newb want to set up planted...please advice

[Edicson]

ok, so i dont know anything about plant maintance. i mean i am still learning about the whole fish keeping maintanence and care. i look at my tank and all i keep picturing is the tank full of plants and grass like plants all over the place.
now, i already have an amazon sword in there with a pretty big offspring(which is still stached, i dont know if im supposed to cut it, or it will eventually come off). when i got it the guy at the store told me i would not need any extra care(by the way i dont trust them with advice any more, except for one of them who i became pretty cool with and he actually helped me out instead of trying to sell me a bunch og stuff)
what i want to do is cover the bottom and the back glass and maybe one of the sides,which is towards a wall. i want to do it with grass like plants. the plant have seen to do that is java moss, dont know if there is other. what i have come to like about moss is that it is easy to maintain and grow(good for newb i think)
are there any other plants i should consider that would be easy to care for and that would do what i am looking for?

before i go and buy a bunch of plants i want to know what i need to maintain them.
what tests/test kits do i need?
what nutrients do i need to add to the water, or anything that i need to buy to add to water?
do i neccesarily need a CO2 machine? are they expensive?
what fish should i, should i not have with desired plants and lay out?
anything else that i might need to know or would need to get before i start planting to ensure tanks and fish well being?

some do's and don'ts. and some of the most commonly mistakes a newb makes.

Thank you guys for your help.looking forward to starting my new project

[Jay]

There is no way to "Tell me everything I need to know" in a few posts. I would suggest some research in the forum. There is a wealth of information here, use the search feature. Then use the forum for questions and clarification.

This thread is a good starting point...

http://www.fishtankforums.com/7-fres...aquariums.html

Jay

[Edicson]

Originally Posted by Jay

There is no way to "Tell me everything I need to know" in a few posts. I would suggest some research in the forum.

Jay

damn, i knew that. i was just hoping you would do some of your plant guruness and start answering away

i was just been lazy...

[louistheloach]

One of the first things you need to decide for yourself is do you want to go high tech or low tech.

High tech: high light output, CO2 injection and other gadgets to monitor, dosing ferts at regular intervals, higher water changes due to maintaining higher levels of nutrients in the water: yielding lush plant growth, pruning puttsing etc.

Low tech: low to medium light, CO2 or not, less frequent dosing (relying on fish waste to fertilize, fewer gadgets for measuring, normal water changes: yielding adequate growth less puttsing with keeping things pruned, but still a nice looking tank.

This is a very general description of the two ends of the spectrum with many choices inbetween. Once you decide which way you want to go, you will be able to narrow your search and also filter out the information that does not apply to you.

IMHO I think it is better to start low tech. Once you figure out how each of the components (light, nutrients, CO2) necessary for growing plants affects the overall process, it would be easier to move into the high tech stuff if you want to later.

That extra piece on your sword....I think you can just stick it in the substrate and it will start a new plant.

ltl

[Edicson]

i am going with low tech, i don't really want to do too much extra maintance. and i was reading the post that jay reommended and i cant understand what they are talking about must of the time.

I'm going to go with grassy, and bushy plants.

[louistheloach]

So you need lighting: general rule of thumb 1.5 - 2 watts per gallon. So with a 30 gallon tank you will need 45-60 watts of light which would be easy to get with a compact flourescent or a couple of strip lights that will equal what you are looking for. The lights should be set on a timer for 7-8 hours.

A substrate for the plants, can be gravel with laterite as a minimum or it can be something like eco complete among many others which are made to grow plants. Some plants will require root fertilizer tabs every few months or so.

Then you need to get a good assortment of plants that will grow in low to moderate lighting, including getting stem plants which get going faster until the other plants get settled in.

Get yourself some kind of plant gro stuff....there are a number of them on the market. The directions usually give a range of the amount needed. Start with the low range and wait to see how the tank responds, after a few weeks if it seems like they could be doing better, increase the amount. If you have your tank stocked to capacity, the fish will provide the nitrates.

Now just be patient. It is a slow thing for the plants to respond to their environment. During this time just keep researching and reading. Things will begin to make sense and you will get the hang of it.

ltl

[Edicson]

that sounds fair enough. im going to start on that asap. ill let you know you how everything is going and any questions that may come up i'll post them
btw, what are stem plants?

[louistheloach]

stem plants are plants that are able to get most of their nutrients through the leaves, drawing from the water column. By putting those in along with other types of plants they will take off and grow faster helping to maintain a balance in the environment while the other plants are getting settled.

Some stem plants, like brazilian pennywort can just be weighted in place with plant weights and do not need to be put into the substrate at all. Others will develop a nice set of roots within the substrate when planted but will still feed off the water column. Many of the stem plants (plants that are started by cuttings with no roots) will develop roots along the stem where the leaves come out.

These are also generally cheaper to purchase but tend to require higher light.

ltl