# Top beginners' FAQs



## George Farmer (6 Sep 2008)

Simple really.  

What do you think the most common FAQs beginners have towards planted tanks?  Be as detailed as you like.


----------



## aaronnorth (6 Sep 2008)

1) what plants can i keep?
2) questions on lighting in general (levels, kelvin etc etc)
3) Which fertiliser shall i use?

do you have to give a short answer to these? (that question is not part of the thread lol)


----------



## Laffers83 (6 Sep 2008)

Being very new to the whole planted scene myself, Aaron has pretty much hit the nail on the head with the main questions that I found myself asking.  I would expand on the 'what plants can I keep' by making a list of both high light and low light selection of popular plants (would also be handy for beginners to know what is classed as low/high light).

I am assuming that George is looking to write one main FAQ for the beginner?  I personally find that most of the questions I needed to ask could be found by looking up stickies/using the search function.

One thing that might be handy to have would be an actual plant reference forum, much like the fish reference forum on TFF.  This makes it a lot easier for people to search when they have all the information they need in one particular place.  Someone (George for example) could make a standard template for people to stick to when writing a 'report' on a type of plant (light needed, difficulty to grow etc) to which other users could then add comments and pictures of the named plant in their tank.

One more thing that could be handy would be to get a FAQ reference page where people can do to find instant links to certain tutorials/guides currently written within the forum.


----------



## aaronnorth (6 Sep 2008)

plant index has been discussed here: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=2739


----------



## bugs (6 Sep 2008)

> What should I be asking?



I thought someone had already written an article as an introduction for someone new to planted tanks. Those FAQ's not already answered in the article should perhaps be incorporated in to the article rather than duplicate in another form?

Alternatively, add links to pre-saved (forum) searches (e.g. "substrate", "lighting", "filter", "CO2", "El Natural") to encourage new people to learn the benefits of searching as a start point.


----------



## George Farmer (6 Sep 2008)

aaronnorth said:
			
		

> 1) what plants can i keep?
> 2) questions on lighting in general (levels, kelvin etc etc)
> 3) Which fertiliser shall i use?
> 
> do you have to give a short answer to these? (that question is not part of the thread lol)



That's the sort of post I'm after, thanks Aaron.


----------



## aaronnorth (6 Sep 2008)

Another good one is

Which substrate is best?/ What substrate shall i use?


----------



## Thomas McMillan (6 Sep 2008)

1. Do I need to use fertizers? Which one?
2. Do need to use CO2? How to use CO2.
3. Lighting levels, explanation of T5/T8/HO etc.
4. Which plants can I keep?
5. Which would be the best filter to use?

That's all I can think of, hope this helps.


----------



## GreenNeedle (6 Sep 2008)

Im not too keen on seperating the plants into high and low light as many of us are finding that we can grow the high light plants perfectly well in low light.  I think for the beginner easy plants and not so easy is a better way of describing them and even then what I find easy may not be so easy for others and vice versa.

One thing that I think beginners FAQ is often about bps etc which is always the open ended question for all of us.

There could be a post of recommended off the shelf products as a lot of newbies prefer to use these to begin with rather than dive into making up their own.

Another question I often see is about air stones and surface agitation.  Again an open ended question really but as can be explained.

AC


----------



## a1Matt (7 Sep 2008)

suggested search topics sounds like a great idea to me.
On top of all the other suggestions an outline of what hardware is needed would be good in a beginners FAQ (IMHO).


----------



## Laffers83 (7 Sep 2008)

Another thing useful would be 'ideal fish for the planted aquarium' and why.


----------



## Fred Dulley (7 Sep 2008)

"Arent planted tanks expensive?"
"Wont CO2 harm the fish?"


----------



## JamesM (7 Sep 2008)

When should I add plants?

Someone asked this @ my local MA the other day. The reply was "in around 3 weeks after the tank has warmed up and cycled." I felt like jumping in and saying something, but didn't have time to take on the argumentative manager. He is right all the time, after all


----------



## nickyc (7 Sep 2008)

I kind of agree with bugs, but...

The question Clive seems to answer time after time is 'why do i have algae?'

PS Hope you're keeping ok George


----------



## Ray (8 Sep 2008)

Is this for a revamp of the forum or for your book George?  How is the book coming along, you are halfway though your stint out there now, so half done?


----------



## chump54 (8 Sep 2008)

Hi 

A link to George's video on PFK... helped me loads!

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/blog.php?blogid=180

Thanks   

Chris


----------



## Laffers83 (8 Sep 2008)

chump54 said:
			
		

> Hi
> 
> A link to George's video on PFK... helped me loads!
> 
> ...



Bit off topic I know but just had a look at this video and its well worth a view - I know it has taught me a few things.

