Starting Your Planted Tank

1. Plan Your Approach

The best advice is to look on the Web, in books, in magazines, at fish store displays and among your friends to find a style of tank you really like. Ask pointed questions about the effort and expense to set it up and the effort and expense to maintain it. Don't depend on verbal descriptions like "My plant tank Rules!" and "My plants are gorgeous!" Look at pictures or the real thing. Judge for yourself. Decide up front if you will have the discipline to maintain the tank as required. And don't mistake "high tech" for "low maintenance" -- they are totally different animals.

Realistically assessing your abilities to create the desired tank is essential to success. Setting lofty goals for yourself if you aren't able to carry them to fruition is the first step to failure. It's better to start slow and learn the essentials instead of investing in an expensive and frustrating disaster.

In our case, we spent from 1986 to 1991 learning the ins and outs of planted tanks before we went off the deep end with our "Dupla-spec" 90 gallon tank. By the time we began planning it, we knew our abilities and were able to create a very successful display tank.

Once you have decided on a course of action, it is wise to document your ideas and ask the advice of others. An excellent source of expert and friendly critique is the Aquatic Plants Digest mailing list.

2. Approach Your Plan

Equipment

Stuff to Avoid

Likewise, save your money and pass on all the wonderful chemicals that sound so helpful.  No water conditioners, no bacteria starter cultures, no pH buffers. Your aquarium is very capable of maintaining good chemistry without a lot of commercial assistance.

Plants

If you have other plant tanks, let them grow out so you can use the excess to stock the new tank. If you have nearby friends that have plant tanks, try to beg or buy excess plants from them. The best thing for a new tank is to get plants that are healthy and thriving and that are adapted to the kind of conditions you are going to provide them.

Plants from fish shops and from mail order are a second best option. Plants in fish shops are usually not grown in optimum conditions and are probably dying as they sit in the shop's tanks. It's a rare store that has proper lighting, CO2 levels and fertilizers in their plant holding tanks. You may also find that the plants in the stores have been grown emersed and are not yet adapted to a submersed existence. Mail order plants may be of good quality (you only find this out by experience or word of mouth) but the two to four day shipping time don't do them much good.

For your initial planting, select plants that are fast growing and don't worry too much about aesthetics. The best plants to start with also tend to be the least expensive plants, helping out your already strained budget. Good starting species are Hygrophila (especially H. polysperma), Bacopa, Rotala and Ludwigia. All these do very well with good light and CO2. Plants to initially avoid overdoing are Crytocoryne and Anubias.

Some people recommend dipping new plants in a weak bleach mixture to kill off algae and algae spores. I do not recommend this as it also affects the plants to some degree and will slow down their adaptation to the new tank. Try to ensure the plant are visibly algae free or came from a relatively algae free environment, then trust your algae eaters to do their job.

Fish

Do not be concerned about high ammonia or nitrite levels during the initial break-in. A heavily planted tank will show very low peaks of ammonia and nitrite as the bacteria colony establishes itself. The plants themselves consume ammonia in the form of ammonium (NH4++), preventing any major problems.

3. Ready! Fire! Aim!

Assuming the tank and equipment are up and ready to go, the following steps are appropriate for Day One.

• Wash the gravel in small quantities. We like to use old 5 gallon pails (clean, of course). Fill the pail 1/2 full with your gravel and rinse under running water until the water runs clear.
• If you have heating cables, use the first batch of clean gravel to stabilize the cables (plain gravel is easier for this step than gravel mixed with laterite -- that's really messy!). Gently spread 1/4" of gravel around the bottom and pack it under the cables, holding them away from the bottom glass. Gently add the rest of the gravel on top of the cables to hold them in place. You only get one chance to get the cables arranged correctly, so take your time. If you are recording the setup with a camera, takes some photos now because this is the last time you'll see your precious cables.
• Wash more of your gravel, keeping track when you have done 1/3 of it. Mix appropriate quantities of laterite in this first 1/3. If you use Dupla laterite (Duplarit-G), crush the "root starter tablets" and mix them in also. Very carefully add the gravel-laterite mixture to the tank, being careful to not disturb the cables. A wise person will use gloves for this step.
• Level the first layer carefully. Don't try to create different levels with the substrate as you might do for a fish only tank. They look nice at first but once the plants grow, you'll never see them. And the gravel will tend to flatten out over time anyway. If you want to create levels, do it with the aquascaping.
• Wash the rest of the gravel and add it to the tank. Level this off also. If you want to get it really level, add just enough water so the water is at the surface of the gravel. Any high or low spots will be obvious. We use a sheet of 0.080" styrene from a hobby store as a leveling tool. The styrene sheet also comes in handy during maintenance.
• Add enough water to make the tank about 2/3 full. It's easier to work in the tank if it's not full to the brim.
• Start planting. You probably have some idea of the arrangement you want, so knock yourself out! Don't worry about getting it perfect -- there is plenty of time later for rearranging. You will probably be surprised at how the plants grow (shape and height) so you will more than likely be redoing your aquascape many times.
• Add the rest of the water and immediately add the first of your algae eaters.
• DO NOT FEED THE ALGAE EATERS!
• DO NOT ADD CHEMICALS! Forget the commercial pH buffers, water conditioners and items like this.
• Stand back and admire your work. Don't worry, it will look much better in a week or two.

