Planted tank is it this tough?

Kolkata Aquarium Club
Fishkeeping Simplified

Planted tank
Is it that tough?

Proper understanding of mother nature can
help you create a rainforest stream on your
table-top.


WHAT EXACTLY DO AQUATIC PLANTS NEED?

same basic requirements as plants you see around.

1.Most important is light
2.A substrate for anchoring roots and fertile enough to
support monster feeders if you have
3.Next is CO2 (present in water but not sufficient to support
luxuriant growth as such)
4.Nutrients in the water column
5.Optimum temperature
6.Suitable water parameters should not be ignored (
hardness, pH,etc)

If you have these things right, nothing can stop you from
creating a greenery in your artificial cube.


LIGHT- How much and what kind?

This one one of the FAQs. now consider normal sunlight.
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normally the photosynthetic spectrum consists of mostly
6000-7000 K. Thus we get an idea that 6500 K tubes or
bulbs can do good. Some even use 8000 K ones which
are costly and hard to come by but they do great in
penetrating to the bottom.

Now watts per gallon rule is almost getting obsolete but
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still with good spectrum of lighting we generally use not
less than 2 wpg. in case of LEDs its way less.

Photoperiod- should be 8 to 10 hrs maximum.
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Choice of lights:
PLL: this is suitable for beginners as its handy, high output and low cost.
Tubes: T8- they are good no doubt but their penetration is lower than newer T5s.
T5HO- these are the preffered ones mostly and they do come with integrated
fixtures.they are suitable for wide variety of plants.
MH- they are very costly and generate too much of heat. Thus not recommended
generally in our climate.
LEDs- the new generation of planted tank owners around the world are being drawn into
LEDs.
the main benefits are:
1.long life
2.low power consumption
3.output maintained for a long time.
4.efficiency is maximum
5.dimming feature in addition to above for mimicking sunrise and sunset.

Some suggestions regarding lights: in case of tubes try to replace the tubes after 6
months because the output decreases considerably reducing efficiency in photosynthesis


THIS IS EXACTLY THE LIGHTING I USE
It provides complete spectrum.


Filtration -why do you need?

A mechanical filtration should be there at least to make the water clear so
that light rays are not lost while travelling to the bottom.

On the other hand biological filtration in a planted tank is intense as the
beneficial bacts usually occupy each and every corner of the tank.

However more stable conditions could be achieved by using canisters and
sumps however this can be ignored if the tank is carefully maintained.

The flow rate should be optimum and care to be taken to avoid dead spots in
water circulation. this involves equal distribution of nutrients.

SUBSTRATE
you can make it by yourself but make sure you know exactly how to do it.
Some DIY options include:
1.Garden soil and compost mix
2.Laterite and soilrite
3.Laterite alone with peat

All of these are topped with 2 mm or any other kind of gravel to avoid copen contact with water
column. In addition vermicompost has to be processed for 6 months to a year before using
otherwise dont be surprised to see methane and H2S volcanoes in your tank.

commercial grade options
1. ADA aquasoil
1.

2. Contro soil
2.

3. Caribsea eco complete
3.

4. Seachem fluorite
4.

5. Fondo vivo
5.

6. Sera floredpot
6.

7. JBL florabase
7.

the thing with commercial grade substrates is that most of them are loaded with too much
nutrients and a lot of water changes are needed initially to remove the leached nitrates and
phosphates.


This is the substrate I have been using in all
my tanks
Note the layering


Carbon dioxide --- how important is it?

This forms the limiting factor of photosynthesis. you may order plants
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online but dont be surprised to see emersed specimens in 99.9% cases.
And transformation to submerged growth could be made fast and without
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much decay only when you have this carbon dioxide in ample ppm in
water column.
25-30 ppm is a good level of carbon dioxide.
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And as for us life getting faster we need faster growth of plants too. so try
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to get a setup minimum.
There are options regarding whether you want to DIY it or pessurize it but
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my opinion after using DIY for 3 yrs is that a pressurized setup is more
economical in the long run.
AND 100 times more efficient and reliable too.
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REMEMBER THAT NATURAL WATER BODIES HAVE HUNDRED FOLD CO2
LEVEL THAT ALLOWS DEMANDING PLANTS TO THRIVE THERE LIKE
WEEDS.


DOSING

There are two kinds of nutrients-
Macros include NPK
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Micros which include magnesium, iron, zinc,molybdenum,etc
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Now it varies from tank to tank and the plants you have
For low tech man use pmDD. there is less demand for nutrients as light and CO2
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are deficient.
For a high -tech tank i personally prefer EI method. it does yield good results.
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I generally use lab grade salts and micromix available commercially .

