There has been a lot written on the Internet about how to look after fish but not on how to keep and maintain your plants.
This article can be used as a guide in setting up an aquarium for growing healthy plants and also help those that are experiencing problems by giving them some ideas on what to do. I will not go into details about the choice of lighting for planted aquariums has this has been covered in detail in its own section.
   Facts.

A.	All you need is some common sense {yes most people have it but few use it}.
B.	You will find it hard growing the more upmarket plants if the substrate  in your tank is just gravel. Sure, plants like Elodia and the like will grow, but here we are talking about growing the plants that will make your tank a pleasure to view and something worthwhile showing to your friends when they visit.
C.	You do not need a science degree to grow healthy plants in an aquarium. I think sometimes a science degree is a hindrance to some people because they get bogged down in all the details as they try to take absolutely everything into account.

   Two methods of achieving this.
     No1. The best method is to start with a bare tank {nothing in it}.
     No2. The other method is with an established tank {may not be as successful, but it will still give you a better result than what you have now}.
     Bonus. Maximizing plant growth.

No1
So lets start with the bare tank example first,which is the way that I setup my tanks and many other plant enthusiasts that I know setup their tanks as well.
 To begin with you will need the following; Laterite about 100 grams per 45cm square of tank surface, some premium potting mix {NOT BLOOD & BONE}, some coarse river sand and 3-5mm gravel.

1.	I use a undergravel heater but this is not a necessity, so between it and the base of the tank I have about 10mm of coarse river sand, then cover the cable with another 10mm of sand.
2.	I then add about 4-5cm of potting mix on top of it and if you have some Laterite , mix thoroughly then spread evenly.
3.	Add 1-2cm of river sand on top and spread evenly, this acts has a barrier in reducing the amount of leaching that the mulch and potting mix release into the tank.
4.	Finally we add 4-5cm of 3-5mm gravel on top, the gravel is there purely to hold the plants down while they are taking root.
5.	Once this has been done you can slowly start filling your tank with water, care should be taken at this time by placing a plate or bowl where the water is landing to avoid the substrate from being disturbed.
6.	The tank filling process is done in three stages.
	1st.	Fill only 1/4 of the tank with water adding some waterager/conditioner at the same time {like Wardley TRI-START}.
	2nd.	Leave the tank to settle for several days if it is a new tank, if not a few hours will do. {yes I know this is hard to do but this gives everything time to settle down}.
	3rd.	During this time make a rough drawing of your tank and where you intend on placing your plants and any other features that you plan to place in your tank like driftwood or rocks. Note driftwood if dry will float so it is best to soak it in a drum for a week, place a brick or rock on top of it to keep it fully submerged. This will also help since most timber will leach {release particles into the water column changing the color of the water to browny red} during this time. Note! Bunch plants tend to grow fairly quickly and should be placed at the back of the tank with other tall plants like Vale & Bolbitis and smaller plants like Anubia's and Crypts towards the front. Plants like {Java fern, Windelov, Anubia's & Bolbitis are grown on volcanic rock or driftwood}. Large leaf plants {Swords} should be planted in the middle section of the aquarium to give them room to spread out {see example below}.
7.	You can now add your plants and other ornaments like driftwood and rocks, when you have completed planting you can finish filling the tank remembering! to add some waterager/conditioner.
8.	You can now turn your filter on. The canister filter should circulate the total volume of water in your tank at least twice every hour. For example if your setting up a 180cm x 60cm x 60cm tank, the total water volume is 650litres so your canister filter should circulate at least 1,300 litre's of water per hour.
9.	When setting up an aquarium like this, it is normal to wait about 2 weeks before you can add any fish to it. This give the biological media in the canister filter time to grow healthy bacteria.
10.	You should check the pH of the water before adding fish, it should be between 6.6 and 7.8, once the tank has settled. For optimum plant growth a pH of 6.8 & 7.2 should be aim for and can be achieved by CO2 injection or using Sodium Bicarbonate to up the pH up or Sodium Biphosphate to reduce the pH.
11.	When you start adding fish, add only a few fish every 4-5 days to allow the biological filter to cope with the extra fish. This might seem to be a long time to wait, but the end result will be well worth it.
12.	You should do a 20% water change every two week, this helps by removing some of the excess nutrients from the tank and replacing it with fresh water {like opening the windows in a smelly room to let some fresh air in}. Remember to always add some waterager/conditioner to the water when replacing it.

The tank will take about 4 to 6 weeks to settled down and during this time it is advisable to check the pH every two days. It is also a good idea to add carbon into your canister filter during the first 6 weeks has the carbon will help to remove the extra nutrients that leach into the water at the start and act has a buffer. When the sixth week is finished remove the carbon from the canister filter and check the pH, GH general hardness and KH carbonate hardness.
After 2 months I started using Dinosaur Pee, this is a liquid fertilizer that is added at a rate of three drops per twenty litre's once a week to the water. This fertilizer is used as a supplement and is mainly for the plants that do not come into contact with the other two or are above the substrate like Anubia's and the various fern's {Java,Windelov,Bolbitis}. There are other products that do a similar job and these are listed further down.
In winter June to Aug I have a 300w heater in the tank set at 24°.
The following results were taken at the end of the six weeks from my 180cm x 60cm x 60cm tank:
pH 7.4, GH 160ppm, KH 110ppm.

The same tests were taken on 2/07/01 when the tank was six months old:
pH 7.2, GH 180ppm, KH 90ppm.

No2: The Second Method
This is when you start with a tank that is already stocked with fish & plants and you do not want to start from scratch.
There are a few products that you can use to help your plants grow, some are added directly to the water itself while others are added to the substrate.
I have used this method with limited success.
These are but a few: Aquasonic Daily Grow {liquid}, Aquasonic Grow Plus {liquid}, Seachem Flourish Tablets, Dinosaur Dung, Dinosaur Pee.
I use a combination of two products which are made by.

1.	Dinosaur Dung: This is a small ball about 2.5cm in size and consists of clay and some organic fertilizers. These are mainly used near swords or crypts and are placed within 5cm of the plant. These balls take nearly one year to dissolve so you should add more after nine months. The clay in dino dung stays in the substrate and enhances the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the substrate. CEC is the ability of a substrate attract to hold exchangeable cations for later use by plants. "Growing Media for Ornamental Plants and Turf" by Handreck and Black. It says; "Sand and silt particles have small surface areas and few negative charges, so hold few cations. Most exchangeable cations held in growing media are held by colloids-clay and humus. This means that soils with higher proportions of clay and humus hold more cations than do sandy soils." Dinosaur Dung Dinosaur Pee
2.	Dinosaur Pee: This is a phosphate free soluble fertilizer for the growing of aquatic plants in aquaria. It contains inorganic nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, iron, sulphur, molybdenum, manganese, boron, zinc and copper. It is used with Dinosaur Dung to promote good plant growth. I use Dinosaur Pee at a rate of three drops per twenty litre's once a week. Dinosaur Pee is meant to be used in conjunction with Dinosaur Dung for the growth of plants with roots that can obtain part of their nutrition requirements in the substrate as well as using up the nutrients in the water column at a faster rate than they are produced or added to the water as an aid to prevent algae. You can never prevent 100 % of all algae.