- frequent waterchange.
- live plants are natural filter.
- good filteration and water flow.

do not be scared... be optimist. consider the more closer you are with nature, the more they'll be on your side.

- live plants helps for those micro particles that your filter cant trap and also those nitrates and ammonia, etc. but this doesnt mean u dont need a filter at all. filter is a MUST.... it's the heart of the tank.
- different tank requires different setup and most of the time because each tank having a different layout for water circulations, different plants planted, different amount of water (due to different numbers of hardscapes).
- but fundamentals of planted tank are still the same. you can google for more info on starting a planted tanks. other hobbyist could help and give opinions on things that u dont understand or confuse, but we cant hold your hands from zero to hero....

- people usually would take out all the equipments from the tank and make sure the tank looks at its best for final photo or FTS (full-tank shot).
- i would recommend tat also, learn to grow plants and their requirements.... then only start for serious designing. great aquascape deisgn with dead/unhealthy plants would be more sux.. LOL!!! 

ie the lights, if u get 2 x 18w flouroscent type, already 1.8wpg (assume its 20gallons)

co2 also can DIY, 1 x 1.5ltr bottle but need to change it each week.

plants wise, u can start off with those low to medium requirement.

- filter go with the sizes recommended on websites, generally 4-5x the water in your tank. its usually measured how many liters per hour. so a 240 liter tank, ideally needs 1000l/hr filter or more. higher liter per hour is good, but also more expensive. do take note that the filtration effectiveness is usually not so accurate too. the flowrate can be adjusted at the output of the filter ie faster or slower water rate.

sand will compact overtime so its advised to use gravel if possible.

That 99 Fish & pets is uncle style LFS, not much you can get from there unless you want Flower Horn fish, since you're in cheras go
88 Pets Mart Sdn. Bhd.
No. 8, 10 & 12, Jalan Pandan Indah 4/10,
Pandan Indah, 55100 K.L.. Tel: 603-42959160

& Natural Plant Aquarium at
No. 6, Jln Seri Taming 1F,
Taman Seri Taming, 43200 Cheras, Selangor, Tel: 03-9100 5485

more to see and learn there.
For fish tank, you can try Alive Aquarium in Jalan Pudu , cheaper then normal LFS , can bargain abit too.

You can calculate your tank water holding capacity by multiply tank Length x Height x Width ,
for example ,2ft tank with measurement of 60cm Length x 36cm Height x 30cm Width = 64.8 liters
                    3ft tank with measurement of 90cm Length x 45cm Height x 45cm Width = 182.25 liters
as you can see the 3ft tank is like 3x the capacity of 2ft tank.

LFS stand for Local Fish Shop/Store, 
41/2 tank for tortoise ... the tortoise must be huge.

Think you better start with a 2ft tank to try your hand on planted tank , 4 1/2 feet just too much for a beginner, anything need much much
more in a 4 1/2 ft. (soil , deco , bigger filters , Lighting etc) if money is not a problem and you don't mind to break your back for the initial planting
then go with the 4 1/2ft tank.

There is differents , planted tank a lot more complicated and nicer then a normal fish tank but it subjective to individual perceptions on the tank.
Simple :  A normal fish tank can or don't have plants but a planted tank can't exist without plants but can make do without fish.

normal fish tank with artificial plants/decor dont have co2 system or just using table lamp already enough. BUT, this doesnt mean u cant have live plants at all... just the plant choices will be limited (alot less). we call these tank usually as 'low-tech' tank which having less maintenance, less algae issue and cheaper in costing for the upside, but the downside... less plant choice and plant growth is in SUPER SLOW rate.

basicly the lighting is the replacement of sun in your tank.
you may calculate how much watt in needed for your planted tank. and do remember that som plant may require high light. just search want plant you need and study their requirement.

