Is it too late to add plants ?

E

emmasmom

Registered Member
May 21, 2007
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Hello,
I just found this wonderful site and am new to this hobby so these may be silly questions. I just yesterday set up a new 24 gallon freshwater tank. Today I added a few tetra fish to start.
I really want to add plants but I put in typical aquarium gravel not sand or the Eco-complete I have read here is best.
Is it too late to add plants ?
Can I remove the gravel and put in eco- complete without killing my new fish and having to empty the tank again ?
Amy suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
Sharon
 
You can use potted plants. I'm new too so I don't have any other suggestions. Good luck
 
I'm not sure about what type of plants you could put in without proper substrate. It would be difficult if not impossible, and messy to put in a proper substrate without emptying the tank. After putting in flourite, which I rinsed, I still had to wait about a week before the flourite settled, and I could actually see through the water in the tank.

I would not let this stop you though. I would do some research first to make sure it is what you really want, as it adds some extra work and cost to the the hobby. If you still want to go through with it, see if you can take the tetras back to the LFS, tell them you plans to repurchase them later. Then, tear the tank down, put in a substrate, recycle the tank and you are on your way.

GL!
 
Egeria, hornwort, java fern, anubias, moneywort, java moss, ludwigia, and on and on. I think even some of the root feeders amazon swords, crypts could be coaxed along with proper light and fertilization. Eco Complete and Flourite etc are fine products but aren't absolutely necessary. As long as the gravel is 1-3 mm, a proper depth, and will hold down the plants. You can have a planted tank.

You can start with Java fern, anubias, java moss and floating plants if you like to get your feet "wet", and switch substrates later if you like. I've done it with the fish in the tank. I wouldn't try it if your overstocked, and I would make sure you don't clean anything (hard decor or filter)at the same time to keep any bacteria intact. Any slight variation in the ammonia should be gobbled up by all the plants you add at the same time. IMHO. YMMV.

Dave
 
i have grown (and still do) MANY different kinds of plants, from floaters, to root-feeding tankbusting swords(without substrate fertilization ;)), to smaller stem plants, to the vine-like pennywort, all in plain old gravel. addng laterite or eco-complete will benefit them, but is not necessary.
 
J double R said:
i have grown (and still do) MANY different kinds of plants, from floaters, to root-feeding tankbusting swords(without substrate fertilization ;)), to smaller stem plants, to the vine-like pennywort, all in plain old gravel. addng laterite or eco-complete will benefit them, but is not necessary.
Click to expand...

I too have this - in normal every day gravel. You do NOT have to change your gravel.

Now you cant use a whole bunch of root feeders either - a good balance is what you need to aim for. As for the water column stem plant feeders, gravel is pointless (for the most part).

Canuck already gave a good set of option, I am partial to Red Wendtii because it grows under lower light, not too demanding and is RED (it is a crypt). They thrive in normal gravel, no root feeding.

Good Luck

Aries
 
Welcome, Sharon!

I wouldn't worry about the gravel (as you can definitely grow plants in regular gravel).
However, you do need to make sure you have enough light, as this is usually a problem with new setups (unless you bought your lights separately!). What do you have on the 24g?
 
Thank you all for your replies. I am so relieved I do not have to start over again. I will take your list of reccomended plants with me to the store.

I think my lights are okay. I have an Aquapod 24 gallon with "32 watt Dual Actinic Compact Fluorescent Lamp and 32 watt Dual Daylight Compact Fluorescent Lamp. "It also has moon lights. The store said this tank is great for plants and tried to convince me to try plants from the start but I was nervous I would not be able to maintain them.
Now that I have found this site with all the great info I am looking forward to giving it a try.

Thanks again,
Sharon
 
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