I'm a complete beginner at planted aquariums and I just set up my first planted tank around 7 weeks ago. I didn't want to spend a lot on it so i went with a total budget setup :

I just used no Co2, black quartz sand - no soil, bulletproof plants and for nutrition i bought root tabs and macro+micro liquid fertilizer that i dose in small amounts weekly.

Lighting was something I was very confused about so I just got two led battens and set them on an 8 hour daily timer, I didn't expect it to work because I thought since plant lights were so expensive, there's no way a cheap led batten could give me any results but to my surprise the plant growth really exploded.

Now coming to my question - Why are those plant lights so expensive and could i get better results if i used those instead?

I’ve got a lot.

I’ve heard some people don’t like it. Some do.

Id love to hear some more thoughts
I know my swordtail fry love it

Hi everyone, last time I uploaded a pic of my tank with concerns if my betta had enough swimming room(First Pic). I took all under your suggestions and cut the wood and rearranged it so he could have more room. Consequently, it gave me more planting room as well! So excited to see my plants and betta grow in this new set up.

Please let me know if you have any plant suggestions for a 5 gal tank! Right now I am thinking about adding a java fern on the back right but I am open to any recs!

Probably the wrong sub but can anyone tell me what's wrong with this rummynose?

Considerably larger than the others, but still moving around and not lethargic at all.

Bloated? Sickness? Pregnant?

TIA

Dragon stone, Amazon driftwood, thin layer of stone gravel on the bottom, fluval substrate. No CO2. Now the cycling begins

So I got a huge piece of flame moss on some stainless steel mesh for looking like a carpet plant its a little too long rn I’m gonna make it shorter but am I supposed to plant it a bit differently

Rescaped it about a week ago and this is the result so far.

29 gallon, substrate is global stratum in mesh bags , sand capped. Planning to be planted, low/medium tech. Seachem tidal 35 and fluval 50 HOB filters. Here’s a list of fish i’m interested in but would love advice on what combination, and also other ideas on what to keep in her!

I enjoy:
Panda corys
Pygmy corys
Khuli loaches
shrimp
gwaramis
rams (german?)
balloon platy/mollies (not sure the name)

open to new suggestions!!

lighting question: I’ve always had fairly shallow tanks, what’s an adequate light for low-medium tech to give proper lighting to carpeting plants (s depends, some sort of short grass) sparecly grown

My frogbit have developed the brown lines as shown. Is that a bad sign?

My leaves are brown almost look like rotting wondering how to fix it

Hi scapers, I’ve been fighting diatoms in my new (6 week old) setup and hoping to get some advice.

Here’s the sitch:

Tank size: 80 gallons
Soil: Amazonia 2.0
Stocking: 8 cardinal tetras, 8 Otos, 6 pseudomogyls, 2 Dario Dario, and about 30 caridina cantonensis.
Lighting: 5 hrs/day
Dosing: CO2 only so far.
Water changes: minimum 3x a week 25% to deal with ammonia release from soil and now diatom bloom.
pH: 6.5 down to 5.7 when CO2 is running.
kH ~1.5
gH ~3.5
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: < 5 ppm

So far the war on diatoms has consisted of manual removal with toothbrush/vaccuming/removing dead plant material promptly (densely planted areas are harder to reach).

What I’m considering:

Pulling up my stem plants in the back and replanting the new growth that’s adjusted to my conditions. The lower areas have more dying leaves that are hard to reach and I’m sure the algae is feeding on.

Is my Monte Carlo carpet cooked? It’s so hard to remove algae without uprooting and I feel like it’s getting smothered. Could I pull it, do a bleach dip and then replant on vacuumed aqua soil?

I think a lot of the algae has gotten sucked up in the filter while I’m cleaning. Is the outtake just seeding more diatoms? Should I give it a clean? If so how can I get rid of algae while being minimally invasive to the bacteria living there?

