There, I said it.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, for many enthusiasts a full reef aquarium is literally the holy grail of the hobby. If you have the time and the money.
And ‘nano’ saltwater tanks aren’t any less of a hastle and often cost nearly as much as their larger counterparts, especially when you consider the ‘upgrades’ that many require right from the get-go.
But we’re not here to talk about ‘Marine’ systems today, oh no! It’s Freshwater Planted today; No rules, no snobbery, just plants.
Almost everybody starts out with fish by going to a freshwater tank. In North America, that almost always ends up being a ‘Kit’ tank with poor lighting, a so-so filter and inevitably, plastic or other ‘inert’ pea-size gravel. Some plants can actually do ok in these setups, things like Java Moss, some Vals and Anubias, Green Wendtii Crypts are also known to survive (but not flourish) in inert gravel substrates.
The ‘American’ aquarium style as opposed to the ‘European’: American style aquariums generally mean Hang on Back (HoB) powerfilters, epoxy coated gravels and silly ornaments (Ceramic skulls, treasure chests and cartoonish marine life spring to mind). European tanks, as they are called here, tend to involve real rock and driftwood, fine-grained or sandy substrates and real plants. They also tend to be known for better lighting than the usual North American kit tanks and better filtration.
Now, before people start declaiming me for putting down the Hang on Back filter, they do work, they work very well for their intended purpose, which is filtering over stocked tanks that recieve too little in the way of water changes and have no nutrient (nitrate) export mediums (plants, algae).
The surprising thing for a lot of people is that it’s not much more to set up a planted tank than a fake looking box of water with fish in it. It’s also a lot more beneficial to the fish, as they’re not living over neon colored substrates and hiding in gaudy, artificial caves.
Please note: Certain fish, like most African Cichlids, Silver Dollars and others will simply look at plants and go “Mmm! Salad”, so research your livestock beforehand!
So, starting with a planted tank…. Let’s look at the ever-popular 20 gallon ‘High’ tank that comes in kits. Most people choose this size simply because it’s the one that includes a heater in the package, most manufactures don’t bother adding a heater to 5 and 10 gallon kits.
So, most kits are a ‘deal’. The popular brand in Canada is the Tetra 20g Kit. It comes with a 13watt fluorescent canopy, 100w ‘Tetra’ brand heater, ‘Tetra’ 20g HoB filter (recently upgraded… much better design in my opinion) and of course, a 20g ‘High’ all-glass moulded-trim tank. (24″ long tank) This kit is often had for around $129-139 Canadian Dollars, plus applicable taxes. To this, you have to add a 20lb bag of aquarium gravel, all your fake plants and ornaments and so forth. Count on spending at least $200
Now, let’s break it down for making your own planted tank from scratch.
Tank – $20-40, on average. (look for sales at Pet Co and the like, avoid buying Used unless you have a good deal of experience). It’s often worth it to buy this from a specialty aquarium store. It might cost you a few dollars more, but they will have better quality that Wal-Mart and are generally better at helping if you encounter a problem with your tank (cracking, leaking).
Heater – $25-50, dependant on brand and quality. Never go for ‘Bargin Basement’ brands, (ie. Hagen Elite) good deals can often be had from online retailers (ie. Big Als, MOPS, JLAquatics, for all you Canadians) Recently, Big Als had a 100 watt Rena Cal Top on for $19.99 (very good heater in my experience). Don’t discount your local brick and mortar store either though, it’s not a truely expensive component, so spend the extra few dollars and support your local economy.
Lighing – $60-$???, This is where it bites most people, lighing looks very pricey. On the other hand, buying it once and buying it right is cheap. Now, i’m not going to lie. This is an extremely hotly debated subject with planted tank enthusiasts. Power Compact versus T5 High Output versus a dozen other options never fails to get people riled. In my own experience, Coralife and Current USA both put out good fixtures. Overall, if I was to do everything from scratch, I would choose a Current USA fixture and probably go for a 2×24 watt T5 High Output fixture. It’s not the cheapest, but buying cheap can bite you. Remeber though, smaller bulb diamters put out more light per watt and you want good reflectors behind your bulbs. Buy a reputable brand!
Canopy $10-20, Trust me, spend a few bucks and get a decent glass top, or at the very least use ‘egg crate’ plastic material to make a top. Fish will jump.
Filtration :$20-$200, Remember where I said ‘Hang on Back’ type filters aren’t the best for planted tanks?. The reason behind that is because ‘cartridge’ type media (standard for all HoB types except the Hagen Aquaclear) You don’t always want to run Carbon in a planted tank. This might sound backwards, but there is a method to the madness. Carbon can suck vital nutrients out of the water too, most people will run carbon very sparingly, or use Purigen or many other other resin-absorbant instead of standard carbon. Using a cartridge means you have to use the carbon that comes with it. The Aquaclear filters and the Tetra EX series are good, because with Aquaclears you can customize what you put in the fitler basket, and with the Tetra series, it’s easy enough to make up your own cartrige using craft canvas and bonded filter pad. Canisters are an even better option, but much more costly. Other options like Under Gravel fitlers, sponge filters and so forth are better described by more knowlegeable people, sufficed to say, sponge filters and undergravel generally do not belong on planted tanks.
Rough cost on a 20g planted tank setup is between $150 and $225 without anything in it yet. It all depends on how much of a rush you are in and how quickly you go in chosing your components. The longer you look for good deals, the lower the cost will be, generally.
Now, this is the part that surprises people.
Substrate – $4-$60, That’s right. you can get away with nothing buy Silica play sand. It’s very helpful to add in laterite and so forth, but not strictly needed. Other options are better described over at plantedtank.net. sufficed to say, it can be one heck of a lot cheaper than epoxy coated gravel, and look a lot more natural!
Decorations (Hardscape)
Driftwood $5-20 per piece, one big piece should cost about $15 or so. Good place to anchor certain plants
Stone $0-8 per pound… be careful that it is non-reactive.
Plants $2-10 each, very dependant on species. Some will be even less expensive. You can even find ‘free’ plants if you live on a decent waterway; American Vals and Canadian Anacharis are both common in local waterways and dead easy to grow, you can usually find decent specimens washed up on the shore 
All in all, a plant tank could cost you 250-300, depending on what you chose to do. So for an extra $50 over the ‘fake’ look, you could have a beautiful, natrual looking aquarium.
