new to plants, have a few questions

[jujubee]

I want to put some plants in my new 46 gallon tank. I have a gravel substrate, can I just put the plants right into the gravel, or do I need something else. Also, do I take them out of the little pots they come in or leave them in there? Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[resk]

go here and get a good overview of what is required / not required to do plants

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/kelly-intro.html

the general idea when starting out is to identify your goals.

if you just want some plants for your fish, then you can keep your costs very low and your maintenance will also be low

if your goal is to have alot of plants that require high intensity lights, this will be more expensive and maintenance will also increase beyond that of your normal fish keeping maintenance

[Hound]

I generally recommend removing the pots and planting the roots of the plants into the gravel. In a low tech planted tank gravel substrate should be fine for plants.

[jujubee]

thanks for the info guys. much appreciated.