Planted Tank Advice

[saphbettas]

I'm looking to create a planted tank for my fish when I'm able to, and right now I'm in the process of researching to make sure I do everything right to give my betta the best upgraded home! I've stuck with artificial plants up until this point because I've found I'm not so good at keeping plants alive (re: me somehow killing an orchid that was 'low-water' 'easy-care'). But I really want to get over that and try a planted aquarium because I know it'd be the best environment for my girl! I have two main questions:

🪴 How do you know whether you need to include a CO2 system or not? I've seen some use it and others go without, and I'm not sure which I should do. Does it depend on the plants that you choose? If it helps, I'm hoping to include java fern, java moss, anubias, amazon sword, monte carlo, and pearlweed in the future aquarium. I might add others, but those are the ones I'd like to include the most.

🪴 How do you go about sanitizing the plants to make sure they're safe to be placed in the tank? I've seen a lot of posts from aquarists who had unfortunate hitchhikers come along with their plants that really scared me, and I'd like to prevent any harmful insects or anything from hurting my fish.

Finally, I'd love to hear any other planted tank advice or "don't"s you have to share to a beginner like me with nearly zero plant experience that you think might be helpful. I'm watching MD Fish Tanks very often now, but the more I can learn the better! Any tips you have at all would be greatly appreciated 💙

[SandBkeeper]

Here's a good article on how to quarantine plants. 

https://aquariumbreeder.com/how-to-quarantine-and-disinfect-aquarium-plants/ 

I've never done CO2, and my plants have been fine. They probably would grow faster with it, but it's really not necessary for most plants, including the ones you plan on planting. An amazon sword might get too big for your tank depending on the size (they can get to be bigger than 12"). 

My tips:

Buy cheap plants - not all plants will do well even in the best of conditions, so buy cheap ones so you don't feel so bad if you kill them. 

Floating plants are awesome, except duckweed. Don't do duckweed, you'll never be able to get rid of it. I literally spent an hour trying to rid a tank of duckweed. 

Have fun with your plants!

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Very cool @saphbettas! Welcome to the world of plants. I'm sure you've probably posted it elsewhere but can you tell us a little about your set up? Gallons, temperature, filtration, what kind of maintenance would you prefer to avoid? 

Most of the plants you have listed with the exception of monte carlo- are easy grow plants (also slow growers which to me is a benefit but a consideration for all). If you're keeping your betta in the ideal temps of 80-82 those plants will do fine. What I can tell you- with my easy grows- I've opted to buy the tube plants you can buy at the big box stores- why? Well because they are pest-free. I don't have to worry about sanitizing (though you can for other things)- just pull them out and plop them in. This is because they are grown out of water (emersed)- you can also sometimes use clippings from things like Bacopa (which I recommend as easy grow) or Moneywort which can also be planted in substrate (I float it in the tank till it grows roots- just easier. I don't use ferts or heaters (because my fish don't require heaters but I would use one if I had a Betta)- pretty much everything I have is on the easy grow list you can take a peek at my link below (solid facts) and scroll to the bottom to see what I can grow in my set up. My planted tanks are virtually maintenance free. Monte Carlo I've tried with no real success- so I pulled it. 

Edited June 14, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[saphbettas]

My ideal planted tank setup will be ten gallons, 78 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and I might go with an internal power filter because that's what her current tank uses. I'd expect to do maintenance once a week, I wouldn't mind the extra workload that might come with having plants. Anything for my fish! Thank you so much for all your suggestions, I think I'll take your advice and stick with the easy-grow plants until I have the hang of plant care, and then I might attempt monte carlo and other plants I like the look of! 💙

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Then my friend you won't go wrong- you can always expand out later- as you said this is new for you but there is nothing like starting with something easy for you to gain more confidence and knowledge about how aquatic plants react to their environment. They are super, super low maintenance and for the most part you may not even need fertilizers- I might consider Easy Green if your plants don't get enough from a low bioload of fish. 80 degrees won't be too warm for all of those plants. It's a fun world and you'll enjoy taking care of the plants just as much as your fish friends.

[Bjorn]

On 6/13/2022 at 3:26 PM, saphbettas said:

How do you know whether you need to include a CO2 system or not? I've seen some use it and others go without, and I'm not sure which I should do. Does it depend on the plants that you choose? If it helps, I'm hoping to include java fern, java moss, anubias, amazon sword, monte carlo, and pearlweed in the future aquarium.

Pressurized CO2 will make all your plants capable of growing faster, have denser, larger leaves, and more saturated colors. But honestly I'd get comfortable with balancing a low tech tank first before considering messing with that. A beautiful low tech tank is very achievable. If you struggle with finding that balance with no CO2 imagine the extra frustration with all those extra variables.

I'll be honest I'm a bit of a hypocrite since I went straight for CO2. But in hindsight it was because I was more interested in tinkering with those variables than necessity. 

On 6/13/2022 at 3:26 PM, saphbettas said:

 How do you go about sanitizing the plants to make sure they're safe to be placed in the tank?

Someone already gave you a good resource for quarantining plants. I just wanted to mention that plant cultures are also an option. They're essentially plants that are grown in a sterile environment. I find they're about 30% more expensive than potted versions but it's a turn-key solution to your concerns. and my PetSmart has good selection of them.

On 6/13/2022 at 3:26 PM, saphbettas said:

Finally, I'd love to hear any other planted tank advice or "don't"s you have to share to a beginner like me with nearly zero plant experience that you think might be helpful.

Listen to people who have more experience but find out what works for you. Try sticking with one strategy then slowly change the variables one at a time and take note of what reactions you see.

And Amano shrimp. There's a reason why they're named after arguably the most renowned aquascaper ever. He loved to use them because they're hardy and they're algae eating machines.

[JoeQ]

As mentioned above avoid Monte Carlo and don't even think about co2 until you have a good understanding of how to balance your tank. Also, 2 really good points of advice I wish I was given when I started are: know your water, know it from the tap, 24h under airation and in your tank. Once you realize you are keeping water and manipulating the water chemistry to benifit your desired inhabitants it makes the planted tank/fish keeping hobby much easier. As the water boy says "now that's some high quality h20"!

Second point. Realize you are building an eco system (not just getting a fish tank) which has an order of operation. Cycle your tank but then build your eco system, in nature algea brings in algea eaters & snails, then fast growing simple plants. As they grow they improve your water quality, then slower growing plants join the mix. Sure, you can skip steps to get done, and everything in the tank you want but going back to fix missteps is much harder than practicing paitents and growing your tank! With that said good luck! Can't wait to see the results!!! 

[saphbettas]

Thank you everybody for all your advice! I feel more at ease that I might be able to manage creating the planted tank that I hope to have 💙 I'll definitely be creating a journal on the forum of my process when I'm able to begin building it!

[Cbass]

I've actually been lucky with Monte Carlo and I run low tech. It did take awhile though and I had to adjust my lighting after I figured out the balance. My biggest mistake when I started was thinking I could grow harder plants without Co2 before I fully understood everything going on in my tank. So start with nice easy plants. I know I say this a bunch of times when I post, but the community here has really been helpful. I've learned a lot.