke warm water. Place the plants in this and gently pry the rockwool off, tweezers come in handy to get the little bits. Or gently pry the roots apart if they are tangled. Be careful in both cases try not to damage the leaves and roots in any way.

While the plants are in the Luke warm water in the basin you should inspect them for snails and snail egg clusters. Egg clusters look like a grouping off small black dots. Rinse these off. After you have done this trim any dead leaves off of the plant.

There is one more thing you have to do while the plants are still in the basin. Trim the roots back a quarter. What this does is when you plant the plant in the tank it will encourage the plant to grow roots before it grows leaves. This will help the plant get established. So now you have trimmed and inspected all the plants now you have a choice to be a little more anal. Just to make sure your plants are not carrying any pests or diseases you can give them a PP (Potassium Permanganate) Dip. To do this dip you will need to purchase PP in crystalline form. For a Dip to disinfect plants you need a solution of 10mg/litre for 10-minute bath. After doing the PP dip, make sure you rinse the plants well with fresh luke warm water. The easiest way to make this solution is to start with a stock solution. Below you will find out how to make a stock solution.

Desired concentration in mg/L	Stock solution
	0.1%	1.0%	10.0%
0.01	0.1ml	0.01ml	0.001ml
0.1	1.0ml	0.1ml	0.01ml
1.0	10.0ml	1.0ml	0.1ml
10.0	100.0ml	10.0ml	1.0ml

The table indicates the quantity of each stock solution (in ml) needed to achieve the desired concentration in 10 litres of water to be treated.

• 0.1% stock solution = 1gm chemical in 1 litre of water
• 1.0% stock solution = 10gm chemical in 1 litre of water
• 10% stock solution = 100gm chemical in 1 litre of water

Thus stronger stock solutions are better suited where a final desired concentration is high or where the volume of water to be treated is large. Obviously, overdosing is easier when using stronger stock solutions*
This stock solution can be stored for use later on. Store it in a Dark Glass bottle and put away somewhere safe! Light will decompose it!
*The above chart was taken from: "The Manual of Fish Health" by: Dr Chris Andrews, Adrian Exell and Dr Neville Carrington. Copyright 1988 Salamander Books Ltd., Published by Tetra Press, 3001 Commerce Street, Blacksburg, VA 24060. ISBN 1-56465-160-6. Pg. 184 and 185.

If you have decided to do the PP dip on the plants this is the perfect time to start filling the tank. If you have not decided to do the PP dip it is also a good time to start filling the tank with water. The best way to do this is as you see in the picture, place a plate on the substrate, on this plate place a bucket or bowl.

In other literature or on other web sites they say to fill the tank a third of the way for two reasons.
1 this will let you know if you have a crack in your tank and if it leaks.
2 this will allow you to plant the small plants first a lot easier than putting your whole arm in the water just to see where you are planting. I don't know, maybe I'm ass backwards but my tank was previously filled with water and I know I don't have leaks, I also decided to plant the largest plants that will go in the back ground first. Either way it is your choice, yes I did get a little wetter, but hey as far as I'm concerned might as well get used to it now since my hands will always be in the tank in the future pruning and doing other stuff.
Now that the tank is full of water and your plants are ready; you now have to dig a hole in the sand to plant them.
When you dig the hole, scoop out enough to accommodate the root structure plus a little extra depth. Plants with tapping roots like Vals need a deep narrow hole, where as plants like Echonidorus species need deep and wide holes so that you can spread the roots out when planting.
Now that the hole is dug, place the roots of the plant deep in the hole so that the root ball is lower than the surface of the sand by at least 1". Fill in with the sand from around the hole.
After filling the hole back up with sand, gently grab the whole plant by the base and pull up slowly until you see the rootball again.
A little trick to use for planting small plants is to use tweezers. Gently shape the roots by pulling them downwards so they look like the tip of a small paintbrush. Gently grab and squeeze by the ends with the tweezers and plunge into the sand. Again plant deeper and pull back up to see exposed rootball.


LINKS:
http://www.tropica.com
This site has many uses. It is the home page of one of the world leaders in Aquarium plants. Here you can research plants and you will find articles and many links to other sites.

http://www.thekrib.com
This is one site that you will definitely keep going back to over and over again. The list would be to long to write down on what you would find at this site but here are some things: How to set up a tank, plants, algae, hardware, DIY stuff (lots), fish, links etc, etc.

http://www.actwin.com/fish/aquatic-plants/
This site is the home page of the aquatic-plants mailing list. A lot of what you will see as entries in the Krib comes from this mailing list.

http://www.disky-design.dk/fish/
Plant search engine

http://www.aquariumdesigngroup.com/
Tank Designs (Aqua Design Amano)

http://www.ntnu.no/~foksen/
Frode Roe's home page. Dutch style planted aquariums and discussion board on planted tanks.

http://wwwshowcase.aquatic-gardeners.org
Just a place to go to get inspired

http://www.ahsupply.com
Aquarium lighting company

http://www.hamiltontechnology.com
Aquarium lighting company