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Bajaknot

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 27, 2007
Messages
6
Location
Boston
Hello everyone. New to the site and am very intrigued by freshwater aquarium plants. I have a 30 gallon tank with an angel, two tricolor sharks, two silver dollars, two gouramis and a cat fish. Have been told silver dollars cannot co-exist with plants without devouring them. I would like to start a few plants in the tank but am a bit spooked with the chemistry class that some are undertaking. I'm trying to determine if this is feasible for me or over my head.
What are the preferred tank conditions for the "most common" plants? I realize this is quite a broad question but am trying to gain a handle on planted aquariums. Any help would be appreciated.
 
First, I hope you have plans to upgrade as that tank will get small pretty quickly for what you have mentioned.

Secondly, your question definitely is broad. It's like asking the same about fish. Different fish are ideally kept in different types of waters, but they have some overlap that is possible. Check out Plant Geek for some ideas on plants. You can go with simple plants like Java Moss and Java Fern, which won't make you mess with lighting or fertilizers. It's a whole different game when you get plants that need higher lighting and fertilizers. The general rule is to keep enough fertilizers in the tank so the plants out-compete the algae, but keep them low enough so you don't kill fish.

If you make a decision on what plants to have, perhaps more specifics can be given.
 
Sorry, I don't know much about planted tanks, however I just wanted to add that it is no lie that silver dollars will devour plants. They love ripping mine up. The trick is to find the harder leafed plants such as perhaps swords and java fern. Java fern is a very low light and undemanding plant that would probably work well in your aquarium, assuming you have just regular normal output flourescent tubes, and no special lighting.

You can do a lot with a tank like that, and the chemistry course isn't neccesary at all.

I'm sure you will get plenty of good suggestions for the plant gurus here, but in the mean time, check out plantgeek.com. I narrowed down the search to only low light plants in the link, but you can search their whole plant guide and narrow down by different requirements on the home page.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter_by=2

HTH, and welcome to AA. :)
 
The sticky labeled "Read This First: Resources and References" contains a wealth of information. When you have the time, please read through those.
 
Thanks for the tips on where to start. I'll be a little more specific with my questions after getting more info.
 
To add to what others have said, there really isn't any one ideal way to set up an aquarium for plants. There are lots of different methods that can be used sucessfully. They range from those requiring minimal maintenance and understanding of chemistry to high maintenance tanks that require a lot more time, effort, and understanding of aquarium chemistry.

You're best bet is to either decide the type of tank that you want and then pick plants appropriate for the setup, or to choose the plants you want and then determine the best setup to fit their needs. Once you've figured out either the type of setup you want or the plants you want, let us know and we can help with the rest.
 
rkilling1 said:
The sticky labeled "Read This First: Resources and References" contains a wealth of information. When you have the time, please read through those.

I'll add my voice to the above. These subjects were posted there for just this type of situation; everything from lighting needs, substrates, filtration, fertilizers, etc are found there. Take your time and look through them. When the need for specific questions arises, don't hesitate to ask.

I'll also confirm Purrbox's statement. You can start with easy or go with a major set up right from the beginning. It's all a matter of what you are prepared for.
 
Those stickies are full of info. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I'm already thinking some low light low maintenance plants to get things going and see if I can handle it.
 
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