How to Set Up a Low-Tech Planted Aquarium: A Beginner's Step-by-Step

Setting up your first planted tank is easier than it looks. You don’t need CO₂ or expensive gear — just a sensible plan and forgiving plants. Here’s a beginner-friendly, low-tech setup you can follow step by step.

1. Choose your tank and light

Any tank from a nano to a community size works. A basic LED aquarium light running 8–9 hours a day is plenty for low-tech plants.

2. Add substrate

Use an aquarium plant substrate or a layer of inert gravel/sand. Rooted plants like Cryptocoryne and Vallisneria appreciate a nutrient-rich base or root tabs.

3. Add hardscape

Driftwood and rock give structure — and crucially, surfaces for epiphytes. Arrange them before planting.

4. Add easy plants

Start with forgiving, low-light plants: attach Anubias, Java fern and moss and Bucephalandra to your hardscape (never bury the rhizome), and plant Cryptocoryne or Vallisneria in the substrate. See our best beginner plants guide.

5. Fill, cycle and stock

Fill with dechlorinated water, run your filter, and cycle the tank for a few weeks before adding fish. Dose a liquid fertiliser weekly and do regular water changes.