Looking for new low tech planted tank advice

If you use that 2 bulb Hagen Glo fixture, you will need to suspend it about 10 inches above the top of the tank, to keep the light intensity low enough for a non-CO2 tank. Or, you could use a single bulb Hagen Glo fixture 2-3 inches above the top of the tank, but that will allow tall plants to shade the lower plants, and it will make all of the plants try to grow towards the center of the tank or wherever the fixture sits.

If you really want to do regular big water changes, be sure to also dose Excel. Otherwise, the fluctuating amount of CO2 in the water will help algae get started growing. You don't need to do those water changes though. You can just top off the water as needed.

This type of tank will work best if you use substrate fertilizing, along with whatever the plants can get from the fish waste. An easy way to do that is to use a layer of ADA Aquasoil under the EC, an inch or so thick. But, you can also sprinkle a very thin layer of Osmocote fertilizer under the EC.

Good luck with the tank - I'm starting to think about switching to non-CO2, low light, low maintenance tanks too.

Thanks for the feedback,

I have 18” above the tank inside the cabinet so suspending a light higher is easy and should spread the light across the tank better. The higher the lights are above the tank the easier it will be for me to work in it without having to move them as well.

This made me think that maybe two single Hagen Glo T5’s would probably work better if I hang them high enough. They could be wider apart to spread out the light over the tank and be put on separate timers if I want to have them turn on and off sequentially to ease the tank inhabitants awake and asleep less abruptly.

The lights come with either “Life-Glo II” or “Power-Glo” bulbs (http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c293075/index.html). Am I correct in thinking that I should use 2 Life-Glo bulbs in this setup, or would there be some benefit to using one of each?

Not doing water changes just seems wrong to a fish guy like me but if the plants are cleaning the water as well I can see the logic. No changes would increase water hardness and concentrations of some other undesirable parameters over time though. Would you not have to be constantly testing ammonia, nitrates etc. to make sure they are not building up?

I could dose Excel if it needs it, as long as I am not dumping tons in. I am not sure if I can get ADA products very easily around here. Would a layer under the EC not eventually mix with it and look messy? I am a bit wary of too much fertilizing. If my plants grow too fast it would be more work than I am looking for. I don’t plan on trying to have any carpeting plants. What about just using root tabs or other type fertilizers to just spot fertilize any individual plants that look like they need it?

I checked out some of those other mosses. They do look nicer. I will have to see what is available when I am setting up the tank. I just looked at your 29 gal thread. I really like the look of the long skinny java fern. I did not realize it got so long/tall. Is that a specific strain, or did it just grow out like that?

I am trying to decide whether to just go to my local fish store to buy plants or to buy them from a mail/internet order place like http://www.aquariumplants.com/. Locally has the advantage of simply going out and buying them and being home in an hour, but my choices will be dictated by what is in stock that day. If I buy online then I will have more selection, but may have the plants arrive on a day different than when I have help to plant them.

If I just had a 10 gal tank filled with water to hold them in for a few days until I could plant them would newly bought plants stay alive? Or are they going to melt and then melt again when I put them in the main tank from putting them through too many changes?

I find that I do not yet know all the Latin names for most plants and the internet selling sites, like the one listed above, will often use the same generic picture for several different strains or species or give conflicting characteristics for sizes or requirements. Can anyone recommend a good website to use as a guide for choosing which plants to buy and what their sizes, care, lighting and other requirements are? I suppose that since I don’t know exactly which plants I want then I won’t be devastated if I get the wrong cultivar of Cryptocoryne wendtii, but I don’t want to accidentally order plants that are not going to suit my set up.

Does anyone know of any Canadian based mail order plant and/or livestock suppliers they would recommend? I kno that aquariumplants.com claims easy ordering to Canada but I would prefer not dealing with the extra taxes, exchange rates etc. that shipping across the border often adds.

Also, do most people “dip” their plants before they put them in their main tanks, like it is specified here: http://www.aquariumplants.com/Articles.asp?ID=111. I don’t really want uninvited sails in my tank but I also don’t like the thought of handling bleach or pink staining potassium permanganate in my house either.