Newbie Help

[CT 240 GUY]

Alright so I went to my not so local pet shop, which was suppose to have a great selection of plants.

I bought a plant that has white buds on it. I guess it is a peace lilly. Now I read in one of my books that this plant will not live very long.

So I went to another pet store and there selection of plants was horrible. They were all small and brown. I am trying to simulate the most natural habitat for my Fishes. I am going to do a community tanks with Guppies, Platy's, Mollys.

My questions is what sort of plants should I use for my tank. Excuse my newbie language but It looks like grass. I am in desperate need of help

 

[happychem]

Well, I doubt that you'll be able to find perfectly biotopic plants, but try to find the following: anubius nana, java fern, java moss, crypt. wendtii. Maybe even hygrophila polysperma for a stem plant.

check out the plant guide at www.plantgeek.net
and look in the "low light" section under "light requirements". They'll list the plants that should do okay in your tank. I'm assuming that you just have the lighting fixture that came with your tank?

 

[CT 240 GUY]

I actually bought the Bulb that helps the plants grow

 

[happychem]

Yes, but light output is a big issue. Plant Grow bulbs can be useful for their spectrum, but the intensity of light going into the tank is still limited unless you increase the number of bulbs.

 

[reignman40]

Happychem is correct 100%. The spectrum is great for the plants but the watts are still going to be the same as any other bulb you purchase of that size. Plants need those watts.

Some LFS's can be misleading regarding plant care because it helps them sell bulbs for $20 that you can get for $7 at the hardware store, etc. As a general rule you need 2-4 watts per gallon of water, depending of course on the height of the tank and whether you get low, medium, or high light plants.

Curtis