advice input

[Dave and Diane]

Good day,
As suggested rather than a high jack of a tread.
I will start of here.
Question 1.

What would be a nice size of tank to begin with for plants.
Lenght, width, height?

Question 2

Lighting what would be a recommended source?


Question 3

Substrate what would be recommended

Question 4

What other items will be required?

On a size note space is at a preimun.


Thanking you all in advance for your help

[charlie]

Good day,
As suggested rather than a high jack of a tread.
I will start of here.
Question 1.

What would be a nice size of tank to begin with for plants.
Lenght, width, height?

Question 2

Lighting what would be a recommended source?


Question 3

Substrate what would be recommended

Question 4

What other items will be required?

On a size note space is at a preimun.


Thanking you all in advance for your help

Hello i`ll give you my take on it , probably not the right one but this is my approach
(1) For planted tanks the over all size recommended will be dicated by space available , like any other tank, that said you would be better off with a tank that is deep ( front to back) , this will allow more flexabilty in aquascaping, height shoud not be more than 21 inches for a couple of reasons ,(a) easier light penetration & abilty to reach the back of the tank to work, of course this can vary due to ones reach ect.

(2) Opinions on lighting sources will vary from person to person, Power compacts work well due to the amount of wattage you can get from a single bulb, T5 is a very good source. both of these will need good reflectors for optium lighting.

(3)Again another open question, there is as much arguments about substrate as there are plants, that said they are specialised substrates available by commerical companies, there is also the cheap options. it all hinges on what type of planted tank you want to do, my best recommendation is to research the different options & go from there.
(4) Items needed wil again vary from tank to tank , sorry i`m not more specifc, i will include a link that will give you a good base to decide which way to go.

http://www.rexgrigg.com/index.html
Regards

[Jeff1192]

Hello i`ll give you my take on it , probably not the right one but this is my approach

He's far too humble. He's one of the gurus of planted tanks. That link he provided gave me lots of good advice when I was getting started with a planted tank.

One thing I would highly recommend would be black fluorite substrate. The fluorite is great for planted tanks (but a little expensive) and the black really makes the plant colours jump out.

Jeff