Carbon dioxide is the basic raw material that plants use in photosynthesis to convert light into food, fiber, and other forms of biomass.
For a starter, maybe you can try to do DIY co2 1. unless money is not a factor to consider.

maybe you can try on anubias or fern. you may refer to ZeneticX's tank.

you may refer here
Aqua tools

the selction of the soil is depend on the plant you want to plant. as for anubias, fern and moss, you wont need soil. but you need to tie them at the driftwood or stone.

Just my noob opinion. Others sifu please correct me if i'm giving a wrong info

believe it or not, fish is the least important thing in a planted tank. judging from ur answer above, i think u still have lots of homework to do.

aquarium - self explanatory...
filter - it will be better if you have a cannister as it provides spacce for good bacteria to grow...
lighting - not the normal cheap lighting u can just buy at any local fish shop. must be high voltage so that the light can reach until the bottom of the tank. also depends how deep is ur water in the tank.
sand - not just any sand, most of us here use ADA soil for the tanks but heard others using JBL as well.
plants - try to do some research and start with low maintenance plants.
5 elements - Penac P, Penac W, Clear Super, Tourmaline, Bacter 100 ( this helps grows bacteria to grow in ur tank and decompose harmful material such as ammonia and nitrite to harmless materials. they also helps the growth of plants and provide supplememnts for the plants...
Co2( very important) plants will need co2/carbon dioxide and light for the photosystesis process.
diffuser - to diffuse ur co2 bubbles so that the co2 will melt in ur water rather than floating to the top and wasted.

also, search up the meaning and ways of cycling a tank.

hope i din miss out any important things here...
ps: anything u dunno, try google search or youtube it. thats how i learn most of the time...
pss: 6 months of planning is better than 6 months of headache and regretting... do sufficient homework before you start anything...

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Added on April 25, 2012, 10:23 pmby the way, can i ask the sifus here, whats the different between ADA amazonia and ADA malaya soils? and if im right theres also ADA africana? Whats the main difference? or are them just for different looks for your tank? i dont think so personally...

below 1ft tank small muscle
below 2ft tank big muscle
more than 2ft tank, hmm...the plant will face tsunami! 

Co2 checker

protein skimmer is not necessary for planted tanks (freshwater). its only used in salt water tanks / reef tanks.

soil doesn't need to be that much. it all depends on your budget. economical ones are using potting soil + peat moss (diana walstad method). more high tech ones are using specialized soil like ADA / red sea / etc which are for aquatic planting use. the difference of course is the ease of use and if the nutrients and trace can be stored. read more on google about the methods i mentioned above. its really interesting to read all about the substrate part of the planted tank.

it also depends on your tank size as well.

pls check for ammonia reading. i got keep some cheap ghost shrimp ( i think so la..) those rm1 per cup.. a few of them show the same sign. then their body start to be white colour in small portions (usually is full transparent) then slowly it will make the whole body opac white then mati... pls check water parameters. ur neon tetra should show some signs as well (mine last time got reddish around the gills and its like popping out). sadly they also died next day...

above is based on my experience only. pls also take in other considerations from the power of internet and the gurus here. Cheers.

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Added on April 28, 2012, 9:51 pm

Yes, potting soil = normal soil we use to plant flowers. you may start with potting soil but bear in mind the major disadvantage is that potting soil contains lots of nutrient and ammonia (which is beneficial when dry but a super hazard when its being used as aquatic soil). if you see the diana's method, she prefers to soak and dry them to get rid of the excess nutrients/floating dirt before being used in the aquarium. i used this method before and trust me, you really want to follow the instruction of washing it thoroughly. please do search more info on the preparation method. my past experience of doing it is that it works to keep the roots inside but it also clouds the water if you or ur fishes decided to move the plants around. quite a mess to clean up.

cheap things got cheap way of doing it....

there are also other substrates like the gravel that you can use and added with some trace or root tabs. also same effect but very much cleaner way of maintenance. using the gravel, you may move the plants around more freely...

Hemianthus callitrichoides..check this out

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/myplants...trichoides.html

Shouldnt be a prob for a 1ft tank.

noob tank update!!