Asking for video lessons on things for the forums on a regular basis would probably be pushing it a bit though 

Product reviews for basic planted gear such as Substrates, Filters etc could be handy too although would obviously take quite a long time for it to get going.


----------



## Ray (8 Sep 2008)

Actually, I think a video of Clive explaining EI to someone would be priceless.    

And unboxing video reviews of things like filters could be quite cool too - but a lot of work.


----------



## ceg4048 (8 Sep 2008)

See "Hellboy II - The Golden Army" - basically very similar data presentation, especially the scene in the Troll Market...   


Cheers,


----------



## PM (9 Sep 2008)

I reckon it would be useful to show what equipment you need to setup in different styles, (ie high/low tech routes and other alternatives, maybe shrimp tank etc).

And a commitment chart type thing (showing WC, cleaning, pruning, running costs etc).

When I began this I never knew I would have to work *so* hard to achieve anything like what I saw in for example Amano's books, and in heinsight I would have gone a low tech route if I knew then what I know now!


----------



## Egmel (9 Sep 2008)

There is already a step by step on how to set up a hightech tank.  This is great.

There are already tutorials on lighting, co2, EI etc.

An FAQ for this site should perhaps contain a small primer on each subject with a link to the tutorials and then a 'further information' link to either sub forums or searches (eg CO2 Diffusers, CO2 Reactors, Lighting Reflectors...)

If it's for the book then...

Why should I have Live Plants?
Ok, you convinced me, but what's all this about high tech and low tech?
Pretty plants but why all this algae?

Lighting
So I need loads of lighting?
Do I need special plant lamps?

CO2
Wont it poison my fish?
How much should I add?
How do I monitor it?
DIY vs Pressurised?
Diffuser or Reactor?

Fertilisers
What do all the chemical symbols mean?
Macros and traces? 
How much do I need to add?
Powders vs liquids?

Substrates
Do I need a special substrate?
Should I layer different types?

Maintenance
So what do I need to do to keep it looking beautiful?
Why do you plant with tweezers?!
How do I prune Plants?
How do I attach plants to rocks and wood?
Help my plant is struggling/deforming/dying!

Fauna
Is there such a thing as an algae crew?
Which snails are plant friendly?
So many shrimps, which ones work best in a planted tank?
What fish should be avoided in a heavily planted tank?


----------



## PM (9 Sep 2008)

I know it's an FAQ, but many of the above questions can be answered with a single word.

I think it would be better to properly explain the differences between different setups, and I think that maintenance is the most important part (that's the part the manufacturers don't tell you about when you are spending hundreds on their products).


----------



## Egmel (9 Sep 2008)

PM said:
			
		

> I know it's an FAQ, but many of the above questions can be answered with a single word.


Of course they can, as can 'Should I use control coupling to make my code more versatile?' the answer is usually no but it doesn't explain what control coupling is or why it's not usually the good idea it sounds (sorry if you're an expert programmer it was just the first example that came to mind!)

When looking at an FAQ you need to stop thinking like someone who knows the answers and start thinking like someone who's just starting out, when they ask that question it shows a gap in the understanding which is what you need to fill with an FAQ.

Well that's my 2p anyway


----------



## beeky (16 Sep 2008)

That's very true Egmel. Many questions we can think of, such as referring to high tech, low tech, CO2 etc might not even occur to people who want plants in their tank as they may not even know that plants need CO2 or have come across the terms high tech and low tech.

That age old question about fertilizers is a good question to answer IMO:

"I've always been told that nitrate is bad for my fish, why should I be adding it to my tank?"

and on similar lines....

"Everyone knows nitrate and phosphate causes algae, why should I be adding it to my tank?"


I've always thought that a good structure for a book would be to split it into two. The first half is more of a step by step for beginners, this is what you should do to get started kind of thing building up from low tech to a high tech setup with guidelines on why you might want to add more "tech" and the second half would be more theory and technical which would give the reasons we do certain things, e.g. why clay substrates work, cations, EI with powders, photosynthesis etc. I think in this way, a beginner won't be bamboozled with technical jargon. If K2SO4 and PO4 were thrown in at the start many people would give up before they got started.

I've rambled enough I think....


----------



## bugs (16 Sep 2008)

I wasn't joking when I previously wrote:


> What should I ask



...as a FAQ.


----------



## teg1203 (16 Sep 2008)

Okay George what about:



> "I have already kept a few fish in a community tank but now want to progress to a planted tank. Unfortunately I'm not loaded with cash. What small improvements can I make to get plants growing healthily? Is there a list of things I could introduce sequentially so that i can work my way towards a planted setup, without breaking the bank?"



I feel that a lot of people are being put off by the high-tech approach in terms of cost so perhaps you could set out a sequence of "aspiration" where small steps would get results.


----------

