Crash Course in Planted Aquaria
 

Can anyone give me a rundown, somewhat of a crash course, in planted
aquaria? I've been semi-lurking here for a bit, trying to figure this whole
thing out on my own, but I need a starter "learn the ropes" type of thing if
I'm to make heads or tails of it. I'm asking pretty general questions, but
if anyone could specify, I guess I learn best from learning the why's behind
certain things and developing my own approach from there.

What are some basics to lighting? (Why 1wpg instead of 4wpg? What is the
"right" range, and why, and under what conditions?)

What are some basics to CO2? (Do I have to use it? Why do I need it? What
would necessitate it?)

What are some basics to fertilizers? (You get the point.)

Thanks all, and after I see some responses I'll let you know what I'm facing
here and what I'm trying to do, maybe you could steer me in the right
direction.

Thanks,

Sanjay

Crash Course in Planted Aquaria
 

"Sanjay Thomas" wrote in message
. ..

snipped and mid-posted

What are some basics to lighting? (Why 1wpg instead of 4wpg? What is the
"right" range, and why, and under what conditions?)

With everything you do in a planted tank it's all about balance. Between
lighting, co2, and fertilization... The reason you frequently hear it
recomended to start with lower light is that it's easier to find that
balance and maintain it.

As I heard Rex Grigg put it just the other day. "A 4 wpg tank is what I
consider to be a very fast tank. Plants grow fast, nutrients are used fast,
problems happen fast, fixes happen slow."

And I would add this is oh so true! My 75 gal. with 260 watts of power
compact lighting (about 3.5 wpg) can be pretty touchy at times. Although
I've got most of it worked out these days and it's not too bad.

What kind of plants are you interested in growing? This can help determine
what amount of lighting is right for you.


What are some basics to CO2? (Do I have to use it? Why do I need it?
What
would necessitate it?)


You do not have to use co2 if you keep you lighting below 2 wpg. You can use
it but you don't have to... Once you start getting over 2 wpg co2 becomes
nessasary to keep the algae from going crazy. The reason for injecting co2
is that one of the basic building blocks of a plant is carbon. Therefore
basically we add co2 to supply the plants with carbon so they can grow
faster.

What are some basics to fertilizers? (You get the point.)


The basics of fetilization are that plants consume Nitrogen, Phosphates,
Potassium and various trace elements in one form or another in order to
grow. Depending on how fast growing the tank is (how much light you have)
you might need to dose some or all of these.

Thanks all, and after I see some responses I'll let you know what I'm
facing
here and what I'm trying to do, maybe you could steer me in the right
direction.


This is all just quick and dirty overview... There is a lot more detail to
it all. If you could let us know what you are interested in doing we can try
to help you get there.

Hope this begins to help,
Ron

Crash Course in Planted Aquaria
 

On Sat, 19 Jul 2003 00:29:43 GMT, "Sanjay Thomas"
wrote:

Can anyone give me a rundown, somewhat of a crash course, in planted
aquaria? I've been semi-lurking here for a bit, trying to figure this whole
thing out on my own, but I need a starter "learn the ropes" type of thing if
I'm to make heads or tails of it. I'm asking pretty general questions, but
if anyone could specify, I guess I learn best from learning the why's behind
certain things and developing my own approach from there.

What are some basics to lighting? (Why 1wpg instead of 4wpg? What is the
"right" range, and why, and under what conditions?)

What plants do you want to grow? A good range to shoot for is
around 2 watts per gallon. This is pretty easy to handle for a
beginner.

What are some basics to CO2? (Do I have to use it? Why do I need it? What
would necessitate it?)

If you are in the 2 wpg range CO2 is not really necessary. It will
help but not as much as it would at higher levels. Once you go over 3
wpg you really need to add CO2.

What are some basics to fertilizers? (You get the point.)

I always suggest that when starting out you get the Seachem line.
Flourish, Iron, and if you need them Phosphates and Nitrates.
Potassium is also good but I would suggest a bulk source of Potassium
since you can go broke dosing with Seachem Potassium.

Thanks all, and after I see some responses I'll let you know what I'm facing
here and what I'm trying to do, maybe you could steer me in the right
direction.

Thanks,

Sanjay



Semper Fi!

Visit the forums at Aqua Botanic!
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/#1

Need Nitrate or Potassium for your tank? Go to www.litemanu.com
(Just a happy customer of the above!)

Crash Course in Planted Aquaria
 

try http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/ for starters or cruise
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/

or sign up for the digest

Bob

"Sanjay Thomas" wrote in message
. ..
Can anyone give me a rundown, somewhat of a crash course, in planted
aquaria? I've been semi-lurking here for a bit, trying to figure this
whole
thing out on my own, but I need a starter "learn the ropes" type of thing
if
I'm to make heads or tails of it. I'm asking pretty general questions,
but
if anyone could specify, I guess I learn best from learning the why's
behind
certain things and developing my own approach from there.

What are some basics to lighting? (Why 1wpg instead of 4wpg? What is the
"right" range, and why, and under what conditions?)

What are some basics to CO2? (Do I have to use it? Why do I need it?
What
would necessitate it?)

What are some basics to fertilizers? (You get the point.)

Thanks all, and after I see some responses I'll let you know what I'm
facing
here and what I'm trying to do, maybe you could steer me in the right
direction.

Thanks,

Sanjay

Crash Course in Planted Aquaria
 

"Sanjay Thomas" wrote in message
. ..
Can anyone give me a rundown, somewhat of a crash course, in planted
aquaria? SNIP

Thanks,

Sanjay


Also try

http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Setups/index.htm
http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Start/index.htm
http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Maint/index.htm

Bob

Crash Course in Planted Aquaria
 

I put up this page to help people who want to set up a planted tank:

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/.../881/setup.htm

It's just a bare outline, to help you decide if and what kind of planted tank
you want. Because sometimes details can be overwhelming. g


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Crash Course in Planted Aquaria
 

Good advice from everyone.

I just want to add - do NOT start a tank with a few pieces of
equipment missing or adding only some of the water column fertilizers.

Don't think that you will have success adding equipment one after the
other.
Get everything ready and than set the tank up.

--Nikolay