Below is a list of some useful things I’ve learnt in the past year since getting into planted tanks, plus some general observations (if you take this hobby very seriously and are easily offended, look away now).
1. Plant tweezers – you think you don’t need them, you’ve got fingers, they cost £8 for God’s sake. You’re wrong. You do need them. Get some.
2. Whatever set up you have right now, you can create a great looking planted tank. Don’t think you have to spend more money to achieve something good. I’ve spent money upgrading my basic set up – more light, big external filter - and now they’ve been ebayed and I’m back with what it came with.
3. So, more light/fertiliser/co2 is not necessarily better.
4. As a beginner who needs information, forums are a double edged sword – there’s loads of information with very helpful and knowledgeable people willing to share their experience. But there also lots of stuff that’s irrelevant to your situation and just makes you worried. Find a good single source of info on lighting, fertilisers, co2 etc – the best I’ve found were the articles on http://support.co2art.co.uk/ . They hit the right balance between detail and accessibility to give you a foundation. I have no idea if they are correct mind you.
5. When you buy plants, split them into mini plantlets before you plant them. This is a no-brainer for anyone with any experience but a revelation to the rank beginner.
6. Substrate! You don’t actually have to spend £40 on a bag of Amazonia or whatever – pond compost, cat litter, even soil out of your garden are all far cheaper alternatives. Substrate ballast! Old tights stuffed with sand/gravel/cat litter to bulk up and provide height and foundation. Don’t pile your £40 substrate 6 inches deep, it’s a waste. Don’t spend money on plastic substrate ‘retainers’, cut up a milk bottle. I found out all these things too late.
7. This hobby is essentially trainspotting. Imagine your partner is a trainspotter and they are talking to you about trainspotting. You’re bored. You want them to stop. You’re worrying they might not be the person you thought they were. You’re wondering whether you still love them as much… This is you talking about your tank. Tread with care. (If you actually are a trainspotter, sorry, the stereotyping must be annoying).
8. Some people plan their tanks extensively and draw diagrams using Illustrator and Photoshop. That’s fine. It’s also fine to draw the plan in your head when you are walking the dog and then fanny about with some stones you found in the garden.
9. The hobby seems to attract quite a few amateur (and professional) engineers and chemists. If you are not one of these people then their talk of TDS, GK, PO3H and God knows what is baffling and intimidating. And when you see they’ve linked up their laptop to monitor every water parameter across 10 tanks you will feel like a failure. Don’t feel this way. I’m sure it can help if you're trying something tricky, but there appears no need for this level of knowledge to achieve a good looking tank. Of course, if that sort of thing floats your boat then go nuts, the sky’s the limit, GPS tag your fish! I'm just jealous i don't understand.
10. Buying rock. Is this really necessary? There is a LOT of free rock out there. Someone somewhere is laughing long and hard that that they can get £5 a kilo for some stone. Same goes for wood (although I have bought this, it was a nice bit though, really twisty, so that’s ok…).
11. Naming your aquascape. This is dangerous territory in my view. If you’d be comfortable telling your mates in the pub that your latest project is called “Grotto of the Water Nymphs”/”Wizards Sleeve”/”An Enchanted Stroll” or whatever then all power to your elbow. My mate’s would most likely punch me in the head.
12. Work’s stressful. Why not get a hobby, take your mind off things. Those aquariums look nice, I’ll do that. So now instead of waking in the middle of the night thinking about reports and deadlines you wake in the middle of the night wondering if the angle of the rock on the right is just right, why your Anubias leaves are a funny colour, how you’ll get rid of that bloody algae and have you optimized your flow. Congratulations, you’ve exchanged one set of stressful problems you get paid to deal with, with another that actually costs you money. FFS.
I’m sure you’ll have more insights.
1. Plant tweezers – you think you don’t need them, you’ve got fingers, they cost £8 for God’s sake. You’re wrong. You do need them. Get some.
2. Whatever set up you have right now, you can create a great looking planted tank. Don’t think you have to spend more money to achieve something good. I’ve spent money upgrading my basic set up – more light, big external filter - and now they’ve been ebayed and I’m back with what it came with.
3. So, more light/fertiliser/co2 is not necessarily better.
4. As a beginner who needs information, forums are a double edged sword – there’s loads of information with very helpful and knowledgeable people willing to share their experience. But there also lots of stuff that’s irrelevant to your situation and just makes you worried. Find a good single source of info on lighting, fertilisers, co2 etc – the best I’ve found were the articles on http://support.co2art.co.uk/ . They hit the right balance between detail and accessibility to give you a foundation. I have no idea if they are correct mind you.
5. When you buy plants, split them into mini plantlets before you plant them. This is a no-brainer for anyone with any experience but a revelation to the rank beginner.
6. Substrate! You don’t actually have to spend £40 on a bag of Amazonia or whatever – pond compost, cat litter, even soil out of your garden are all far cheaper alternatives. Substrate ballast! Old tights stuffed with sand/gravel/cat litter to bulk up and provide height and foundation. Don’t pile your £40 substrate 6 inches deep, it’s a waste. Don’t spend money on plastic substrate ‘retainers’, cut up a milk bottle. I found out all these things too late.
7. This hobby is essentially trainspotting. Imagine your partner is a trainspotter and they are talking to you about trainspotting. You’re bored. You want them to stop. You’re worrying they might not be the person you thought they were. You’re wondering whether you still love them as much… This is you talking about your tank. Tread with care. (If you actually are a trainspotter, sorry, the stereotyping must be annoying).
8. Some people plan their tanks extensively and draw diagrams using Illustrator and Photoshop. That’s fine. It’s also fine to draw the plan in your head when you are walking the dog and then fanny about with some stones you found in the garden.
9. The hobby seems to attract quite a few amateur (and professional) engineers and chemists. If you are not one of these people then their talk of TDS, GK, PO3H and God knows what is baffling and intimidating. And when you see they’ve linked up their laptop to monitor every water parameter across 10 tanks you will feel like a failure. Don’t feel this way. I’m sure it can help if you're trying something tricky, but there appears no need for this level of knowledge to achieve a good looking tank. Of course, if that sort of thing floats your boat then go nuts, the sky’s the limit, GPS tag your fish! I'm just jealous i don't understand.
10. Buying rock. Is this really necessary? There is a LOT of free rock out there. Someone somewhere is laughing long and hard that that they can get £5 a kilo for some stone. Same goes for wood (although I have bought this, it was a nice bit though, really twisty, so that’s ok…).
11. Naming your aquascape. This is dangerous territory in my view. If you’d be comfortable telling your mates in the pub that your latest project is called “Grotto of the Water Nymphs”/”Wizards Sleeve”/”An Enchanted Stroll” or whatever then all power to your elbow. My mate’s would most likely punch me in the head.
12. Work’s stressful. Why not get a hobby, take your mind off things. Those aquariums look nice, I’ll do that. So now instead of waking in the middle of the night thinking about reports and deadlines you wake in the middle of the night wondering if the angle of the rock on the right is just right, why your Anubias leaves are a funny colour, how you’ll get rid of that bloody algae and have you optimized your flow. Congratulations, you’ve exchanged one set of stressful problems you get paid to deal with, with another that actually costs you money. FFS.
I’m sure you’ll have more insights.
Now I know why.Thank you 
Likin 9 a lot too