Limited resources unlimited dream

[nirmalyawb1]

Hi, all i can say is that limited resources start with myself.i have the least experience and least knowledge about a planted tank which is equivalent to zero.still i dream of nice green tank like you and i believe if i target like making your tank i would be at least reach to a decent tank.its like targeting sun and reaching at least to stars.
Whatever i understood about this topic is from this forum only...due to some unavoidable circumstances like space,room shortage and time shortage and moreover shortage of experience and knowledge i can not go for a hi tech tank at this moment...believe me i never knew the term diy,hi tech low tech,co2 diffuser,macro micro,laterite,soilrite and scaping hob filter etc just even 20 days back before i start reading this forum...thanks people out here..
Now my plan is:
1.tank :18" length,15" h 12"b no hood as of now.
2.filter: a top filter(big question)
3.substrate: collected garden soil from local nursery
Sufala from a local nursery,construction sand collected,as well white sand gravel bought 5 kg @ rs.38 pkg
As didnt get soilrite and didnt try for chetla near desher khabar still now(in formation as per the forum i collected )
Will go for a 3:1 garden soil and sufala and will make a 2" layer.top on that white sand and con sand 1.5"
4.rock and bogwood collected and processed as per diy(its like chto mukhey baro katha)
5.light :confused
6.plant: totally depended on your suggestion.low demand good looking for a illiterate like me. And their availabilty.
7.co2: not possible,hard about co2 tablet..suggest
8.micro macro no idea
9.no heater no chillr
Will wait fr ur close assistance....ur help my dream come true...

[vikramdutta]

Dear Mr. Nirmalya. Warm welcome to the hobby. As per me I think U should wait a little and study the journals as much as possible. If u do not study U will not be successful in growing plants and then U will be frustrated and will not continue in this hobby. This hobby requires a lot of patience and dedication. Though I am not an experienced person in this hobby and is a newbie, I hav learned that U have to b very patient and need to study a lot. The plants grow well in winters, so I will request you to start the tank in End October or November starting. This will be a good time to start. Till then learn as much as possible. If you do not hav the minimum of the ideas rather knowledge then u will be killing your plants which will hurt u a lot. Remember there is a huge science in making a planted tank. So learn as much as U can. Same advice was given to me by the senior members of this forum and I am doing the same. Not yet started the Main Tank Yet. Learning since last December.
god bless & All d best.

[netherwinterknights]

Start with a non planted tank, then gradually move to a planted tank.
Use regular pebble stone or chip gravel, add water, cycle your tank, then add fish. watch. In a non planted tank, add some ceratophyllum demersum (hornwort) plants. They do not need a substrate, and are floating plants. You can tie them onto some rocks, and they will grow automatically. No fertilizers required, no CO2 required, its just that easy.

Then after you know what fish need, and how to treat them, feeding habits, etc, you may start a planted tank.
decide between diy co2, and pressurized co2. Decide upon the substrate, and find good floor, background and foreground plants to grow in your tank.

Remember that a home aquarium is first and foremost, a place for fish to live in, whether it is planted or not, and your focus must be to keep the fish happy. A beautifully planted aquarium is worth zilch if the fish cannot remain happy in it.

[nirmalyawb1]

Thank you for your response....i appreciate....

[pulsarabhi]

Hi nirmalya, welcome to the hobby. As the experts have pointed out above, if you are new to fish keeping as a whole, you should probably first focus on having a successful fish tank, rather than a planted tank. Having said that, you can start fish keeping in your current tank, and go for another small, cheap or used tank for experimenting with plants. Planted tanks are lot of trial and error and by having separate tanks you are not jeopardizing your fish. And both your dreams can run in parallel :mrgreen:

Once you grasp the basics, you can plant your main tank and use the other one as a quarantine.

I started off this way, and before I knew it, I had too many tanks to handle But again, I could enjoy both the sides of the hobby.

Also, please do read up on concepts like nitrogen cycle, choice of fish, fish compatibility, food habits etc.
All the very best :mrgreen:

[SanamMarik]

A beautifully planted aquarium is worth zilch if the fish cannot remain happy in it.

I have to strongly disagree to this. I dont create a planted tank to keep fishes happy. most of my planted tanks are fishless. And what I have noticed, most of the high end planted tanks are usually fishless and while pictured, fishes are introduced for pics only. In any beautiful/well-balanced planted tank, some fish or the other will b at their best(if introduced). if no fish can fit in, then plants cannot either and hence not a planted tank. Its the other way around, habitats do not evolve for the species but species have to evolve for the habitat

A fishless planted is the best planted to me... Plants are the priority in my case, nt fishes. So the statement u made, will make more sense if u put 'imo' at the end coz its always a personal preference.

[vikramdutta]

Yes I do agree with sanam. But fishless tanks are incomplete. We should introduce those species who can survive in that tank environment. Plants may be a priority but you cannot ignore fauna. It will be like a palace without a king.

[SanamMarik]

Incomplete in what ways? The definition will vary from peraon ti person. Lets nt drag it further. We can talk abt it offline, not in this topic. All i wanted to convey is there is no hard nd fast rule that a planted tank should have fishes xcpt fr competitions. And the aim of a beginner shouldnt b winning awards but growing healthy plants.
That saying "success k piche mat vaago, excellence k piche vaago, success jhak marke piche aayegi"
And the prime example is one of our mods whose knowledge on planteds r mesmerizing.
To summarize-
Its upto the hobbyists. Let the hobbyist decide what he would do rather than us making it a rule for a beginner to follow.

For a beginner on EI low tech tanks, not keeping fishes is a good idea in my experience.

[Abhirup.mecho]

Fishless aquariums? Kac experts not keepng fshes atall these days is it?

[SanamMarik]

Its personal preference as i said. Bt fishless tanks r more stable nd healthy and easy too in my ideas.