ok i have two 10G tanks and a 90G tank. i want to put plants in them all but am new to growing plants in a tank. What all do i need? Bulbs? Different rock? im really confuse on this:help:
Noob to Plants
- Thread starter Hwom
- Start date
What kind of gravel and lights do you have? What you need all depends on what kind of plants you want to keep, how much you want to spend and how much time a week you want to devote to working on the plants in your tank.
as a pretty noobish person myself, i would tailor your tank to be easy to care for, rather than to what plants you like. start with plants that are 'easy' and go from there. i have 24 watts spiral compacts over my ten g and get good growth. and 80 watts over my 50 and 55, the 55 could use a bit more light but the plants are still kicking, just not growin as much. then get a timer for the lights, set it to eight hours a day, which seems to be about average to keep algea away and have the plants healthy.
easy plants
-most common crypts
-amazon sword for the big tank
-most stem plants are pretty easy going
-java moss if you don't have fish that will pick it apart
-java fern there are different types
there's more. i don't know all their latin names as some people do. you could probably get a low light package for a good price in the classified adds here. then you just need some root tabs for the heavy root feeders. keeping it simple is the best thing to do in the beginning. lots of people will recomend you get the best of everything but i just have the basic necessities because it makes it easier to care for the tank that way. depending on your filter adding a sand rather than gravel bottom can make it easier to maintain the plants, and it makes it easier for them to get their roots in too. i also added trumpet snails to my tank to take care of dead leaves and stuff so they don't cause water problems or extra work for me. hope this helps
easy plants
-most common crypts
-amazon sword for the big tank
-most stem plants are pretty easy going
-java moss if you don't have fish that will pick it apart
-java fern there are different types
there's more. i don't know all their latin names as some people do. you could probably get a low light package for a good price in the classified adds here. then you just need some root tabs for the heavy root feeders. keeping it simple is the best thing to do in the beginning. lots of people will recomend you get the best of everything but i just have the basic necessities because it makes it easier to care for the tank that way. depending on your filter adding a sand rather than gravel bottom can make it easier to maintain the plants, and it makes it easier for them to get their roots in too. i also added trumpet snails to my tank to take care of dead leaves and stuff so they don't cause water problems or extra work for me. hope this helps
knowing how much you want to spend is going to help a lot. you can spend from 20 dollars to 800 dollars easy in setting up your planted tank.
Also, what type of lights do you have above each tank? just take a look at the bulb and see the wattage of each bulb, and also see if there is some big number that ends in a K such as 6700K or 10000K. Watts are more important in this case.
Gravel that you mentioned, or substrate as it is called, is not extremely important. many people use and get by just fine with regular old cheap-o rocks. or go to the hardware store and pick up play sand, and then you can get more expensive and get nutrient enriched substrates such as flourite or eco-complete. if i had to do it all over again i would have gone with the old gravel i had with some sand on top.
if you go over to our classified section there are always people who are willing to sell 'low light plant packages' those plants should be just fine for you. i know that customdrum and mgamer sell beautiful plants for very reasonable prices.
Once you think you know what you want you can feel free to post your list of things you are getting so that we can help you make an even more informed decision.
-chris
Also, what type of lights do you have above each tank? just take a look at the bulb and see the wattage of each bulb, and also see if there is some big number that ends in a K such as 6700K or 10000K. Watts are more important in this case.
Gravel that you mentioned, or substrate as it is called, is not extremely important. many people use and get by just fine with regular old cheap-o rocks. or go to the hardware store and pick up play sand, and then you can get more expensive and get nutrient enriched substrates such as flourite or eco-complete. if i had to do it all over again i would have gone with the old gravel i had with some sand on top.
if you go over to our classified section there are always people who are willing to sell 'low light plant packages' those plants should be just fine for you. i know that customdrum and mgamer sell beautiful plants for very reasonable prices.
Once you think you know what you want you can feel free to post your list of things you are getting so that we can help you make an even more informed decision.
-chris
Two plants have far and away impressed me- star grass and Bacopa (I got both from Squarkbert sp?). The Bacopa grows nicely- quite quick even under minimal light. The star grass took a little while to settle, shipping and replanting paid a toll on the plants health... but within 3 weeks it had become beautifull and bushy- and this was at a time I had less than 1 watt per gallon (wpg). I'm now up to 2.2wpg and it is growing very well.
