ideas?

[sweetshannon]

I have an empty 80 gallon with no idea what to do with it. I LOVE heavily planted tanks, but have NO experience with them.
If I get c02 and lots of fast growing plants, will algae be a problem?
I was thinking LOTS of plants with a few fresh water puffs.
Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. I hate a dark, empty tank!
:Fish_tank:

[Cincy Ranchu]

I really prefer Anubias, they grow rather slowly but the plants in my Jikin 125 gallon tank, have been set up for more than a decade, probably closer to 15 years. They also do not require much ,if any gravel.... I also like Ceratophuylim and Anacharis, and Java fern and Java moss. They all grow under CF Bulbs.
Pics could be arranged

[thomasn]

go for it!

I suggest ads amazonia type 1, pressurized CO2 with reactor, ferts, RO water, tek lights ... do you have a favorite planting style or an idea of what you want your tank to look like?

algae might be a problem at first but once you get going, it shouldn't be but if it is, something is out of whack.

[sweetshannon]

I WOULD LOVE pics.........
I like the look of an underwater jungle. A few rocks and layers of small and large plants. Should I use phosphate absorbers in my filters? I assume I have high phosphates due to my brown algae. I am still confused about things, but am sure I ill figure it out as I go along.

[thomasn]

phosphate absorbers - wait on this and see if you have problems, there are better ways to use your money. I'm not a hardcore planted tank person. The main thing is stable CO2 source and once you do that, you can have a lot more leeway with lights and ferts. a good substrate, either ADA amazonia or eco-complete, will also help to make things easier too.

These links will give a good source of inspiration.

Grand prize works from the International Aquatic plant Layout contest
http://en.iaplc.com/about/gp_works.html

The International Aquaticplant Layout Contest 2008
http://www.adana-th.com/limagegal/thumnail/2008.htm


http://www.akwarium.org/main2.php
http://www.akwarium.org/_img/ADA2001/1_01d.jpg

[jinyu_fan]

I have a low light planted tank (12 gallons) with java moss, java fern, sunset hygro, anubias nana petite on wood and about 4 different kinds of crypts. I don't have enough leisure time to deal with a high tech tank. You may want to check out these sites:
http://www.plantedtank.net/
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/

[sweetshannon]

Thanks so much for the advice and links.:angel::angel:

[demdamdemekins]

Plant heavily with fast growing stem plants and include some floaters during the beginning. If you start injecting co2 right away and keep it steady, then you should have minimal algae problems. ADA amazona is a great great substrate, but must be properly cycled because it leaches a large amount of ammonia during the beginning stages. Eco complete and flourite are both also very serviceable substrates that happen to be muuuch cheaper and don't come with the ammonia issues. I shiver to think of how much money enough ADA substrate for an 80 gallon would cost.

Here are some other useful links.
www.rexgrigg.com
www.aquatic-eden.com
and my favorite general knowledge aquaria site on the web www.aquariacentral.com

[thomasn]

the Barr Report is also a good forum for more advanced issues and discussions.
http://www.barrreport.com/