Need info for planted pico

[Beano1169]

Hey, I am going to start a 2.65 gallon planted aquarium for a awesome looking betta. I am going to attempt to design this tank as such

http://www.aquascapingworld.com/threads/our-preciousss-by-adist.3873/

this idea is so cool, however I have never done a planted aquarium this elaborate. I am hoping for some advice on the types of substrate, Co2 injectors, types of plants, lighting essentials, flow and filtration needs, and possibly some ideas on how to actually pull this off. hope to hear some feed back! thanks

[neoh]

are you trying to pull off the same tank?

the whole setup is in that thread.

If your planning on just doing something different, I would recommend eco complete substrate, which has your nutrients. He uses silica sand, which is inert but requires manual dosing of nutrients (kno3, k2so4, P04, etc.) dosing carbon instead of co2 injection (overkill for that size of tank) or a diy co2 would work. It's not that difficult to do, either. You can dose flourish excel, it should work and last a long time.

If your looking for a grass like substance, if you have the right lighting, you can consider a dwarf hair grass, dwarf val or blyxa japonica. Another carpeting plant is HC or glosso stigma.

Lighting should be about 3-4w/g - so a 15w bulb would work. You can pick up a daylight bulb from Loews or home depot, as long as it has 6500k it should do the trick. I picked up a light from Loews for $8 that has the right spectrum, just grab a gooseneck clip light and that will be good enough.

You don't really need much flow, planted tanks and fish alike don't need flow, your basic filtration system would add enough. Flow in a planted tank is needed to distribute nutrients around the tank.

I would ask local forms or find local people who have planted tanks - or your LFS. You can actually buy that Fissidens moss on eBay for pretty cheap.

Planted tanks are all about light and CO2. So, start there. A lot of plants don't require as much CO2 as others. It's just about researching the ones you want to have and figure out where to go from there.

[Beano1169]

thanks very much that helps me out a lot I have been doing some research as well. I would just curious on what types of things to look for as well as making sure this isn't as hard as I thought

[neoh]

It's not that difficult. It just takes patience, like most of the hobby asks for.

[verongome]

It is truly time consuming and yes unless you really have patience or use it like hobby you will need lot of time to finish it. But it will be worth the effort.

[JmeJReefer]

Speed kills! Slowly! Freshwater setups are deadly easy if u know Wut plants u want, how much light and nutrients they require, and a good substrate. A nice layer of nutrient rich substrate underneath a small layer of regular aquarium gravel to keep the lighter plant substrate down. Carbon dosing will work well in a small setup. C02 can be bulky sometimes. Carpeting plants need a lot of light, so a good 6500k-8000k are ideal spectrums for plants. Common hardware stores will carry lights. Another route is led with these wavelengths. Cost efficient! Minimal flow. Mimicking slow rivers and pools will make all inhabitants happier.
Good luck!