New to live plants- How do I keep them alive???

[parrotfish100]

I have tried keeping live plants before, but I failed miserably! Are there any tips on keeping them alive? I think I know where I went wrong last time-

1. Kept in gravel
2. Incandescent lighting
3. Not enough real sunlight

So I'm pretty sure that I should get another substrate next time, huh?

BTW- The first (and last) time that I used live plants was about 3 years ago.

 

[djlen]

Go here and read the article on 'Setting up a Planted Tank'.
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm

This will give you a bunch of information on the subject and then you'll have even more questions to ask.

You don't need any sunlight.
Gravel is OK to use and is best between 1 - 3mm in size. Fine is good, but not as fine as sand.
Incandescent lighting is not for planted tanks. You may be able to use your incandescent hood, depending on the size of your tank. They make compact fluorescent bulbs for small tanks.
Cichlids, especially the large ones, typically don't make good tank-mates for plants. They dig and they eat plants.
Read the article and get back to us with further questions.

Len