Need plant recommendations please

[severum mama]

Hey all, I'm about to score a watertight 55 gallon for free, so now I don't have to wait to reseal the other one. Yay! 8) Anyway, I would like to plant the tank heavily if at all possible, but I don't want to do anything difficult. The plan is to use what gravel I have in my 20 gallon (the 20 is coming down), as well as 2 20 lb. bags of Eco Complete, and a 20 lb. bag of small grain gravel all mixed together- hopefully this will look as cool as it does in my head! As for lighting, I will be picking up a used Coralife PC strip, 2x65W. I plan to add 2 of the Hagen CO2 units- not great I know, but I'm not much of a DIY-er, and pressurized is out of the question. Filtration will be one Fluval 204 (moved over from the 20), and one Aquaclear 50 (200 gph).

As I understand it my lighting will put me into medium-light territory, which is not something I'm too experienced with. I've done low-light to death so I am looking to do something other than anubias or java fern. I really like red ludwigia, crypts, and vals. I'd also like to keep an Amazon sword if at all possible. I would love to hear any other suggestions, critiques, anything! TIA. 8)

 

[newfound77951]

Have you bought the Hagen CO2 kits yet? If not can I put a plug in for the Red Sea Turbo CO2? I have two of these on my very high light 55 and they have been great. About $20 online.

You should be fine with most any crypts and the vals. The Ludwigia will grow but won't be red at that light level, most likely. Some Rotala rotundifolia would look nice and may get pink towards the top of the tank. A sword should do fine as well, give it (and the crypts) some root tabs and it'll be even happier. Someone (crazyred maybe?) just posted a pic of a drop dead gorgeous red rubin sword growing in less light than what you're proposing. Other plants to try include Bacopa (either caroliniana or monnieri), wisteria, various Myriophyllum species, and most Hygrophilas as well. Besides that red rubin sword and some of the bronze or brown crypts most red plants need more light than that. Also I'm not sure what plants you could use for a foreground, maybe some Anubias nana or small crypts. You'll probably need some basic ferts, too both macro and micro, especially with the CO2. At that light level, though, you won't need to add ferts too frequently, so it should be pretty easy to get into a routine that keeps the plants happy and the algae at bay. At least some N, P, K and a good trace mix.

 

[rich311k]

With 130 watts over 55 gallons. You will be able to grow a lot of plants. The swords and other plants you mentioned will do well in that lighting. I would not be afraid to try anything a few really high light plants may not do well, but you may be pleasantly surprised.

The CO2 could be a problem. It is doubtful those two units will give you enough CO2, and if it starts to bounce you could have some problems. You might want to supplement with Excel. You will also need to look into ferts.

Good luck with the tank. Now I want a new one.

 

[severum mama]

Hmmm... I can get the Hagen units cheaper, and cost is really a factor for me. The thing that is giving me hope about them is that the planted tanks at the store I work for all use just one of the Hagen units on each tank, and use 2x54 watt high output T5's. We don't dose ferts at all, and we even have riccia growing in one of the tanks. No algae issues, either. All the FW tanks are 55 gallons. I thought I may have luck using 2 of the CO2 things. As for ferts, I don't know much of anything about them, except how to follow the directions on the bottles. I didn't really want to get into anything too difficult. I guess I have some reading to do!

 

[Purrbox]

I happen to have a couple of used capsets for sale in the Classified Section as a result of a recent upgrade to Pressurized CO2. These would be less expensive than one Hagen system and would allow you to hook up four 2 Liter Bottles with minimal effort. This is a bit less than I'd recommend for your tank, but still significantly better than a pair of Hagen setups. You'd just need to add a diffuser (you could use your AquaClear), yeast, sugar, and water and you'd be set. Just another option for you since you mentioned that you're not very DIY inclined.

If you want to pick up dry ferts from Greg Watson (least expensive option for your size tank in the long run) there are many members here that can help you figure out how much to dose and how often. You can also download the calculator from Chuck Gadd's site which will help you figure out how much to add to reach your targets.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I have 130 watts over my 55g, its heavily plants (with alot of fast growing stem plants) and I don't use CO2....so if you have enough fast growers, you could get away without CO2. DIY was just too much trouble for me (plus it is cool downstairs where my tanks are). I have some green spot algae, but its not hard to get off...other than that, my plants are healthy (I fertilize weekly) and there is minimal algae....so you can get away with that much light, without CO2.

Here is what I've had success growing:
*Hygro polysperma, ceylon, and augustifolia
*Anubias
*Crypts
*Bacopa caroliniana
*Rotala rotundifolia
*Echinodorus tennellus
*Java fern
*Dwarf sag
*Wisteria
*Anacharis
*Tiger Lotus

And there are probably more, but that is what I can remember. Most are stem plants...and grow fast, so they outcompete the algae. Right now the Hygro polysperma is overtaking the tank.

I tried Ludwigia, but I guess it didn't get enough light, so it didn't do well. Also, Ambulia didn't do well or Corkscrew Vals (I'm guessing because of the height of the tank).

I have ferts from Greg Watson....KNO3 and KSO4. I dose them weekly, as well as Flourish (different day, but weekly), and I try to dose Excel twice a week.