New to plants looking for advice

[Liambiggs]

Hello I have a 45 gallon tank with one fuge ray 24" led light and it's 24" tall. I'm looking to add plants to it and was thinking of starting with java moss and maybe another plant that can work in gravel any ideas?

 

[Fresh2o]

In gravel, try Crypts (Cryptocoryne spp.) wide variety of colors and sizes to choose from.
If you have rocks or driftwood, java fern and anubias can be tied to them.

 

[YoungGuppy]

I love anubia nana and amazon sword.

 

[Rivercats]

Another plant that would work in the gravel would be Water Sprite. It grows fast and you can let it grow as large as you want or keep it trimmed at whatever height you prefer.

 

[Liambiggs]

Do I need to test different things in the water/ use anything special?

 

[Hawkins409]

Do I need to test different things in the water/ use anything special?

"Need" to test? Probably not, if you do regular partial water changes. But it is still a very good idea to test the essentials: Ph, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia. There's more... But I started with that.

 

[Rivercats]

I always test for nitrates weekly as I prefer keeping my tank at 10ppm. Unless you really start getting a lot of plants right now that test is sufficient. If you get any Swords or Crypts you will want to get some root tabs for substrate fertilizer as these plants are heavy root feeders. If you get Water sprite I would suggest getting Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive and use it weekly after your WC. That would be about it for what your wanting to do right now.

 

[Liambiggs]

Added a java moss and anubias minima to my bogwood and a water sprite into my gravel using a liquid fert. So far all is well