?complete guide to waterplants?

so since every thing is in bits pieces on this topic i want to know the whole story on how to plant, wat to keep ,what to use ,what to buy etc:blink1:

 

Give a complete guide to your current tank:
Lights?
Substrate?
CO2?
Goals? High maintanance or low maintanance.

 

Some plants get planted in the substrate. Some get tied to rock or wood.

Good idea to have a fertilizer under the gravel (Like Palm Fibre Peat method as per Prof's methos, or commercially available systems.)
Also advisable to use a liquid fert in the water.
Can also use a fert that comes in a tablet form, and put it into the substrate near the roots of the plant.

Lights... as much as possible.

CO2, only if going high tech.. i.e heavy planted.

But yes, Rudi is right... you need to decide what goal and maintenance level you want, and take it from there.

 

so for my juwel vision260 medium to heavy planted ,i got 2 plats and Tetra crypto tablet fertiliser @R50 ,now the tank has excelent lighting ,i need substrate , wat is available is tetracomplete substrate to buy ,what do you mean by maintanace ,is that like puting in fertiliser and stuff?

 

you need to get a good book, search the forum for a thread on " books what do you have" and also goto www.apsa.co.za for loads of 'local' info...

I dont recommend Tetra complete substrate, read some bad reviews on it...

 

so wat should i use ,boiled river sAND ?:wondering:

 

riversand is too course... try to get pool filter silica sand - usually a cream color. unless you want a different color like black which I suggest the midnight sparkle that has an iron content.

NOTE: tetra complete substrate and other plant tank substrates are typically used as a thin layer beneath a top layer of substrate - similar to the palm fibre method - this process is called capping. Fluorite is an excellent substrate that has attractive colors and does not need to be capped.

 

i want to create a solid fine black subtrate so no distractions ,how much is the pool silica ,and what is plant substrate used for?

 

Pool silica sand from builder's +/- R50-60 per 40kg bag

"Substrate" is the gravel, silica sand, play pen sand, river sand etc etc. It's the base of the tank

Plant substrate is the substance you plant the tank in. What a lot of people do is use either the "palm fibre peat mixed with Chemicult" stuff on the bottom of their tank, or another commercially made product. (This is where the nutrients are for the plants). You then CAP it (or in easier terms- cover it) with one of the above mentined substrates. By Capping it you are trapping the nutrients into the substrate, and thereofre do not loose anything to the water.. (which could also turn your tank water nasty colours)

 

how about some pics plz

 

ahh screw it ,i bought the tetra substrate

 

You got conned.

 

i saw the sea chem stuff and that is clay and expensive ,anyway GERMAN vs USA you decide plus the tetra gotpeat and stuffz

 

It is your choice to use what ever you want,but advice given is for your bennifit.:wondering:
Maintenance:To maintane a planted tank can either be alot of work or the same amount as a normal tank with plastic plants.The more high tek you go,ie.high lights,Co2,lots of ferts,the work you'll have.Constant pruning on fast growing stems is almost a full time job,big water changes every week to reduce biological build-up and amonnia.
If you don't have the time to spend on the tank,think about your goals.
For a low-tek tank you don't need alot of light or Co2.The plants won't grow so fast so the maintenance is more relaxed.You'll still need to do water changes but not as much,and as often as the high-tek tank.

Specify please:How big is the tank,ie. volume in liters.
The lighting,how many watts.

 

280 liters and 2 ,,54w high lites

 

i got this thing and it is freakn riversand with peat and smells like a iron pole any ways instead of buying more im gonna boil river sand and throw in sum tetra crypto ,as craypto ,is the stuff you use to re fertilize your soil

 

Okay,the ubove means you've got les than halve Watt per liter of water.
For more demanding or high light plants,you roughly need 1 Watt per liter.
With the light you have, medium light plants will do well and you can set up a nice low maintenace aquascape.
You don t have to boil the riversand,just wash it thoroughly.Fertilisation can be done entirely through water colum dosing.You might consider not adding any substrate additives untill you have more experience.
What will you be using for filtration? I.e,what filter,how much water flow?

 

tetratec 1200 err rated for 400liters and the jjuwel standard fitration and lighting wich is t5 check my specs JUWEL VISION260

 

Good.
Deside if you want to use the Juwel filter,it takes up alot of space.I.e. it will limit your aquascaping or design of the tank layout.
Other than that,go for it.
On another thread you mentioned using palmfibre peat,good idea.
It seems you've got everything coverd.

 

The standard lighting that comes with the Juwel tanks are not enough to go the high light route... You will have to upgrade your lighting system in the future if you want to keep high light plants. The amount of lighting you want to be going for is 2 - 3 watts per gallon. Minimum... Aiming for 4 watts per gallon is ideal. It's a general guideline, but it's one that will give you a good idea...

As far as the fertile substrate is concerned, the tetra stuff should be fine. Cap it with river sand and make sure that you are going to do 50% water changes WEEKLY! This will ensure that the build up of nutrients in the tank is minimized and this will lessen the chance of algae building up in the tank and taking a foothold. Now, also make sure you have enough flow and water movement in the tank.

If you want to go the high tech route, please do yourself a favour and just go buy a Co2 canister and a Co2 regulator. Preferably with a solenoid so you can shut it off at night. It's worth it in the long run. No messy coke bottles or anything like that... And it's just easier.

With regards to ferts... Speak to Prof Dirk on this forum. His ferts are seriously some of the best on the market... Ask anyone who uses his products.

Good luck dude, I hope you get this setup right. The Juwel range have stunning tanks and the vision is one of them!