New to Plants, need help!

[brian_moons]

ive had my tank for about 6 months, 20 gallon, and ive only had plastic plants, but i think i want to try some real plants like one or two sword plants and a couple java ferns. would they be ok with sand or the coloured gravel? and i have an air pump would i need to get something to add CO2 as well? would this even work? i have 5 3" cichlids and a 4" bristlenose pleco, would they eat them and possible kill them? thanks in advance, you guys always answer my questions!

[Kasakato]

You have 5 3" cichlids and a 4" bristlenose pleco is the 20g?

[brian_moons]

yeah

[Kasakato]

Isent that overstocked?

[brian_moons]

im not sure.. im pretty new to this, i talked to the LFS and they said it was fine :confused: :huh:

[sublime1184]

As for plants and sand....that should be fine, plants can grow in gravel or sand but I would only go with gravel because of my fondness of it....but either will work....do your fish dig? if so, i would go with gravel....


and for the tank and size issue, well maybe 20g is fine for NOW, but that depends on the size of the fish now.....soon you will want to look into upgrading to a bigger tank.

[Kasakato]

Sand is ok. Just a bit more work. But looks better. Small gravel is best IME. But it dosent look as nice. Do you know how much light you have on that tank?

And yes, you will need a bigger tank.

[brian_moons]

yea, im planning on getting a 55 gal in the fall, and right now theres 15 watts, and its fluorescent light.

[Kasakato]

15w on a 55g? Thats not going anywhere.

[brian_moons]

no no, i have a 15 watt on the 20 gal, and then getting a 55 gal in the fall, with a new hood and lights

[Kasakato]

Are you going to plant the 20g now? If I were you I would wait for the 55g.

[sublime1184]

yes wait for the 55.....

[brian_moons]

ohh ok, thanks for the help!

[Blinky]

Brian, my advice is to read a lot before you venture into plants, it can save a lot of problems later on. Try searching this forum, check out www.plantgeek.net, www.plantedtank.net, www.aquaticplantcentral.com and lurk around for a while.
One thing that's very important is lighting, most tanks don't come with enough for plants (a 20g tank often comes with a hood/fixture that fits one 15W or one 20W fluorescent bulb). For a 20g, I'd recommend at least 40W of fluorescent light (2WPG), Java fern, Anubias, Java moss and other low-light tolerant plants may do okay with less.
I think It's a good idea to decide which plants you'd like to keep, then work the lighting, possible CO2 injection etc. around that. CO2 is important in tanks with higher light, but you can have a lower light tank with less demanding plants and not need to inject CO2, it's up to you.
Plants can be kept in gravel or sand, there are also specialized plant substrates like Flourite and Eco-complete. Some people choose to mix them with gravel, some use 100%. Plants like swords need a lot of iron, so using some Flourite/laterite is a good idea IMO, but not essential.
Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions, I've learned an unblievable amount from folks here and on other forums :)