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Well I'm feeling all wordy today. What is about to follow is disguised as advised but will probably turn into a long winded lecture. I apologize in advance for any boredom I inflict on the members of FP.

I have a planted tank. People seem to like it. It gets lots of oohs and ahhs. It won the last FP aquascaping contest on the first attempt ! It's full of healthy vibrant colors, there's always something to look at. The fish like it, they are healthy active vibrant and colorful. In the 1 year this tank has been up and running I have had to dose meds once. Disease is almost unknown. Can't remember the last fish death. Almost never lose a new fish. There is almost no algae, if you look really hard you'll find some, more likely on the glass then on the plants. Now I don't say any of this to show off, rather to prove how easy it is. I never grew a thing in my life until a year ago. Didn't know an Anubias from an Antelope. The most common reaction I get if I post a pic in the Photo Booth is " wish I had a tank like that". Well you can. It's easy, deceptively easy. If I can do it anybody can and that's not false modesty (not big on modesty false or otherwise).

So "how?" I hear you all cry (well that's probably just the voices in my head again, must remember to take the medication, but anyway). The answer is simple, deceptively so.

Plant selection. Choose the right plants for the right circumstances and a successful planted tank is almost guaranteed. Yep it's that simple. No magic green fingers required. Don't NEED fancy lights, Co2 equipment or expensive fertilizers. No degree in water chemistry required. Don't know your PO4 from your CaCo3 , don't worry about it. It's the plants that make or break the tank. So obvious it is almost always overlooked.

I lurk around this particular forum more then any other. I try to help where I can. What do I see ? The big problems that come up for beginners.

"I've got a serious algae problem!"
or
"Help, my plants are dying"

I think we'd all agree these are two most common issues facing people trying to build a planted tank . Yet to me they are linked and both usually have the same root cause. Poor plant selection.

Scenario 1 usually goes something like this: Person wants live plants. Goes and buys a few, drops them in the tank. After a couple of weeks plants ain't doing so well, better do something about it. More often then not because they are trying to grow something like a Cambomba under 0.5 wpg. The LFS has all these fertilizers and plant food, plants must be hungry I'll chuck some of that in or they do some research and the helpful people on the forum told them Cambomba needs lots of light, so off they go buy a new fixture and now they got 3 wpg over 3 stems of Cambomba. End result is the same - algae everywhere. There are certain variations on this theme but usually similar and have the same results.

Scenario 2 runs pretty much the same ; Person wants a nice tank like the pics on the internet and goes and buys some plants, who those red ones are pretty. Puts them in under the single bulb they own and they begin to die after a week or do.

Both of these situations could be avoided by simply selecting the right plants that survive and grow in the given conditions of the tank. There are plants out there that will survive and grow, albeit slowly, under almost any condition, there are others that have much higher requirements and need a set up that can meet these requirements. Once the correct selection has been made most problems are avoided and success is virtually guaranteed. High requirement plants in a low tech low light set up is doomed to certain failure, conversely a high light tank stock only with Anubias or Java fern is going to run into problems.

If it's all so obvious why isn't it done more often or how can the above be implemented on a practical level? Well in the tradition of the late great Gary Roland I'll save it 'til Part 2.


Last edited by bensaf at 16-Feb-2005 03:59

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Makes perfect sense. Good read, bring on part 2.

Bernard

Makes perfect common sense to me (another Aquacape winner) I selected Anubias for several reason and now I have a tank full of them. Just dont buy on a whim because it looks beautifull or is cheap.

Well written and very useful to all beginers and many others.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Keith,

When I hear people doubt that it's possible to have stunning yet simple relatively easy to maintain planted tank, I always point them in the direction of your tank photo's. It's a classic example of just how well the low light non C02 set up can be done and can easily stand it's ground against any high tech tank out there.

Should be obvious to anyone who has seen a recent photo of my tank where I got (stole) the inspiration for having an Anubias foreground :88)

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

i think anubias is the best plant out there. the things really dont "neeed" anything but the least amount of attention. they dont even need substrate. a river rock or even an over turned pot will serve it just fine for an anchor. the green of the leaves are perfect for just about any plant lover. they dont grow very fast so maintence of trimming is almost nothing.

by far the one plant that can turn any first timer into a full blown gardener over night.

Bump!

Excellent article.....now to read part 2