jbot

most "plant and aquarium" bulbs do not put out the right colour temperature. I've had best luck with the Philips bulbs that Home Depot sells at are rated to 6700K and I think are the "Daylight" type.

I wouldn't use anything that the plant roots could get tangled in. Not only will rescaping be a pain, but simply planting deep rooted plants will not be easy.... I would just put down the peat (a very fine layer) and top it with flourite, ecocomplete, aquasoil, or a laterite/gravel layer and leave it be. You should have sufficiently low levels of peat under the gravel that stirring it up shouldn't be a real problem.

What are we looking at in the top one? The plant in the centre looks like Rotala indica. You are right about the Hygro.

I would go with the AH Supply 3x96W (http://ahsupply.com/96watt.htm) light for your tank. There are two ballasts here which can be operated on separate timers, so i would have two lights go on for 9-10 hours a day with a "burst" of light (from the third light) at "high noon" for a few hours. The AH Supply lights are some of the most highly recommended lights in the aquarium plant hobby. If you want something quick (and a little more expensive), then I would look in the Hagen GLO series (which is what I have on one of my tanks). With T5HO lighting these lights are very powerful and their 4' fixture should be enough for your needs (plus it's tank mounted!).

For lighting I would go drop $100 on the Hagen Glo T5HO 2x24W light system. That should be sufficient light for your tank (and for starting out in this hobby). "The best way to have success off the start for a planted tank is to plant 80% of the tank footprint." This is true, but most of those plants should be FAST growing STEM plants (hygro, wisteria, etc.) - don't start out with 80% anubias!

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

2.4 WPG is on the low side. 2 WPG is a minimum. I have upwards of 4 WPG on some of my tanks. I think you're 2.4WPG is good for starting out, but you will likely be limited with regards to which plants you can grow (esp. low ground covers). Well, that's your problem right there! You want your nitrates (NO3) in the 10-20 PPM range, PO4 1-2 PPM range, iron 0.1-1.0 range, and K in the 10-20 PPM range (you can't OD on K, so dose away). Also, most iron kits lie, so be cautious when dosing iron. Get yourself a GOOD macro fertilizer (preferably separate to make for easier and more precise dosing depending on your needs at the time). Do not dose everyday, every other day should be fine. Also, reevaluate how you are diffusing your CO2 into the tank and use this guise to ensure that you are getting enough into the tanK (http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm). Once you get the fertilizer (including co2) situation under control your plant growth should improve drastically and you should not have much algae to contend with (seriously)! If you do still have algae, try a few amano shrimp (they're amazing!!!!) and get yourself an algae scrubber to wipe spot algae of the glass (if you have any of that kind). Excel treatments applied directly to the algae will kill the algae, but careful not to OD on the stuff. Algae growth is a sign that your plants are not growing or you are lacking in a specific nutrient so your plants can't outcompete the algae for the remaining resources.