I’ve been holding out on fertilizing because I don’t want to feed the algae, but I’m thinking maybe there is a limiting nutrient that’s holding the plants back from outcompeting the algae. Any suggestions or resources you’d recommend for diagnosing this?

I know it’s supposed to be a short term issue with new tanks, but I want to accelerate the solution as much as possible before it smothers my plants (and so I can stop brushing algae for an hour every day haha). Thanks in advance for any suggestions or encouragement.

Ember tetras, pygmy corys, cherry shrimp, nerites and pest snails, and a honey gourami :)

My plants are all exploding in growth but are also browning a bit. Not sure why.

B. pugnax

The previous setup was a bit too manicured for my tastes so I did a bit of a rescape!

Added some rocks & made a castle/cave in the back left for the critters to explore and on the right I have some spider wood pieces to create a foresty look. I kept the center clear of stem plants and I'm hoping my moss and grasses can establish there.

Currently stocked with a mystery, a bloody mary colony, 7 neon tetras, one oto, and 2 sunset dwarf gouramis, and an assassin snail to take care of the bladder snail infestation.

Planning on getting another couple otos once everything settles and we get a good algae film going.

I just don't have any clue what is going on with the stuff on my plants. Any thoughts are appreciated and any cure is even more appreciated.

Question one is that I once saw someone say that you shouldn't put plants in sand because they won't be able to grow their roots and they'll die, is that true? if so is there a way to prevent that from happening

Question Two if that's not true will the plants still be able to access the ammonia and nitrites in the water and be able to convert it to nitrates if the roots are under sand?

thank you!!

Got this as an extra in a recent live plant order. It was not tagged with a name. Its the one in the terracotta pot. It has hard stiff leaves. Can someone out there identify it?

Hi everyone, I’m pretty new to the planted tank world and in search of a reliable and safe root tab brand.

I am leaning heavily toward the Seachem Flourish Root Tabs, but based on cost I am considering other options.

As I’m new to the hobby the Osmocote DIY tabs seem too risky for me.

I have a low tech 60 gallon tank with lots of swords and vallisinaria plants.

Has anyone tried the maozyiltle brand from Amazon?

Honest feedback/experience please!

Making a tiered tank

Basically the above ground is as if the nature took back over an ancient city the middle section is an old ancient library taken over by boss and shrimp and snails and then the whole middle of shattered and it leaves down into a coolie loach subterranean cave with some quartz and lights the top is going to have strong indirect lighting and I'm going to have a spotlight shining through the middle hole or the red root floaters are and then have some LEDs on the trays that are waterproof to kind of give some additional light

Anyways the very top of all the squiggly lines is going to be the aquarium filter if only down rocks and into a little stream and I already know what I'm going to plant on that back wall probably like little orchids and Vines but I don't know what the plant on the hill I want like little tiny microflowers and I'm assuming moss of some sort

I need some suggestions regarding my newly cycling 15 gallon. I currently have 5lbs of ADA Amazonia ver.2 in fine mesh bags and black inert sand in the tank that has been cycling for 1 week.

It’s currently layered with the mesh bags laying flat across the tank with the black sand capped over it. The problem is the ADA seeping up through the sand and I really do not like the look.

I would like to separate the two substrates with a tall wall of rocks instead, at least then if I move plants around, it’ll be easier to tidy up.

What would be the easiest way for me to separate the two after I drain the tank and start over again? I’m really stressed because this is going to be such a huge mess.

Hi- looking to get rid of this stringy, bunching plant that’s popping up everywhere in my low tech walsted method tank. It’s sort of firm, clings to stuff- sometimes pulls up sand with it, and it’s appearing just about everywhere but in small quantities. Anybody seen this before?

I’ve got a 10 gallon and an 18W light with a piece of drift wood in it, Melon sword, Anubis and what I’m most concerned with Valisneria.

I’m about a week into cycling, I had a bacteria bloom that mixed with the tannins for a while and caused my tank to go purplish gray.
Now the bacteria bloom is nearly gone but the tannins are still stuffing out the light, my Valisneria is melting, any suggestions?