Re: new member with planted tank
#4
Hi I have been running a planted tank now for about 2 years
if you want to go low tech on a planted tank I would recommend pond soil (there are plenty of videos on youtube on how to get clear water from it)
if you are going to have it heavily planted a CO2 system is also important
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/tmc-a ... arter-kit-mk2-p-5802.html this is the CO2 system i use It's cheap and effective (you may want to use 2 of these to allow for the plants to photosynthesise properly)
remember a light nutrient CO2 balance will be crucial especially if you don't want algal growth
Now a little about the different types of plant
you have the rooting plants such as anubis plants and amazon swords they will take nutrients from the substrate and CO2 from the water
stemming plants which can be floating or planted in a substrate as they will adapt to the way they are used good examples of this are combomba and elodea densa
and you have floating plants that will take everything they need from the water
Hope this helps :)