Help a Plant Noobie..

Z

Zoomies

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Feb 6, 2004
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I have a 46 gallon bowfront that I want to convert into a planted tank. This week I got a 96w CF from AH Supply on the tank. My substrate is sand, due to my Cories. (The medium sand in the green bag you can get from Lowes.)

As far as plants go – I’d like to have some floating plants on the top, some sort of grass on the bottom, and some nice rooted leaf plants (like Swords or Java fern) in the background to start with. Eventually I want a jungle. The more hiding places the better!

With my setup – what do you recommend I do? What plants fit what I want and my lighting conditions? What fertilizers should I add? I’m planning on starting with DIY CO2, flourish, and some tabs under any rooted plants. Should I reinforce the substrate with something?

This will be my first serious attempt at a planted tank. I’ve been reading and putting it off so long – I’m half tempted to just dive in and go through trial and error… but I want to avoid making any mistakes that are too costly!

Thanks!
 
Welcome to AC Zoomies!!
You now have 2watts/gal. of CF lighting which will grow quite a variety of plants. You may have a bit of difficulty growing some of the really light needy plants and some of the red varieties, but you will have many options.
It would be nice to know how deep(top to substrate level) your tank is, but just off the top of my head:
For grass(foreground) you can't beat E. Tenellus. This is an easy plant to cultivate and spreads by runners and will cover the substrate over time.
For middle-ground plants I really like any of the Cryptocorynes, especially the varieties that develop a nice red under-leaf. They will assist you in getting something other than green in the tank.
Also good in the fore/mid ground area is Anubia Barteri Nana
Regular Anubia Barteri can be planted a bit further back. Java Fern would also go in this are well. They can get quite large.
Background plants that would work well for you are many of the stem plants that are available or Corkscrew Val.
I don't recommend many of the Amazon Swords as they can get so large that they take over the entire tank over time.
Water Sprite is a good floater or in-substrate plant so you can go either way with it. I particularly like Pennywort for either application as well. It is a good 'nutrient hog' and will grow anywhere at practically any temp.

Have you laid in the substrate yet?
Read the sticky on nutrient dosing at the top of the plants page to see what many of us are dosing.
Hope this answers some of your questions. Don't be afraid to ask them......it's better than trial and error in the long run.

Len
 
If you want a nice grassy foreground I suggest hairgrass. Many of the available elocharis species stay pretty short and form a lawn effect. Hairgrass also does best in fine substrates, so your sand should work quite well.

Len has suggested lots of good plants. If you like swords, I suggest echindorous parviflorus "tropica". It stays pretty small and compact.

A good plant with big leaves is hygro corymbosa. It will make a nice background plant. Foreground I think your best bets are tenellus, hairgrass, and/or dwarf sag.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

My tank has 18.5 inches from the top of the tank to the top of the substrate, and then the substrate itself is about 2-2.5 inches deep.

Should I add all of the plants at once, or is it better to add plants slowly, like one or two a week?
 
Add as many plants as you can from the get-go. This is one of the most important factors in starting up a planted tank.
The faster you can get them up and growing, the better your odds are at decreasing potential algae issues and it will virtually eliminate the 'cycling' process.
18.5" is quite a distance for light to travel, but CF light is better at penetrating than NO lighting so you have close to a moderate lighting situation. You will probably find that some of the red stem plants will only show red when they grow close to the lights and are green down low. I've found this to be the case in most cases in a moderately lit tank.
If you haven't already laid in the substrate, pick up some plain old peat moss and grind it up fine and sprinkle it on the bottom glass before adding the substrate. Just a fine dusting is all you need.
It will jump start your tank toward maturing. This is not critical, but a big help.
You will find that no matter what some people say(me included), certain plants will just not grow well for you and others will take off like weeds. A planted tank is an individual process and patience and experimentation is necessary.
The plants you plant will not need fertilization for a week or two so don't worry about that stuff yet, but read the stick on nutrients at the top of the plant page to familiarize yourself with them.

Len
 
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Nope, the substrate is already laid. I have 13 fish living in the tank with plastic plants currently - which brings up another question:

When I get my plants - do I need to quarantine them? I have a 10 gal Quarantine tank that I use for fish - but I don't think it has the lighting needed for plants...
 
I have never quarantined plants and never had a problem with picking up anything from them.
If you don't want snails however, you will need to pick up some Alum(aluminum sulfate) and give them a dip before planting them in the tank. 2hrs. kills snails....overnight kills the eggs as well.
Then rinse well and plant.

Len
 
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