teach a noob about the aquatic plant world

[allecb]

so all my plants in my tank are fake. obviously real plants look great, but i know most of them recquire more than ordinary 15w bulbs, and co2 and fertilizer and whatnot.

stuff, that im not able to afford, or spend that much time trying to worry about. are there any plants that i can literally just stick in my rock gravel, and watch survive and be fine, under my conditions?

 

[jpappy789]

What is your tank size?
What lighting do you have?

For that description, try out java moss and java fern.

 

[BettaFishMommy]

if you could post your tank size, stocking, ph, temperature, lighting, etc. then we could help you determine which low tech/no tech plants would work well.

java moss, amazon swords, stargrass, and java fern. all are good no tech plants that don't require high light, ferts, or co2.

 

[allecb]

What is your tank size?
What lighting do you have?

For that description, try out java moss and java fern.

my tank size is 55 gallons
and lighting..honestly, dont know? just your typical lighting setup youd get in any ordinary walmart/petsmart pack. heres a picture...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v664/saoxcore/IMG_0042.jpg

 

[allecb]

if you could post your tank size, stocking, ph, temperature, lighting, etc. then we could help you determine which low tech/no tech plants would work well.

java moss, amazon swords, stargrass, and java fern. all are good no tech plants that don't require high light, ferts, or co2.

sorry usually im on top of this stuff lol.

-55 gallon tank

-temp is usually 75-82 degreez i believe. its weird, my temp thing has three different color bars. a dark purple. a dark teal. and a dark orange/brown. so i dont know what color is indicating the actual temperature? lol

-im not sure of my PH.. i never got a PH test kit. i could go to petsmart and have em test my water if need be, but i think i remeber hearing its like in the high 6 or low to mid 7's.

8 tiger barbs
2 platies
6 neons
1 rainbow shark

future stock could be any of these:
2 rams
2 dwarf gouramis
school of rasboras
school of colombian tetras.

 

[jpappy789]

I believe the standard lighting for a 55 gallon is around 40 watts? Thats what is on my 55, using an AGA single strip.

I can get vals, java moss, java ferns and anubias to stay alive. Not much growth though.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Anubias and Java Fern would be your best bet. Mosses look stringy and scraggly in low light.

 

[allecb]

I believe the standard lighting for a 55 gallon is around 40 watts? Thats what is on my 55, using an AGA single strip.

I can get vals, java moss, java ferns and anubias to stay alive. Not much growth though.

man, i was thinking about getting a "single strip" because i cant stand having this like big dark area right in the middle. but one of the lights camee from a 20 gallon set up. i think they're both 15 watts..and if 40 watts is standard, then my tank must be really dark and iwant a brighter tank!! lol

 

[Squawkbert]

Go read this excellent, quick intro to the subject. Rex touches on lighting, ferts, CO2, substrate, algae... All the basics with pointers to more detail, if you want to go there.

 

[jpappy789]

man, i was thinking about getting a "single strip" because i cant stand having this like big dark area right in the middle. but one of the lights camee from a 20 gallon set up. i think they're both 15 watts..and if 40 watts is standard, then my tank must be really dark and iwant a brighter tank!! lol

Just checked my light...it's 40.

30w vs. 40w wont make a huge difference. You would be better off shooting for 1-2 wpg, however most of the low light plants would do fine in <1wpg