New to live plants and have a few questions.

[mwil]

OK, I've been doing fish for several years, but never really got into the live plant thing. After stumbling on some pics of aquascaping I fell in love with the idea and knew I had to try my hand at it. So, last week I built a new hood and I'm now pumping 160 watts into my 55 gallon tank. I've put the plants listed in my signature in the tank and now I have a few questions. (I've done some research, but I'm having a bit of trouble finding some of the answers.)

1. I'm using water from my well for the tank. The fish don't mind it at all, but I was wondering if it would be a problem for the plants?

2. My hygrophilia keeps coming up from the gravel? There seems to be no real root system here? Will it grow more roots as it matures?

3. In the week that I've had the plants in the tank, my angelfish has managed to nip most of my corkscrew down. Is that normal?

4. I would like to carpet the tank. I have a few clumps of lilaeopsis, will that do well for this?

Anyway, any help would be great. Sorry for not being more proficient with the search function.

Also, can someone tell me the propper name for the "pink lace?"

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj178/mwil3/Tank311-08afterafewnewadditions.jpg

[mwil]

Well, with some more research, apparently the LFS was wrong about the hygrophilia....seems that it is bacopa? Anyway, I can't seem to get it to stay in the gravel.

[The Zigman]

in most cases plants respond very well to well water, as it usually has more nutrients that treated city water. If your fish dont mind it, I would say you're good to go.

As for the roots, are you sure the fish arent uprooting them?

[irishspy]

I have bacopa in my 10g. To get it to stay down, I pull off the leaves from the bottom two nodes and slide it into the gravel. The root system has gotten extensive. How big is your gravel? I use fine gravel (a bit bigger than sand), but bigger rocks might not hold the stems in place.

[mwil]

The gravel that I have is somewhat course (it's not pea gravel, but it's not very fine.) I'd like to possibly put in some finer gravel, but I'm not sure what the best way to go about it without causing problems with the current setup. I'll try and pull off the bottom leaf or two and see if that helps.

[oblongshrimp]

Your going to need a lot more plants in there and your going to need to add CO2 (or lots of floating plants) or your going to have major algae issues soon. What kind of substrate do you have? What kind of lighting do you have (CF,T12, T5?)

[mwil]

I'm using 4 t12 full spectrum 40 watts. I want alot more plants, but I wasn't sure about how much to start with. I was under the impression that they would spread? As of now I'm just using fish gravel, but apparently I'm going to have to make some changes there. At what point do I need to start worrying about CO2?

[Robert H]

I can tell from your photo it is Bacopa monnieri, otherwise known as moneywort.

http://www.aquabotanicstore.com/v/vspfiles/photos/P108-2.jpg

It mostly grows straight up, not out, although it can grow side shoots. If you just upgraded your light, it will take some time for roots to form, two or three weeks, maybe longer. Injecting C02 will encourage faster growth. Same with the other stem plants. The sword plant may send out runners with baby plants on them, or it may not, but it will grow taller and wider with more leaves. The java fern will grow taller with more leaves, and the older leaves have spores in the leaf that may sprout into new plants. Plants that "spread" are generally grass like plants or plants that send out runners.

Pea gravel is too big, sand is too fine. Ideally you want very course sand or 2mm size gravel. Clay gravel provides iron and minerals and is porus so it can absorb nutrients from the water and hold them for the plants. Regular aquarium gravel contains no minerals at all, and epoxy coated gravels is not able to absorb nutrients. If you do not want to change to a clay gravel, you can suppliment your gravel with fertilizer tablets.

[oblongshrimp]

what kind of reflectors do you have? T12's aren't all that efficient, especially without good reflectors so you aren't really getting 160 watts into the tank. You may be ok without CO2 but it would help to have it.

Your best bet to fight algae is to put as many plants as you can in right from the start. If your gravel is to large the plants will have a harder time developing roots and staying in the substrate. I would suggest getting a big plant package from someone so you can get that tank filled up with plants ASAP.

[mwil]

OK. Moneywart is what I have (for sure!)
For reflectors I just painted the inside of the hood with gloss white paint? I will start shopping for a plant package today and see what I can come up with. Do you guys have any suggestions (or warnings) of places to shop, or plants to stay away from? Have you had any trouble ordering online?

[oblongshrimp]

I would suggest purchasing from other hobbyists. You will get better plants for a cheaper price.

[bushwhacker]

i've gotten 3 fantastic plant packages from people here for very good prices