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 aquarium plants that don’t need CO₂. Here’s a beginner-friendly, low-tech setup you can follow step by step.
Quick answer: A low-tech planted tank needs no CO2: run a basic LED 8–9 hours a day, lay plant substrate or inert gravel, and arrange driftwood and rock first. Attach Anubias, Java fern, moss and Bucephalandra to the hardscape (never bury the rhizome) and plant Cryptocoryne or Vallisneria in the substrate. Fill with dechlorinated water, cycle the tank for a few weeks before adding fish, then dose a liquid fertiliser weekly and keep up regular water changes.
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.
6. Be patient
Low-tech tanks grow slowly and steadily. Don’t chase a carpet on day one — let your easy plants establish, and the tank will fill in beautifully.
Ready to plant? Browse our full collection — healthy, hand-picked and delivered across India with a live-arrival guarantee.
Anubias Nana
₹90
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Anubias Barteri var glabra
₹90
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Java Ferns (Microsorum pteropus)
₹175
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