Oh boy! Where do we start.... First, read this website a few times: www.rexgrigg.com That should cover the basics. There's really no point in investing the time and money in plants if you aren't going to do it properly from the start. I would start my first planted tank with a low-maintenance set up. For low maintenance you want low light, low bioload, and a lot of low light plants. For light, you'll want to follow the 2 watt-per-gallon rule. The colour output of the light is important and you want something in the 5000K to 10000K range, preferably 6700K. Most good aquarium stores carry quality lighting options. You can make you lighting solution as cheap or expensive as you like. I have spent anywhere from $20 on lighting for a 20gallon tank (built my own hood and retrofitted it with ballasts) up to $150 to light my 33gallon tank. Most of the aquarium store lighting options start at about $75.... Obviously the bigger the tank the more light you'll need (again, follow the 2-watt-per-gallon rule).... You'll need to the replace the bulbs yearly at a cost of about $20 per bulb. I suggest using a planted tank substrate such as eco-complete or flourite, but that's not entire necessary. If you don't use these substrates, you'll need to add fertilizer tabs or sticks under the gravel. You'll want at least 2 inches of gravel. Buy yourself some good macro an micro fertilizers to add to the water column. If you have a big tank, I would look into buying dry ferts. If you have a small tank, with little light and no CO2 you should be able to get away with some liquid ferts. Invest in potassium, iron, and a comprehensive micro nutrient fertilizer. Most of the N and P will be delivered to the tank via its occupants (assuming no CO2). You can dose Excel as a carbon (Co2) source or set up a DIY canister system (see above website for more on this). If you have CO2, you may have to add ore fertilizer. I would highly recommend some CO2/carbon source for your tank. It might take some experimenting to figure that out. I've never had any problems with the tank occupants I've owned. But I understand and African cichlids will up root your plants. Discus, rams, plecos, oto cats, corys, tetras, danios, shrimp, minnows, gouramis, bettas, etc, etc, have all been fine in my planted tanks. Good low light plants are java fern, java moss, and anubias. I imagine you could grow hyrgo, cabomba, and hornwort (I'm missing others, but hey it's the end of the day. Google low light aquarium plants for more info. Hope this helps.

your lighting is a little on the weak side, probably low enough that you shouldn't really need CO2. But since you have it you might as well use it! Are you using the paintball canister? What type of reactor are you using (how are you diffusing the CO2 into in the tank water)? In any case, your current fertilizer scheme will not be enough to ensure proper plant growth (with the use of CO2 you're plants will soon deplete the nutrient pool). You need to add macro and trace ferts. Dry ferts are cheap (compared to liquids) and relatively easy to obtain online. I use Greg Watson ferts, but others are available. It looks like you're getting off to a good start, but before you get any further I would take a look at this website for some solid tips on everything you need to know before setting up a planted tank: http://www.rexgrigg.com/ - if you have any questions about (high temperature) planted tanks I'd be happy to help.

you can speed up the cycling process by adding small amounts of ammonia to the tank or skip the cycle all together and go planted!

I've been to most, yes. It's not that I don't "dig" the scene. For the most part, staff here are very knowledgeable and selection is decent. However, I am looking for a store that doesn't leak water all over me when I'm shopping and that doesn't charge 4-5 times what I'm used to paying in Toronto (i.e., $4 for a neon tetra or upwards of $8 for some types of shrimp is not "reasonable"). Pisces is by far my favourite store and have had good dealings with their managers on trade-ins and sales, but compared to Toronto they are expensive - especially their hardware. I can't get over how much more expensive fish, plants, and hardware are out here! Oh well.... I guess I am a little bitter right now though, since the last batch of rummy nose tetra's i bought at Pisces just wiped out my entire stock (guess i should have quarantined them, eh?!).... Thanks karazy. I've been meaning to get down there, but it's really out of the way for me.... I just moved out here from the GTA for school. For me, nothing will beat the Menagerie in Toronto for quality fish and plants. I have always liked Big Al's for selection and price, but NEVER for customer service!!! Port Credit pets in Port Credit has the best Herp collection of any store I've ever been to. I've never been to stores in London, Sarnia or Kingston....

www.aquariumplants.com is a good one. they ship from within Canada, so no duty or hassles at the border! only downside is that shipments only go out once PER month.....

thanks for the update bigfishal! i am eagerly awaiting this store's opening! having recently moved here from Ontario, I have been less than impressed with the fish stores in town compared to "back home"... hopefully this Big Al's will be up to the same standards as those in Ontario!

Just wondering if anyone out there in AA land know's when (or around when) the new Big Al's is slated to open in Calgary? All I can find is "early July 2008", but that was a while ago.... Anyone have any more info?? Thanks!

N, P and K ferts and a good micro nutrient formula will keep your plants going strong without (and with!) fish. CO2 or Excel will also help. Check out Greg Watson for good deals on dry ferts that will last you years: http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/Store.php..... Pfertz has also started shipping to Canada: http://www.pfertz.com/