Thinking of Live Plants

[mostlycichlids]

I recently was thinking of planting a couple of my tanks but have no knowledge what so ever about plants. I want to get plants that dont require a ton of maintnance and I really dont want to have to use co2. I am mainly wanting to plant these tanks to rid my algae or controll it and to add a little something. I would like to plant my other tanks but they are all cichlid tanks and there is no algae problems in those tanks.

The tanks are

20 gallon with: soon to be tetra tank
2 fancy goldfish
penguin 200 filter
aquatech 5-15 filter
gravel substrate

10 Gallon with: Tank soon to be beta tank
2 juvi corys
3 mixed tetras
whisper 20
aquatech 5-15
gravel substrate

5 gallon
Beta
aquatech 5-15
gravel substrate

My questions are what are some good starter plants?
What kind of lighting will be required for each tank and plants?
what kind of plants can I plant in gravel or should I use other substrate?
Cost of plants and care?
Any info at all would help or any websites or recources would be appreciated so I can become familiar with plants and how to take care of them etc.

 

[plah831]

hey Paul! The sites I like are plantgeek.net and aquariumplants.com. Check out the care guide at http://www.aquariumplants.com//Articles.asp?ID=111
Plantgeek lets you search by difficulty, so you probably want to stick to Easy and Very Easy

But to start you off, the practically indestructible plants I usually recommend to beginners are Anacharis, hornwort, java fern, Anubias species, and possibly java moss. The first two are great because they grow very fast (are known to be nutrient hogs, if you have other plants) therefore are great oxygenators and will absorb nitrates from those messy goldies! I've been able to grow Anacharis and hornwort in unheated, unlighted buckets. They just get light from the window and are still growing like there's no tomorrow.

For low maintenance (low light) plants, you don't need anythng special. They'll do fine with the one bulb strip light that comes standard with tanks. They also don't need CO2 or ferts. What kind of light fixtures and wattage you got? I ask because the more light, the more photosynthesis, and then comes the need for all the extras.

Many plants also do fine in gravel. The only problem I had with gravel was getting plants that came as clippings (no roots at all) to start growing them. Also, some of my larger heavily-rooted plants were starting to show deficiencies probably because they're heavy root feeders. But for almost all low-mainteance plants, I think gravel should be just fine I would just suggest staying away from substrate fertilization (e.g. root tabs) with gravel. It doesn't absorb and hold onto nutrients the way clay-based plant substrates do, so will leach those things into the water.

 

[mostlycichlids]

Thanks a lot Paula I have the fixtures that cane with my tanks kits I think they are perfecto not sure on that the bulbs are 15 watt aquarium bulbs standard with the kit as well. I will do some reading and see what I can come up with. I want to get knowledgeable first. Thanks I have ont read the link yet but I will be in a moment.

 

[Ms.Bubbles]

My questions are what are some good starter plants?
What kind of lighting will be required for each tank and plants?
what kind of plants can I plant in gravel or should I use other substrate?
Cost of plants and care?
Any info at all would help or any websites or recources would be appreciated so I can become familiar with plants and how to take care of them etc.

If you're looking for plants that help with algae you'll want the fast-growing types, like anacharis or hygrophila. They usually require 2 or 3 watts per gallon of fluorescent lighting to really grow, which is what you'll need in order to keep algae-loving nutrients out of the water. Hornwort will grow at lower light levels, although personally I don't like that plant at all (messy).

All of these plants can be rooted in plain gravel, and anacharis & hornwort can even be floated if you wish.

As long as light is adequate and fish are well fed, fertilizers & C02 are not usually required. A tiny bit of Excel Flourish (carbon) can help things along if you wish, but don't use it with Anacharis plants, as it will melt the plant.

 

[plah831]

A tiny bit of Excel Flourish (carbon) can help things along if you wish, but don't use it with Anacharis plants, as it will melt the plant.

good point! I did have that experience, hence all my anacharis got moved to the snail buckets.

 

[mostlycichlids]

one question I forgot to ask was should I keep the carbon in my filters? I was not sure if it would hurt the plants oh and thanks msbubbles.

 

[Ms.Bubbles]

No, don't use filter carbon if you have plants. It tends to take out many of the nutrients in the water that your plants need to grow. If you need it for an emergency, for example to remove odours in the tank, it's fine to use it for a day or 2.

 

[mostlycichlids]

ok that is what I thought and thanks for the quick reply.