A Case Study (of the wrong way to do it!)

We ordered $200 worth of plants from a now defunct mail order supplier. We ordered a few show plants - large Echinodorus and Anubias. We ordered other decorative plants and only a token few fast growers. We had the tank all set up and running the night before and waited in anticipation for the UPS truck. It came on time and we eagerly tore into the box. We were highly disappointed :-(

We had paid $5 extra for a styrofoam packing box but they didn't use one. The plants were wrapped in newspaper, put in plastic bags and packed in a plain cardboard box. All the taller show plants were actually folded in half before they were wrapped and were bent and misshapen. Some of the more delicate plants we ordered were frozen mush. Most of the plants were fairly small and in poor condition. We were heart-broken :-((

We planted anyway, hoping against hope that the plants would recover. The tank looked so barren after we planted $200 worth of plants that we added plants from our other tanks anyway. The dismal result is shown below:

... It did get better...

4. Tough It Out

The most common "problem" observed at this stage is new tank syndrome.  You will notice the water initially has a hazy white appearance. This is due to a bacteria bloom in the water and is harmless and natural.  Your new gravel came from places unknown and contains lots of dormant critters that washing will not remove. Getting the gravel wet revitalized them and they will grow for a short time. Most likely, they will die from lack of food or they will become food for higher order critters. Do not use any of the clarifying chemicals sold for this purpose. It's pointless and a waste of money and will only contribute to a longer period of unstability.

You may also observe that the plants don't seem to be growing much. Don't panic. Two things are at work here. First, the plants may be starved of nutrients if they came from other than great conditions. Plants can concentrate and store many trace elements for "hard times" (such as being in a fish store holding tank) and they may replenishing their supply in lieu of using the nutrients for growth.  Secondly, the plants may be growing  and you just can't see it because you're looking so darn hard!  Take lots of photos of your new tank and you may be surprised just how much is happening.

It is very important to not feed the initial algae eaters. Make them scrounge the tank for anything they can find. Algae will be springing up just like everything else and needs to be controlled. If the fish are not distracted by real fish food, they will be more likely to search out and destroy the tender young algae shoots.

During the first month, the nitrifying bacteria will be establishing colonies everywhere in the tank (not just in the filter). If you want to monitor the cycle by measuring ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, make sure you have accurate test kits. The traditional cycle is longer in a planted tank and the peaks are much more subdued. There are two reasons why this is true:

• Since you have a low fish load and you are not feeding the fish, there is not much ammonia being generated.
• The plants are using much of the ammonium generated by the fish, leaving little for the nitrifying bacteria to use as food.

Don't change water during the initial break-in period. There is no good reason to change water and fresh water will only add to the instability by refreshing whatever caused the instability in the first place.

Be sure to properly fertilize the plants. They are trying to grow rapidly and need all the nutrients they can get (in proper proportions, of course -- don't over do it).

If you monitor iron levels, you will note that it will probably be high initially due to the fresh laterite. We typically see levels of 0.5 mg/l. This is OK, since the nitrifying bacteria use iron to grow and the plants can concentrate and store excess amounts. You will be shooting for 0.1 mg/l of iron in the long run.

After a couple of weeks, conditions should be stable enough for other algae eaters.  Remember, a variety is good!

... A little later

5. Adapting to Your New Aquarium

By now, plants should be ready for their first trimming and perhaps some rearranging. You may find some plants that didn't do well for whatever reason and need to be replaced.  You may be surprised at the growth patterns of some plants that may affect your aquascaping scheme. You may want to try some slower growing, more decorative plants for special effects. For whatever reason, you'll probably be mucking doing Real Aquatic Gardening. If you find you don't enjoy this, you might reconsider what you are doing.

