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There are a few different freshwater aquarium setups, but none greater than the planted aquarium. A fully planted freshwater aquarium is a beautiful sight, making the tank look like more than an aquarium... It becomes an ecosystem. Plants are more than just attractive aquarium decor, they provide oxygen and hiding places for all of the tanks inhabitants.

Natural freshwater plants certainly make a tank look so much more beautiful and authentic than plastic plants. I used to have a lot of them in my own aquarium a long time ago. The problem I had was I got the plants from a spring system near Wakulla, and a small stream nearby. They had different light needs, and while they were all wild versions of common aquarium plants, I couldn't keep them all alive. As they started to die and decay, the tank built up tannic acid from the plant matter and layers of silt from the biodebris. The water ended up stained yellow and the bottom was covered in mud. I pretty much had to restart the whole ecosystem. At this point I pretty much resolved to give up on natural plants. I might have had a different experience if I used normal store bought plants.

How hard is it to keep normal store bought aquarium plants alive? Do they need any external natural lighting or will the fluorescent bulbs in the aquarium hood be enough to keep a plant growing and healthy? Are there any kinds of plants you recommend?

Your experience with using aquarium plants in your system is an unfortunate one, but it can be taken as a lesson. Tannic acid won't harm your fish, and definitely not your plants. It will only make the tank appear dirty or yellow. Tannic acid is the result of decomposing plant matter in your aquarium. One way to avoid this is to trim your plants. Remove all dead leaves from the plants and the surface of your substrate. Another good thing to have is a cory catfish. They are bottom feeders and generally do a good job at keeping your sand/gravel clear of debris.

 Another important thing you mentioned was the light requirements for each of the plant species you collected. When it comes to aquarium plants, the highest light requirement you'll encounter is about 4 watts per gallon. Most plants need about 2 wpg. There are some websites that will describe the light requirements of each individual plant species available in the aquarium trade. Use that to determine which ones you are able to keep with the lighting you have. Metal halide lamps and power compact lights are good choices for plants. They have a higher output and they degrade slower than regular flourescents. Even if your lighting appears to be bright, if your bulbs are too old, they may have already lost their spectrum. The spectrum of the bulbs you choose is more important than the intensity. If the bulbs you have put out the wrong spectrum for plant growth, your plants won't be able to convert the light into photosynthetic energy as efficiently as they would with the correct ones. Generally, for power compact bulbs, the spectrum you want would be at or around 6,700K. I find that most people that want to keep a planted aquarium buy a special lighting system specifically for their plants.

One last thing to consider is CO2. Diffused CO2 will promote plant growth in your aquarium. Buying a CO2 diffuser is not necessary, but will greatly improve your chances for successfully keeping your plants green and healthy. You may also want to throw in some nitrate tablets beneath your plants to get the roots to grow out further. This will fertilize your plants, thus making them grow larger and fuller.

And remember, the plants that you put into your aquarium were collected from the wild. This is generally not a bad thing, but sometimes you may introduce unwelcome species to your aquarium unknowingly, such as some species of fungi and bad bacteria that may host your store bought plants and maybe even your fish.

I have collected plants from a wild pond and dealt with a type of fungus that engulfed a few plants and a dead fish in a white furry mess. After a few water changes, and luckily, the introduction of ghost shrimp, I had it under control. Now, I haven't seen any of that in over a month and a half.

I hope this answered your questions. If you have any more, throw them my way.

What are your recommendations for dealing with fungus and bacteria regulation? I was cleaning out my tank last night and opened up the filter. I was shocked to see white fuzz growing at the waterline under the lid. I have a lot of fish and they have been breeding, so I feed them very well. Unfortunately I think the abundant food supply has inspired a bacteria bloom which seemed to be stressing out my fish.

First of all, what's the best way to prevent this from happening in the future, and secondly how do I deal with the problem now that it's happening? I cleaned off the visible growth and changed about 25% of the water. I also put in some of that antifungal medicine to try to cleanse the whole ecosystem. Should I cut back on the food supply to try to limit the bacterial growth too? Is there anything else I should be doing?