Java Fern is your friend. Doesn't grow particulary fast- but it's not terribly slow either. All mine were producing little plantlets almost immediately. From what I've read- it's pretty near impossible to kill Java Fern- I'd highly recomend it- just don't plant the rhizome (roots) beneath the substrate- tie it to a rock or driftwood.
I often see Amazon Swords listed as beginner low plants- I had no success with mine- even with a root tab given to it. I've not noticed any difference since increasing my lighting- but they grow slow, so maybe I haven't given it enough time.
Water Wisteria is another plant very adaptable to light and often listed as a beginner plant.
Much like the star grass, I had some die-back to begin with... in the Wisteria's case it was even more severe- but then once it started growing it started growing very vigorously and is a beautifull shade of green. After being a failed plant- it turned around and has become a fast grower.
Guppy Grass is another staple to a beginner planted tank- very adaptable and easy to grow.
Look at hornwort and anacharis- two easy to grow plants in less than ideal conditions... if you give them ideal conditions though they'll become a pest by growing too fast.
Most floating plants are easy to grow if you don't have too much water surface turbulence: duckweed, azolla, red root, water lettuce.
Java Fern is your friend. Doesn't grow particulary fast- but it's not terribly slow either. All mine were producing little plantlets almost immediately. From what I've read- it's pretty near impossible to kill Java Fern- I'd highly recomend it- just don't plant the rhizome (roots) beneath the substrate- tie it to a rock or driftwood.
I often see Amazon Swords listed as beginner low plants- I had no success with mine- even with a root tab given to it. I've not noticed any difference since increasing my lighting- but they grow slow, so maybe I haven't given it enough time.
Water Wisteria is another plant very adaptable to light and often listed as a beginner plant.
Much like the star grass, I had some die-back to begin with... in the Wisteria's case it was even more severe- but then once it started growing it started growing very vigorously and is a beautifull shade of green. After being a failed plant- it turned around and has become a fast grower.
Guppy Grass is another staple to a beginner planted tank- very adaptable and easy to grow.
Look at hornwort and anacharis- two easy to grow plants in less than ideal conditions... if you give them ideal conditions though they'll become a pest by growing too fast.
Most floating plants are easy to grow if you don't have too much water surface turbulence: duckweed, azolla, red root, water lettuce.
Thank you all. all i have as far as lighting are bulbs from the pet section at walmart. the cheap ones non the less. i plan on getting better ones. the tanks are still cycling so it will be a while yet.
These are all great suggestions. Would also add various anubias, sags, crypts, hygros, crinums, apons, dwarf lilies, and barclaya bulbs to the list. There's a LOT you can do with a gravel or sand substrate and minimal (low to medium) lighting.
Have fun and be sure to show off some photos once you get going!
Have fun and be sure to show off some photos once you get going!
if you don't want to spend a fourtune on lighting get some daylight bulbs from walmart or a hardware store. they seem to work a lot better for me than the ones labeled for planted tanks and cost is about $2-5 depending on size.
i had a lot of trouble growing my swords at first too. they seem to do a lot better in a sandy subterate than in gravel. their roots spread really fast and i think the gravel gets in the way.
i had a lot of trouble growing my swords at first too. they seem to do a lot better in a sandy subterate than in gravel. their roots spread really fast and i think the gravel gets in the way.
For me, just replacing the bulbs wasn't enough- I just two 18 inch bulbs above my 55gallon- they simply don't make 60w bulbs (which is what I wanted) that are 18 inches and would fit my hood... at least not that I saw.
I rewired my hoods with CFL's. Sockets cost $2.50 each (6 on my 55g) - bulbs 6500Kelvin 20watt cost about $11 from Lowes for a 4 pack. (26 watts cost about the same price but wouldn't fit in my hood- just barely too big).
Very cheap way to get above the 2 wpg mark.
Instead of paying $200 for a commercial light to get what I needed I did it myself for under $30. (as inspired by a thread by boredagain on this very forum).
I've got sand... My problem was they started with low light- and the one I got from Petsmart was in bad shape to begin with.
Other members on here have told me that although Swords are often labeled as low-light... that is fairly inaccurate for most swords and they need at least medium light to do well.