New to plants, could really use advice!

[oo7genie]

Red tiger lotus is going to be a real challenge without Co2. I have one in my 60g planted tank, in which I stopped using Co2 a few months back. Once I did, the leaves got very thin, and began ripping simply from the current in the tank. Last week I began adding Co2 again, and it's now as strong as it was in it's prime, and growing back with a vengeance! I wouldn't recommend it for a low tech tank.

Sword plants are among the most light hungry of the "lower light" plants, and often have a tendency to grow out as opposed to up. I'd recommend putting it somewhere towards the middle section of the tank as opposed to the back. Amazons are a good choice for low tech. I don't have any personal experience with the other two you mentioned. Though I can say that the red melon sword you mentioned before also will struggle without Co2. It will stay alive just fine, but it's growth rate will be very slow, and it won't get very large. And again, it won't show much of the red color you might expect. Aquatic plants with red tones require Co2 & high light to show their "true" colors.

In the back corner and wall hugging sides of the tank is where I'd suggest you keep your taller plants, where they can also be used to disguise heaters, filter inputs, etc.

 

[ROYWS3]

Some people confuse corkscrew and contortionist val. You want the taller of the two which for most sellers is "contortionist". That would be an excellent background in your tank. Spreads lke crazy and fills in a lot of space. Just make sure you get the taller of the two because some sellers list it mistakenly as "corkscrew"

Roy

 

[elinore]

Thanks! I'll save the tiger lotus for a later tank then. I really don't mind if the "red" plants I have in mind don't actually get red. As long as they'll live, I'll be very happy. In the case of the sword, a slower growth rate may actually be a good thing. I love the look of the Amazon Sword, but I'm just scared that it will get too huge for the place I have for it. Currently, I'm thinking I'll go with a slightly smaller sword and/or one that may even be stunted in my setup, at least to begin with. I figure, I can always upgrade later, once I get the hang of things