Planted Tank Basics - Aquarium Filtration

There are many different types of filtration available for your tank however by far the best are external filters. DO NOT ever, use an Underground Gravel Filter in a planted tank. It will do more harm than good as the base fertiliser will seep through and get blown out into the main water column.

The best choice for small tanks are internal filters, the best choice for medium to large are external cannister filters which is the best. Your filter should filter 5-6 times the amount of water of your tank per hour.

So for a 20 gallon tank your filter should do atleast 100 gph, for a 50 gallon it should do 250-300 gph. Try to avoid wet/dry filters, sumps and trickle filters as the added air contact aids in CO2 loss.

The basic filter medium you should have are:
1. Course filter wool - To filter out large particles
2. Fine Filter Wool - To Filter out smaller particles
3. Ceramic Rings - To cultivate beneficial bacteria
4. Peat Granules - To soften the water and lower PH (optional)

My recommendations:

Internal Filters:
- Boyu
- Dolphin (My favourite)
- Resun
- Eheim

External Canister Filters
- Eheim
- Resun
- Jebo
- Fluval

Feel Free to contact me if you have any further enquiries or need assistance
Do post your comments too!

Planted Tank Basics - Plant Nutrients

Now that you have your tank setup with a good substrate and good lighting you need to supply your plants with a balanced diet of nutrients to begin growing a beautiful planted tank for your fish. First of all, the stronger the lighting you have, the "hungrier" your plants will be. If they lack any specific nutrients you may find yellowing leaves, stunted growth, spindly stems, etc., all of which are signs of a nutrient deficiency.

The key is to find a good balance between lighting and nutrients to get the optimal growth from your plants without being overcome with algae. Algae will normally appear when we ignore an important piece of the nutrient plan.

When should I start fertilizing my tank?
It is common practice to allow the plants to get established in your tank for about 4 weeks or so before they show a need for fertilizers. This time could be longer in a lower lighted tank or sooner in a higher watt situation. The only way to know when to start is by watching the plants health. Growth rate is normally slow in a new tank but plant health is easily determined.

What do they need?

Micro Nutrients
These are available to us through our tap water and commercially sold liquid fertilizers such as Flourish, Kent , Tropica MasterGro , etc. Start off by dosing per the bottle instructions. With time and plant growth you may find the need to up your dosages slightly. Excessive dosing will promote algae growth.

Macro Nutrients (Nitrogen, Phospherous, Potassium)
Nitrates supplied using potassium nitrate (KNO3) Target is 5 - 10 ppm
Phosphates supplied using monopotassium sulfate or Fleet Enema Target is .5 - 1 ppm
Potassium supplied using potassium sulfate (K2SO4) or potassium chloride (No-Salt) Target is 20 ppm

Warning - Additional care must be taken when dosing macro nutrients .Over-dosing of macro's at best will only create algae, but at worst will kill your fish. Be sure to have quality test kits on hand and dose the tank in small increments. The process of determining your fertilizing regimen takes weeks to set and it can change again with time.

Substrate Fertilizers
Many plants (Swords,Crypts etc.) feed primarily through their root systems and need to be fed accordingly. There are fertilizers sold on the market in tablet form which get pushed into your substrate at the root base of the plant. Popular brands are Tetra Initial Sticks, Flourish Tabs, Root Tabs Use these per package instruction and always bury them deep in substrate.

My recommendations:

Liquid Fertiliser: Seachem Flourish & Trace, LushGro Aqua & Micros
Substrate Fertilisers: Ferka Stemma & Rosette capsules

Feel Free to contact me if you have any further enquiries or need assistance
Do post your comments too!

Planted Tank Basics - Lighting

Here is where the success or the failure of your planted tank can happen. Lighting is very important!!

There is a formula called "Watts Per Gallon" that can get you close to the target amount of watts you will need to grow most plants. Normally 2 - 3 watts per gallon will grow the majority of plants available that require "Moderate" light. Lets use an example tank... If you take a common sized tank such as a 55 Gallon and only use normal 2 x 40 watt Flourescents, and do the math, 80 watts total divided by 55 gallons you will find you are barely over 1 WPG... very little grows in 1 WPG other then Algae.

To get to 3 WPG in that tank you would need to at least double the amount of wattage input to get around the 3 WPG in that tank. If you used 40 watt NO Flourescents it would take 4 bulbs to get you to 160 watts which is more then sufficient. Since available space over a tank is always a concern with lighting , you need to get more watts in the same space. There are a few ways to do this and the most common way is via "Compact Flourescent Lighting also known as PL Lights". They are available in many sizes and can be used in combination with each other to get the amount of watts needed to grow your planted aquarium. Generally, lighting is usually on for 8 - 10hrs daily.

In the same scenario for the 55 Gallon, if you took and installed 3 - 55 W compacts over that tank instead of 4 - 40 watt flourescent, you would be at 165 watts total but your bulb intensity has gone from 40 watts to 55 watts with the pc's but you still achieved about the same in total WPG. You will get better growth from the 55 watt intensity even though you are only 5 watts higher in WPG.

The common wattages available for PL lights are 11, 13, 24, 36 or 55W.

