I will never do the plastic plant thing again, after seeing my ghost knife with a shredded fin. (healed now) I see these plastic jobs for sale, anywhere from 4 to 20 dollars each. I bought 3 live plants for 10 bucks. I have 1.5 watts per gallon. I leave the lights on 12 hours a day. I dose twice a week with flourish. 2mls per week. (a 3 month supply 10 bucks) The plants are so green it amazes me everytime I walk by. If I have afew extra bucks, I'll pick up a plant every now and then, or I divide the ones I have to fill in holes here and there. My tank is constantly changing. Plastic plants just get icky and dirty and when I pulled out my 2, I found a bunch of crud collecting at the base, and also the live plants use the crud as fertilizer too and help clean the water. Nope, no more plastic for this newby. The live plants are cheaper in the long run and alot purtier too. Experiment with anubis, valsineria, anachris, saggitarius, and java, and you won't go wrong. Oh and the smal sword 'tropica' is fairly easy too.
