Set up for plants

[Odiak5500]

I have had a 29 gallon tank for awhile now, when i first got it i had a few plants in there. Not sure of there names, but some grass, i know i have java fern and some others. but they all died, or got up rooted by my crazy fish. well not all i got a few up these tall big leafed plants in the corner still, but they r a yellowish-green and they have browns spots... o well

I want to know what kind of base i need for the plants to grow in, like layers and stuff. could someone break it down to make it easy, like layer by layer. i am also hoping i can get the stuff i need for it some where around where i live. i guess you guys call pet shops like lrs or sumthing or maybe lps.. i dont know.


Right now i have a 2.5-3 in pleco, a 4in queen loach (i think thats what it is, its yellow/back, hes a scary thing) 3 mollies.

I want to get the thing planted with alot of nice plants but i need a good base first.

Also where can i get drift wood or like some good rocks, where u guys get ur stuff? i have like fake rocks and stuff... eww

i plan to go buy some stuff soon so i need help :dive2: <----- **** fish lovers

[webcricket]

Your plants probably died/did poorly due to low-lighting conditions. They do make specialty substrates, but as long as the lighting is present (and fertilizers), most plants will grow just fine in regular gravel.

What wattage lighting do you have? This may be where you need to upgrade depending on what plants you'd like to grow.

[Odiak5500]

no idea.... but the light is on in the morning and off at night... hold on "walks over to fish tank and stares at the light with wonder"...................."sits down half blind from looking into the light"


it says 17W aquarium light.... but my gravel is like medium sized... i want sand... is that possible to grow plants in? like white sand with maybe some smallll gravel on top?

[Odiak5500]

by the way.... no fert. at all i just poped them into the gravel with my hand.... nothing since

[webcricket]

You've got about .5 watts of light per gallon. This is extremely low-light. You might be able to grow some anubias or algae balls at best as their light requirements are minimal. You'll want to upgrade the lighting for sure to grow anything else and keep it alive and healthy. Unfortunately, your current fixture probably will not support more than a 17 watt bulb. I'm actually in the same pickle with my 20 gallon tanks and need to upgrade the lighting.

When choosing a new light fixture, aim for something that will give you 2 to 2.5 watts per gallon - this will allow you to keep a variety of low-light to medium light plants without injecting CO2. If you want to get into CO2, and a broader plant selection, go with higher light.

As far as substrate, you could go with a finer gravel type, but most plants don't like actual sand as it compresses their root systems.