new 55gal

[lucid_boy]

hello
I am setting up a new 55gal and I would really love to learn more about using live plants. I know that it will mean I have to take into consideration the lights I use, some of the water conditions probably will matter. but honestly, what would be maybe 2-3 good plants that are easy to manage for a 1st time aquarist? any input would be gladly accepted.:huh:

[Mgamer20o0]

what kind of lighting do you have now? how much? (how many watts)

if your willing to buy new lights you can have a very nice set up. ahsupply.com

a few plants to start out with.

java moss
java fern
water sprite
hornwort
guppy grass

[lucid_boy]

well as it stands right now I only have the 48" single light casing w/out a hood of any kind. I figured I would just get the "all-glass" hood 2x24" so that I could use the existing light I have and if I wanted to upgrade or add another light wouldn't it be easier that way?
thanks for the plant suggestions, will they be ok under low-light. (I am assuming that low-light would be 1 48" flourescent bulb)
I have no idea about wattage, is it only rated to work with a certain bulb, I mean, wouldn't I be able to use any 48" bulb with my light case, or will it be able to support many different wattages?
also previous owner broke off the 3rd grounding prong will that kill me?
(well is it bad in other words)
:confused:
thanks in advance

[Mgamer20o0]

you could try but thats not much light at all. prob only 40w of light. your best bet would be to upgrade your light.

[NinjaPirate]

The standard single-bulb 48" t8 fixtures for 55G aquariums are 40W max, but 99% of the time only contain 32W bulbs. the lack of a grounding prong is a minor fire risk, but probably won't kill you. In the long run you'd probably want to replace the fixture. IME the single strip fixtures only put out enough light to grow the stuff that will grow in the dark, which is to say the lowest of the low light plants.

[lucid_boy]

so I looked at my light yesterday and well to be honest with you I was sure it was broken because whenever you pick it up you could hear all of this stuff moving around inside fixture. well I plugged it in an it works fine!
as for the light itself it says on the back of the fixture...

120v 40w 60hz (I know this is mostly about the light itself not the bulb)

and the only thing I can see on the bulb is "daymax freshwater" and it may have said "cobalt"? but I could not tell as only the top half is visible.

other than that all I can say is that it seemed fairly bright just plugged in and it immediately turned on as soon as switch was hit!

the best part is for now that is just one less thing that I have to get before I can start my tank.

but if I were to get the "all-glass" hood couldn't I add another light hood down the road?
or I could even just get a double in a few months...
anyway what do you think about that bulb?

[Mgamer20o0]

The standard single-bulb 48" t8 fixtures for 55G aquariums are 40W max, but 99% of the time only contain 32W bulbs. the lack of a grounding prong is a minor fire risk, but probably won't kill you. In the long run you'd probably want to replace the fixture. IME the single strip fixtures only put out enough light to grow the stuff that will grow in the dark, which is to say the lowest of the low light plants.

T8 is 32w and the T12 is 40w for 48 inch.

[Mgamer20o0]

so I looked at my light yesterday and well to be honest with you I was sure it was broken because whenever you pick it up you could hear all of this stuff moving around inside fixture. well I plugged it in an it works fine!
as for the light itself it says on the back of the fixture...

120v 40w 60hz (I know this is mostly about the light itself not the bulb)

and the only thing I can see on the bulb is "daymax freshwater" and it may have said "cobalt"? but I could not tell as only the top half is visible.

other than that all I can say is that it seemed fairly bright just plugged in and it immediately turned on as soon as switch was hit!

the best part is for now that is just one less thing that I have to get before I can start my tank.

but if I were to get the "all-glass" hood couldn't I add another light hood down the road?
or I could even just get a double in a few months...
anyway what do you think about that bulb?
yes you can add another light or a double fixture. if you really want to get into plants you should think about CF or T5 lighting. check out ahsupply.com

[lucid_boy]

well for now my budget will only allow me to use the existing light. that said, I originally thought to get plants to feed silver dollars. but I do not know what they would like to eat? (and it is probably too much $$$ to upkeep, but still does anyone know what they would eat?)

most likely I will not add a plant just to feed to my fish, but with the light I have could I put a bulb in it (like a T12?) that would be suffecient for any plant at all?

I am still learning about my fish, and water chem, etc. but if there is a plant out there that does not require much light what kinds are there?

thanks again.:)

[Mgamer20o0]

start off with java moss and go from there.

[coquat]

I also have a 55 gallon. I was trying to grow some Java ferns and java moss with 2 15 watt bulbs. Within the last 3 weeks I've made the following improvements.

I decided to go with a custom glass top from hardware store (2 panels, I have a divider) left a 2" section free in back for the biowheel filter. I think that cost $10 total.

$40 light fixture from Lowe's (black and silver...it matches my aquarium)
2 $10 plant and aquarium, bulbs 40 watts each
5lb bag of schultz's aquatic potting soil $8
2 liter DIY CO2 $5
Three prong "heavy duty" timer $8
$12 GFCI duplex recepticle (swapped out my regular recepticle)

I kept one of my 15watt lights, it's laid over the half of the aquarium where the glass fits tightly. The old 2 prong timer switches the air pump on when the new 3 prong timer switches the lights off.

I'll post some pictures after the plants recover from the previous lighting setup and the addition of the aquatic potting soil. Today I saw little bubbles forming on plants for the first time...I hope this is a sign of progess.