How do I start putting plants in my tank?

[pedikeens11]

I have a small 10g tank with 4 guppies and three albino corries. The basic filter, lighting and heater system that comes with the all in one starter tanks. What im asking is what do I need to start, how do i begin and maintain, and is places like petco a good place to purchase plants that are going to survive with my friends?
Also I have a 5g with a male betta and two albino corries. Same questions for that tank...all tho the heater is the one u cant change the temp to a different temp.

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[flitabout]

What lighting do you have? I have bought plants in both petsmart and petco and been very happy with both.

 

[Super_Blueberry]

You need to look at the type of light you have now and determine if it will support growing plants. If not, is it a bulb that can be changed to one that can grow plants? If not, do you want to invest in a new lid/light so you can grow plants? Once you know what light you will be using, you can determine what plants you can have and what, if any, fertilizer or liguid carbon/CO2 is required.

 

[NadiaG]

You can go with low light plants and dose seachem excel and be successful. I highly recommend to find a legit lfs store different from petsmart and Petco, as they have poor choice and most important very poor quality plants.

Do research on what plants are suitable for your tank/lighting/liking first.

 

[flitabout]

All but one of the plants that I have, have come from petco and petsmart. Here are pics of my tanks.
This is my 36g bf.


This is my 37g.

 

[flitabout]

They do have good plants. You just have to know what you are looking for, and make sure that you can grow them before you buy them. I have found these plants there.
Amazon swords- petco
Ludwigia repens-petco
Wisteria-petco
Ammannia Senegalensis- petco finally turning red again after switching back to submerged.
Anacharis-petco
Java fern Windelove-petco
Hygro Angustifolia- petco
Crypt Balansae- petsmart in the little packets
Telanthera Cardinalis-petsmart
Dwarf hair grass-petsmart
Staurogyne repens-petsmart
Crypt Wendtii-petsmart
Anubia nana- petsmart
You have to go through all of the plants to make sure you are getting their best. The last time I went to petco they had plants loaded with bba I think the worst I have ever seen. Petsmart is great because they have the little packs of some of the more unusual plants. They are in immersed form and they are small but as long as you get a fresh batch (I have bought the 50% off and some of the plants it works and others will just melt) they are just fine. You get a tun I got 6 maybe more in 1 pack of Crypt Wendtii, 4 anubias, I couldn't count the cardinalis, hairgrass, or the staurogyne repens.

 

[pedikeens11]

Kinda nervous about putting any plants in my tank after the obvious research and correct lighting and what not. I heard people bringing back snails and then the tank is full of them...I was thinkin of just buying a tank and having nothing but plants in it so I can get the hang of it before hurting any fish. Also drift wood...is this something that is good for fish or just a decoration. Where do I find that and how do I go about putting it in my tank. My number one concern is my fish so if its something I should be doing in a practice tank....please let me know!!!

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[flitabout]

Fish love plants and dw! They best thing I can tell you is let us know what your lighting is and we can recommend plants that will work well in it. There is no reason you have to go straight to highlight and co2 injection and intense fert regimes. This should be fun.

 

[pedikeens11]

I will look at them as soon as I get out of work...I thank you so much for helpin me!!!

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[Mebbid]

With the stock lighting that your tank came with you will be able to grow low light plants. They are a bit slower growing but it's good for someone that's new to plants to start off with the low light ones because the higher the light level, the easier it is to create an algae farm.

Here is a list of low light plants that will grow easily in your tank. Anubias as well as java fern will need to be tied to something like driftwood rather than being planted and Crypts will need root tabs.

Excellent List of Low Light Plants

 

[Old Scales]

I am a big proponent of low light, low tech tanks. I wish people would consider them as a class of planted tanks all onto themselves. I see many absolutely stunning low light set ups that will rival any high light, high tech scape. If you don't believe me, go to Tropica.com and click on layouts. You will see many low light set ups that are gorgeous. They should not be thought of as a transition step only to high tech plants. I have a 16g that is low tech, low light and a 29g high tech with all the gadgets you can put in a tank. I enjoy both immensely, but I have to admit that the low tech stays more consistently where I want as far as plant size and look. It has Anubias, java ferns, Crypt wendeti, and some ambulia. I never have to watch out for algae in it like I do in the high tech tank.
Just my 10 cents worth. OS.

 

[Reygan2]

I am a big proponent of low light, low tech tanks. I wish people would consider them as a class of planted tanks all onto themselves. I see many absolutely stunning low light set ups that will rival any high light, high tech scape. If you don't believe me, go to Tropica.com and click on layouts. You will see many low light set ups that are gorgeous. They should not be thought of as a transition step only to high tech plants. I have a 16g that is low tech, low light and a 29g high tech with all the gadgets you can put in a tank. I enjoy both immensely, but I have to admit that the low tech stays more consistently where I want as far as plant size and look. It has Anubias, java ferns, Crypt wendeti, and some ambulia. I never have to watch out for algae in it like I do in the high tech tank.
Just my 10 cents worth. OS.

I couldn't agree more about low tech tanks. I'm obviously no aquascaper, but I'm really happy with mine. The 40b gets the occasional glut/water mix dose and the little desk top cube gets nothing but fish poop .

 

[Reygan2]

Oops, here's the cube. Most of my plants come from Petsmart and Petco too.

 

[Old Scales]

Beautiful Tanks, congrats!

 

[Reygan2]

Beautiful Tanks, congrats!

Thanks!

 

[Coursair]

If your hood has screw in bulbs, you can buy 6,500K ( or near that ) u shaped CFLs for fairly cheap for nice plant growth.

I use ZooMed UltraSun CFLs.

You can get Seachem Flourish Comprehensive and Excel (and root tabs if you get crypts or swords. )

PWCs weekly, add your Ferts and Excel. Add Root tabs as needed maybe every 4 months. It's easy.

 

[pedikeens11]

Reygan im just seeing the first tank setup as my phone wouldn't display it. that's ultimately what I would like to accomplish. thank you for sharing!

 

[flitabout]

Oops, here's the cube. Most of my plants come from Petsmart and Petco too.

Love it those are beautiful tanks!!! Green and lush!

 

[Reygan2]

Reygan im just seeing the first tank setup as my phone wouldn't display it. that's ultimately what I would like to accomplish. thank you for sharing!

I did the C02 and fert dosing thing for a while, but honestly I love the ease of just letting it go. That tank is very low maintenance and I can actually sit back and enjoy it now