Plant help for a newbie

Ryan45

Ryan45

AC Members
Jan 15, 2005
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Alright so I have had my 55 going for about a month and want to add some plants. The two plants I was thinking was a couple Java ferns and some Micro Sword. I have 110 watts of light so that gives me 2wpg. Is that enough? Also I have a Ehien 2026 canister if that helps any. These plants are rated as easy to grow. First the Java fern. How do you plant these? In the gravel or what? Second the micro sword. I have read that these will grown fast and cover the bottom with grass. Is that true? How do you go about planting these? Any help would be awesome. Thanks in advance guys and gals.

Ryan
 
The java fern can be planted on driftwood, thats where it grows best. The microsword plants are best planted in gravel, and given enough light, it should grow on the bottom and resemble grass. Good luck!
 
Ems said:
The java fern can be planted on driftwood, thats where it grows best. The microsword plants are best planted in gravel, and given enough light, it should grow on the bottom and resemble grass. Good luck!
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Thats the part I dont get how do you plant it on drift wood?
 
Ryan45 said:
Thats the part I dont get how do you plant it on drift wood?
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Tie it loosely with black cotton thread. By the time the thread disinetgrates, the plant should have rooted firmly enough into the driftwood to be held in place.
 
Harlock said:
Tie it loosely with black cotton thread. By the time the thread disinetgrates, the plant should have rooted firmly enough into the driftwood to be held in place.
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What Harlock said :D hehe
 
Ok so I would have to have real drift wood for this? All I have are plastic woods and rock/caves. Also can I just use plain old aquarium gravel for plants or do I have to have something special. I really don't feel like removing all of my gravel from an already established tank.
 
Aquarium gravel can work just fine for low maintenance plants. They take most of their nutrients right out of the water column. I just use plain old sand with no root tabs, though I do dose fertilizers. And yes, I think the roots may have a hard time penetrating plastic. You could always loosely zip tie it to an ornament...
 
Harlock said:
Aquarium gravel can work just fine for low maintenance plants. They take most of their nutrients right out of the water column. I just use plain old sand with no root tabs, though I do dose fertilizers. And yes, I think the roots may have a hard time penetrating plastic. You could always loosely zip tie it to an ornament...
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Sweet thanks big time. So the Java fern and micro sword wont need any special plant substrate? Also what do you guys use for a fertilizer? Also what would be another easy plant that wont need special substrate that I could plant in the gravel?
 
Ryan45 said:
Second the micro sword. I have read that these will grown fast and cover the bottom with grass. Is that true? How do you go about planting these?

Ryan
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Echinodorus angustifolius will produce runners VERY quickly. I purchased two 2" plants, and two weeks later there are about six large (4" +) plants and countless small plants on runners. You can just about watch this stuff grow before your eyes! The plants I bought were in pots - I just removed them from the pots, trimmed the roots and planted them in the substrate. Three days later, they were settled in, growing noticably and producing runners :)
 
Crypts would probably work well for you. I find them very easy to grow. Dwarf sag (sagittaria subulata) would work for a short grassy plant.

In my opinion you have quite a bit of light. Not a ton but it should be enough for low to medium light plants. This leaves you with a pile of options for plant choices.
 
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