First Planted Tank - Need Advice!

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Bradley1

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 10, 2015
Messages
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Hi all,

So I'm finally gonna be able to have my first planted tank as all my other fish seem to love eating/uprooting anything I give them lol. Recently purchased a small 6gal tank I plan on keeping a small group of Red Cherry Shrimp in.

I'm planning on starting with a low tech tank, will be heated but I'm only keeping the factory lighting. I won't have CO2, fertilizer and I plan on trying to grow the plants in 1-3mm gravel.

My question is: What do you guys suggest for plants I would be able to keep in such a low tech tank? I was thinking of attaching some Anubias to a piece of driftwood and growing a carpet of Java Moss on the ground. Do you guys have any other suggestions/reasons I won't be able to keep Anubias or Java Moss?

-Thanks :)
 
Hi all,



So I'm finally gonna be able to have my first planted tank as all my other fish seem to love eating/uprooting anything I give them lol. Recently purchased a small 6gal tank I plan on keeping a small group of Red Cherry Shrimp in.



I'm planning on starting with a low tech tank, will be heated but I'm only keeping the factory lighting. I won't have CO2, fertilizer and I plan on trying to grow the plants in 1-3mm gravel.



My question is: What do you guys suggest for plants I would be able to keep in such a low tech tank? I was thinking of attaching some Anubias to a piece of driftwood and growing a carpet of Java Moss on the ground. Do you guys have any other suggestions/reasons I won't be able to keep Anubias or Java Moss?



-Thanks :)


Have you considered a soil substrate? You will more than likely struggle to grow plants in plain gravel with no co2 or fertilisers. I wouldn't keep the lights on too long and even suggest adding a 4 hour siesta period in the afternoon to allow co2 to build up a touch again.


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I thought of it but I've heard that Java Moss will grow just about anywhere and I figured gravel would be easier to clean. Are there any prettier beginner carpeting plants I could grow without CO2 or fertilizer if I used dirt?

-Thanks :)
 
I recommend java fern (but not as a carpeting plant), because it grows pretty quickly and with very minimal care, and I think it looks nice.
 
You'll be fine growing the plants you've mentioned as they are not substrate feeders. If you were to go soil/plant substrate you could grow crypts. Another great low lighting plant that come in all varieties. You could use crypt parva as a low grow carpet effect plant. Crypt wendti red, brown and green also look great as midground plants. Bucephalandra species look great and will do fine in your setup, maybe a tad pricey though. You could try staurogyne repens as a carpet. Again though this would require a better substrate than plain gravel. Gravel is fine for mosses and plants that don't feed using their roots but for any other plant it offers no nutritional assistance.


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Good idea! I'll look into it, will probably depend on what's available at the fish stores around me XD
 
Thanks for all the info! I think I'll stick with Anubias and Java Moss.. not sure I'm ready to dive into dirted tanks just yet!
 
I just had another idea! Would it be a good idea to add Duckweed to the surface? Or would there be some disadvantages to that?

-Thanks
 
If you don't mind removing it from time to time because duckweed reproduces quickly. Of course this depends on the amount of lighting and ferts. Some of it got into my very low lit QT and it might just die off on its own. I accidentally introduced it to my planted tank and at least once a week I am skimming the surface with a net to remove it.
It can get annoying because it clings to anything that contacts the water (nets, tools, siphon hose, your hands).


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Duckweed sucks.. it grows like a weed and strips the water column of nutrients other plants would benefit from. There are other floaters out there that look far more appealing carpeting the top of the tank. Salvimia minima, water lettuce or frogbit are a couple.

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