Calculator is available at www.petalphile.com

Examples of micro mixes:
Plantex CSM B
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Rexoline CXK II
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Microsol B
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DoAqua Be Green
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etc


A simple nutrient deficiency chart
Photo courtesy: www.plantedtank.net


ALGAE- A nuisance yet a necessity

many of us cry out about algae bloom but have we ever wondered that some of
them could be useful in the tanks cycle.
1.Diatoms are an indication that nitrogen cycle has kicked up.
2.Hair algae is always present no matter how good a planted tank you have.some
manage to get it out of control by letting their tank CO2 fluctuate.
3.A small amout of cyano bacts indicate that there is imbalance in the tank as far
nitrogen cycle is concerned.
4.Algae should be present in small amounts to keep your critters and algae-
eaters alive.
THERE CANNOT BE ANY PLANTED TANK WITHOUT ALGAE.THEY ARE THE FIRST
TO COLONIZE AN ECOSYSTEM.ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS KEEP IT UNDER
CONTROL.

water quality
it should be soft but our municipal and ground water isn't. Thus its good if we
can arrange it but for years guys in our town have produced lush greenery using
local water.


Any guess why on earth is this tank so stunning?
This is what I mean by balance. You have
weeds,mosses, stems, algae and all are in control. They are in a
dynamic equilibrium.
Photo courtesy: our chief guest at the nandan meet


Heres a chronology of events taking place while setting up a planted tank

day 1- Lay the substrate. Introduce the hardscape. Try to make the substrate moist before
planting. Fill the tank with plants and then add water as drip to avoid disturbance of substrate. You
can also place a plate but make sure the water moving out of the plate is slow enough not to move
substrate. Introduce the filter and CO2 pipeline after filling with water. Setup and stabilize the flow
rate.

day 2 to a week- Regular 50 % water changes. The growth of diatoms indiacate the nitrogen cycle
has started. Now introduce algae-eaters

week 2- Reduce the frequency of water changes to once in 2 days or once in every 3 days. Start
potassium supplementation.

1 month onwards- Now your frequency of water change should be once a week and switch over
to full macro and micro dosing as per nutrient calculator. Do normal and regular maintenace for a
tank.

This is a huge topic and varies from person to person. But i have given exactly what i do. Others
may follow differently and will get even complicated when high profile products are used.


This is a pic during proceedings on day 1
The tank is as ugly as hell. Don’t worry it will be heaven in a months
time.


Do you know whats the error?
After filling it up photo
courtesy:aquabieblogspot.in
Lack of plants


WHY SO MANY FAIL WITH PLANT GROWING?
Maybe they think about fishes more rather than plants. A planted tank by defn. is
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one whether the main focus is on plants and not on animals. Adding super
glowing fishes in an AGA competition tanks will not fetch you extra marks
anyways.

Maybe the concept of a plant as a living being is not clear. their requirements are
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not met.

Thinking more about scape and decor rather than the real thing to produce the
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greenery.

Laziness (skipping dosing,water changes)
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Faulty equipment(regulators and filters )
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Lack of patience
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Lack of knowledge
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good and easy plants for beginners:

1.Crypts come in top of the list
2.Aponogeton crispus(though ugly looking needs little to thrive)
3.Rotala indica
4.Pygmy chain swords
5.Nymphae species(lilies)
6.Ambulia
7.Myriophyllum
8.Java ferns , anubius and mosses are easy but cost prohibitive.
and many more to add to the list.


Just to show you some crypts –nothing special
Surprisingly I started from just one.


suggestion for those making their first ever planted tanks.

1.Learn to grow weeds first.
2.Forget about scaping. it requires thorough understanding. its not just putting
wood and rocks with ferns and anubius protruding out from here and there. in my
experience i have met only 2 or 3 persons who can really feel what a layout
actually is. Very few in India are blessed with that. Anything odd will surely shower
mixed response which may irritate you. And without fat plant growth its not a
planted tank anymore.
3.Once you grow weeds try at demanding ones.
4.Your first tank should be a collectoritis. you will have an idea of which plants suit
your setup and which do not. It will let you develop experience more than that.
5.Remember everything that you do should be forever. no rescape now and then.


A special thanks to:
The entire KAC team for helping me out
Just a year ago I knew nothing . My knowledge was absolutely
zero. I too was deceived in galiff while buying moss and I am
proud to say that.
Now I can grow weeds atleast if not eriocolons and toninas.

…………………..RM

And the war with algae rages on………………………….

Planted tank is it this tough?

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