The next big favourite lights used by planted aquarists today is T5 HO, its a slimmer version of your normal flourescent and its High Output. Such lights use electronic ballast that does not generate heat as much as iron-core ballast.

Advantges of T5:
- slim, able to fit more tubes over limited space
- individual reflectors which maximise light output
- does not generate lots of heat
- excellent light output

Although it will cost you a little more than your normal lightsets, the money you pay will last you a long time with a smile on your face too!!

My Recommendations for bulbs:
PL - Osram, Elbiru
T5 HO - Aquaz, Osram, DE

My Recommendations for light sets
PL - Jebo, Magnum
T5 HO - Solite, Jebo

Contact me if you have any further enquiries or need assistance
Feel free to post your comments too!

The WPG Rule is very general and some thought needs to be put into lighting choices before setting up your tank, but always keep in mind that plants need the "Watt Intensity of the Bulb" to be successful, as well as WPG.

Planted Tank Basics - Base Fertiliser & Substrate

I will be starting a whole series of post, which will focus on each component of a successful planted tank. Today, we will start from the very bottom which is quite an important component of every planted tank: Base Fertiliser. The Base fertiliser consists of a mix of various nutrients required by plants and is laid on the tank`s bottom followed by a layer of substrate. I would recommend a thickness of 1 - 2cm of base fertiliser followed by 1 - 3inches of gravel. I strongly urge the point to have a slope from 1.5 inch at the front to about 5-6inch at the back of the tank. This slope creates a 3D effect to your aquascape rather than have a flat layout which looks dull and plain. A slope also enhances the aquascape by having the plants planted at an angel. It allows you to view the inhabitants of your tank more easily too! In Singapore, the most common brand of base fertiliser we use are JBL and Sera. These two brands are priced reasonably and of good quality. Of course, there are other brands out in the market but I would not try them as I'll never know what it consist of and what harm it could bring to my pain-staking planted tank. There is no need to wash it, just open the packet and pour it directly into the tank bottom. Remember to spread it out evenly and level it with a card or a ruler. As for substrates, there are:
Definition:

• Inert: substrate that won't alter the water chemistry. That's a good thing in a substrate.

• Cation Exchange Capacity : the ability to adsorb positively charged nutrient ions. This means the substrate will hold nutrients and make them available to the plant roots. A high CEC is a good thing. It doesn't indicate the amount of nutrients the substrate contains.

______________________________________________________________________

• Flourite
  A great substrate. High CEC, inert, very nice looking. Nutrient rich, but the nutrients are only available to plant roots. They will not leak into the water column. Contains iron and other trace elements. Doesn't get soft in water.
  

• Sand:
  Inert. No purpose other than to hold plants (and lower layers of other substrate) down. Low/no CEC.

• Gravel:
  Any gravel made for aquariums should be inert. If you are buying bulk, you can drop some into a cup of vinegar. If it fizzes, it isn't inert, and will harden your water. Even if you have soft water, that isn't a good thing, as you won't be able to control how much it hardens it. Most gravels have a low CEC, and contain no nutrients.

• Laterite:
  Purely a substrate additive. It's a rich red clay. Inorganic, and inert. It's very rich in iron and some other trace elements. Must be mixed with a regular substrate, and buried under a layer of some regular substrate. Otherwise, the iron and nutrients will enter the water column, clouding the tank, and resulting in extremely high iron levels, which will lead to algae problems.

Basically, I would recommend using ADA Aquasoil for tanks up to 3ft as it is rich and packed with nutrients which don't need base fertiliser. Lapis or holland sand is more economical for use in large tanks.

In conclusion, it is important to plan carefully what is most feasible for your tank size before buying anything in impulse as once its added, it is extremely tedious to remove or replace.

Lapis Sand
ADA Aquasoil

Why this blog? A little about me....

Firstly, I'll like to really thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time to visit my simple blog.

Secondly, a little background about myself. I've been attracted into this wonderful, attractive yet addictive hobby more than 7 years ago. I start off with a slim tank which the width was so small that fishes had a hard time turning around!!!

I moved on to acquiring a new fish tank which was more spacious, about 60 gallons if I still remember correctly. I started out keeping normal easy-to-keep tropical fishes like tetras and then venturing into planted tanks.

It was indeed an interesting journey learning a lot about the natural process of having plants in an aquarium without any air pump which provides oxygen instead, feeding the tank with lots of carbon dioxide which was food for the plants!! It took me a while to gather necessary knowledge to keeping and maintaining a successful planted tank.

Then came this small but awesome fish called the Apistogramma!!! I was hooked the moment I saw it flaring itself against a female....Man!! I took the fetal step and fell into the deepest hole I could ever get myself into!! I tried keeping my hands off this fish for a year but I failed, having to return to keeping and eventually breeding this wonderful fish, aim is to produce the best quality of this particular species in Singapore.

Apistogramma Cacatuoides "Triple Red"

Now, I would like to share my knowledge and help as many people as possible, guiding them into this therapeutic hobby which guarantees to relieve stress after a day's work!! Post your comments and questions, I'll answer them for you!!