One thing that worries new aquatic gardeners is just how to prune and arrange plants. Some are very reticent to move plants or even prune them.  Don't worry -- plants respond well to "tough love".  Don't be afraid to uproot plants and move them around. We are only careful about moving plants with massive roots systems like Echinodorus or plants that grow in large masses like Cryptocoryne and only then because it makes a mess when you pull them up!

You can prune stem plants two ways:

• Uproot them, cut the prettiest part off the top and replant the pretty part. This is the way a planted tank is sculpted.
• Trim the top and replant it.  The bottom will grow a new top; usually bushing out at that point. This is the typical way that stem plants are propagated.

This is the time to start adding the primary fish to the tank. The biological filter is established and the system should now be very stable. Add fish slowly, though, so the nitrifying bacteria can adapt to the new load slowly.

You may find that different types of algae are coming and going as the water conditions pass through stages favorable to different species. Don't panic. Let the algae eaters do their job.  If you find one algae type is getting a toehold, perhaps this is the time for another type of algae eater. We usually see a soft, velvety green algae at about this period. Farlowella acus are very good at controlling it. You also may notice long, stringy algae threads that don't attach securely to the plants. This is usually a sign of too much iron. We've not seen any algae eaters eat this type but it can be easily removed by twirling a toothbrush in it.

Monitoring nitrates will give you an idea of how often to change water. We like to keep nitrates at around 10 mg/l on average. If you have a lower fish load, you may find that nitrates will consistently read zero (make sure you have a good test kit!). If this is the case, you may find you need to add nitrates, usually in the form of potassium nitrate. It is recommended that there are at least 5 mg/l of nitrate in a planted tank. If nitrates are too low, the plants won't be able to grow and remove the phosphates that are in the water, leading to algae problems.

... Even later!

6. The Daily Grind

Daily

• Regular fertilization. We use Duplaplant-24 drops which are added daily. Duplaplant tablets are added only when water is changed. You will need to observe your plants and do iron tests to determine exactly how much fertilizer is proper for your setup.
• Water top off. Water will evaporate from your tanks. Our 120 gallon, open top tank losses about one gallon per day due to our dry climate! Distilled water is the best way to replenish evaporation but is not cheap. Remember, only the water evaporates; hardness, fertilizer and waste products stay in the water. If your tap water is hard, you will be increasing salts in the water as time goes on. This is another reason for regular water changes.
• Feeding fish. Of course.

Biweekly

• Regular water changes. The importance of this cannot be stressed enough. Even though your nitrates may be low, there are other waste products that build up in the water that need to be removed. No matter how carefully set up, an aquarium is never "balanced" enough to never need water changes. We change water every two weeks. How much you change is dictated by your nitrate levels, but every two weeks is a good period. You will find that glass needs to be cleaned and plants need to be pruned about this often.
• Plant pruning. The plants will grow well and will need trimming to prevent that jungle look. You need to watch out for taller plants shading shorter plants. Moving plants around is good since they tend to generate waste products around their roots which may stunt their growth. This also acts to stir up the gravel a bit and keep it friable.
• Glass cleaning. An algae film will grow on the glass and may not be taken care of completely by algae eaters. You will also get hard, green spot algae on the glass which is too tough or unpalatable and must be removed by you. On glass tanks, a razor blade may be needed. It doesn't stick as well to acrylic and can be wiped off with a buffing pad.
• Gravel vacuuming. When plants are uprooted for trimming, we like to vacuum the top layer of the gravel in the area with a Python water changer. This helps prevent a lot of detritus from collecting.
• Filter cleaning. Keeping your filter material clean will make sure the proper flow is achieved, that the pump is not stressed and that nitrates aren't being generated by decomposing crud.

Periodically

• Water testing. Until you can recognize water imbalances by sight, water testing is recommended. After that, periodic checks are useful to make sure your long term maintenance is consistent with current aquarium conditions.
• pH electrode calibration. If you use a pH controller, the pH electrode will drift over time and need to be recalibrated. Remember, even though the controller reads "pH 7.00", that number may not be right!  We like to check pH manually at least monthly to make sure the meters are reading correctly.
• New light bulbs. Although fluorescent bulbs will operate for years, they slowly loose intensity. Depending on how "on the edge" your intensity was to start with, you may find that you need to replace bulbs before they burn out. We try to replace half the bulbs every six months to avoid intensity spikes.

Every couple of years

• Every so often a planted aquarium will just get out of control, plant-wise. Typically, we don't trim Anubias and they just keep getting bigger and bigger. We find that we must defoliate the tank every so often and do a major trimming and replanting. We try to time this to coincide with the local aquarium club's Spring or Fall convention and auction. You would be surprised what people will pay for what you might throw away!