need help for low tech planted tank

[Galataya]

ok so i want to do a low tech planted tank and i know of some plants that work well for such like Java moss and Java fern and some other plants, but i cant figure out how i figure out things like the lighting. I have a 10gallon tank and a 2.5gallon and I have no idea how to figure out what kind of lighting i have in it. It has the bulbs in the hood that came with the tank but nothing that came with it says the watts or anything like that should i just go buy new bulbs? and would i be correct in thinking i need to get a 10 or 20 watts for my 10 gallon? Another thing is im a little confused on the substrate thing and everything i read doesnt really say much about it, right now i have regular gravel that you can buy for a tank. Is liquid plant food the same as fertalizers for a tank or do i need to get something special to put in the gravel? Only place around where i live that has good quality stuff to buy is Petsmart and the ppl there dont really have a clue what they are doing with fish stuff or they just try to get me to buy tons of diff chemicals to put in my tank and they dont have much in the way of plants for fish tanks, so if anyone knows a good online store thats reliable and not outragously expensive that would be helpfull too so that i may get anything i cant find at petsmart.

[ZeroSystem]

Welcome to FTF Galataya!

I'm no expert when it comes to plants, but I will try to help you out some.

From what I understand lighting isn't super important with tanks as small as 10 gallons. Your standard florescent light strip will work fine. If I remember correctly shooting for around 1.5 to 2 watts of light per gallon is the general rule of thumb, for the low-tech tanks.

I found a substrate at Petco called "Flora-Max" which seems to work pretty well. I think it's just a mix of flourite and laterlite or something like that, I could be wrong. I have certainly noticed an improvement once I mixed it in with my regular gravel. I am pretty sure that liquid plant food is basically another name for fertilizers, though there are many different kinds on the market. From what I've heard one of the best to use is Seachems Excel, but I don't think you'll find it at Petsmart. They do have special 'fertilizer tabs' that can be placed within the gravel bed, but I'm not sure how effective they are. There are a few well known online aquarium retailers, I'll see if I can send you a couple links in a PM.

For expert planted tank advice, talk to Jay! He is our Planted Tank Guru!

[Jay]

I'm here...

There is no way to cover the topic in a quick post. I would suggest reading in our extensive archives and posting back with specific questions or need for clarification.