I want real plants!

[daniel364]

Ok , o im getting another tank soon, i dont know for sure its about 4-5g i think, just from looking at it and this will be mt 2nd tank. With the first on i payed it safe and got fake plants, but now i want to grow real ones, now im a little more experienced. I would prefer my substrate to be sand and im quite good at aquascaping, I love it!! So what plants are best, any easy ones just to start of? any tips? Any plants you reccomend. I havent really got a theme yet , id just like a tank with lots of natraul plants so the fish can hide.

Thanks

[FreddytheFish]

Anachris, java moss, and java fern are all very easy.

[Marinemom]

Anubias nana and anubias nana petite will look great in a tank that size. Also might want to consider some crypts such as cryptcorne wendti(sp).

Marinemom

[daniel364]

lol, i need to get a pen and paper!

[coupedefleur]

With plants there seems to be a "critical mass". Just one little scrubby plant will not outcompete algae, but a bunch of plants will.

What they've suggested. Also water sprite might be good to start with, even in a small tank like yours. When it starts to get big, start moving some of it into your other tanks, and add more expensive plants around it.

[daniel364]

Thanks, im getting a 7 gallon tank to clear that up, my estimate was wrong. And als i have to have gravel because of the inder gravel filtration, does this matter?
Any tips?

Thnaks

[Sammie7]

Its usually not good to have an under gravel filter with plants, though I have heard of some people doing it. Just my 2 cents.

[daniel364]

:eek: noooo, i really wanted a real natrual tank, does the filter effect the plants then?

Thanks

[epicfish]

The plants' roots will grow into the filter and wrap around it. Just get rid of the undergravel filter and get an internal filter or a HOB filter.

You can try the Zoo Med 501 filter too. Nice, small canister.

[daniel364]

hmm, How about if i put the plant indside a pot then bury the pot in the gravel?

[Sammie7]

That would work if you liked that look. But you also want to think about went the plant outgrows the pot. Changing to a hang on the back filter would probably be the best choice in the long run as it will give you more flexibility.

[daniel364]

Thank-you, si ut is possibble to have plants in and under gravel filter aslong as you take care?

[justintoxicated]

Undergravel filters are not very good and can cause OTS, I would throw out the idea of having a UGF altogether in a planted tank. Even if you did get it to work, it be one of the worst filter choices. ORUGF are better but with a small planted tank your best best is going to be a small Canister (no surface agistation to outgas CO2).

With plants your opening a whole new can of worms.

You can either go with Low Light plants, and something like excel as your carbon source; or high light + CO2 Injection; DIY would be fine on such a small tank. With Co2 and high light you also need to dose nutrients, Macros and Micros. Macros are Nitrates and Phosphates K etc... Micros I have been using regular Flourish.

You might be able to get by with high light and flourish excel as your carbon source, but DIY is not very hard, and does not rewquire dosing excel every day, although you can if you want! you could even buy the Hagen CO2 system if you don't want to make it yourself (Soda bottle with tube sealed in the cap). Plant to spend some money even on a small planted tank.

Now if you go high light without CO2 you will grow algae, if you go without nutriets you will get Algae and or problems with your plants. The plants need to outcompete Algae, and they need these thigns to grow properly otherwise algae willt ake over. To an extent it is all or nothing... Just be prepaired. Also I would invest in a plant substrate so you don't have to change it later.

Don't expect most plants to grow with a standard aquarium light and a regular substrate.

If your going high light, get some fast growers like Sunset hygro, Wisteria, and some easy growing lower light plants like Crypts, and Java fern to start with.

Co2 Injection sticky is a great place to start if you don't want to grow algae rather than plants.

[fishorama]

Java fern & anubias can be tied on to a rock or piece of wood instead of planted in the gravel. Those are easy to grow in even low light with any filtration & easy to move that way. Then when you decide you want more,different kinds of plants you'll need to make changes-- bigger tank, more lighting etc. Many people (not me) grow fantastic aquascapes in very small tanks but they take lots of care, I suggest working up to it more slowly if this is your first try with live plants.
Nancy

[TKOS]

Do a search on this forum for posts by RTR and UGF and RUGF filters. You will find that many have successfully kept planted tanks with undergravel filters. There is no reason not too if you allready have the setup. Plant roots can't tangle around the filter since they filter is simply a plate covered by garvel. The gravel bed is the filter. Does gunk accumulate? In a UGF it does but a RUGF doesn't. Still a decent gravel vacuum will take care of things.

[vidiots]

I have grown plants before with an UGF. It's not difficult or really any different from a tank without a UGF. The two things I did run into was if the tank was too heavily planted it was difficult to vacuum the gravel which is necessary to maintain the UGF, and some roots would tangle on the filter plate meaning you had to be very careful when moving plants.

However I've found that I prefer to grow plants in a tank without a UGF. I also tried the reverse flow setup for a while and it worked too. RTR was a big help with that.

[daniel364]

thanks guys