plants in sand substrate

[sansouci01]

what plants grow good in sand substrate

 

[jcolon]

Just about all ... or most ... plants in this hobby will grow in sand ... are you doing a low light tank? If so ... I have Amazon Sword, Crypt and water wisteria in Sand.

What plants do you have in mind?

 

[sansouci01]

Just thinking about getting rid of some plastic plants and trying my hand at real. I have an aqua-ray 40 watt t-12 bulb now. 55 gallon community tank. Had a crayfish but moved him to his own tank over the weekend. He found one of my fish tasty and I'm sure he will get more so the move was a good idea.

 

[jcolon]

You may have to look at upgrading your lights to a T5HO ... your current bulb will put you in a really low light range so very low light plants like Anubias and crypts may be your best bet to start. Anubias are not generally buried into the substrate, you'd want to tie them down to DW or a rock till its roots take hold.

Aside from sand ... you can look at a more plant specific substrate like ECO-Complete ... unless the sand's already in place.

The link below are low light plants you can look into
PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

 

[sansouci01]

would a t-5 fit in my current fixture or would I need to upgrade? Thanks for the link. Looks like some research is in store.

 

[jcolon]

would a t-5 fit in my current fixture or would I need to upgrade? Thanks for the link. Looks like some research is in store.

You'd need to get a new fixture ... There's a few brands out there ... plus a DIY.. but with a 55gal, a T5HO or LED's fixture's the way to go ... but sufficient LED's get pricey. Better you just stick with a T5HO .. single bulb should more than do.

 

[sansouci01]

looking on the web for these fixtures. It looks like it would be just an open tank on top except for the fixture clamping on. Is that correct? My tank now has a full hood.

 

[jcolon]

Oh ... In that case you'll probably have to go with glass tops with the fixtures on top. Try a few low light plants like Anubias and java fern for a few weeks / a month. If they don't die on you then your current fixture's enough for those plants.