planted tank THE CHEAP WAY( any adivce/tips)

[Evilameba]

hello all! i have a 10 gallon and want to convert it to planted as soon as possible, but id rather not spend much money on buying plants...i coughed up the tree bucks for 2 lily bulbs(rhizomes for u know-it-alls)......only one sprouted....... but i think it looks really nice. i might buy some more or those other kinds of dry rhizomes ( anubias i think)(at the same price)there is also a plant that grows adundantly in the front yard that looks alot like pennywort and ive been eyeballing it for some time but its growing out of water....-_-' i tried putting some in water and they pretty much died.what the heck???are there any common plants that can be grown underwater or any other "good deals" like those water lilies or any other tips on how to get some more nice plants for the tank??sorry for such a long post

 

[jrp1588]

ask for free plant clippings in the classifieds section of the forum. For $6 shipping you can fill 10 gal

 

[mgamer20o0]

what size tank do you have? what kind of lighting do you have?

 

[Evilameba]

thanks, ill look into that

10 gallon 2 brand new 10 watt flourescent bulbs.

 

[mgamer20o0]

best bet is like jrp said is to find someone who has some extra low light clippings to send you. there not many plants you can find local that can go in the tank more so with a low light set up.

 

[Evilameba]

so what i have is classified as low light?
'cause i must say its very bright.
maybe my tank is less than to gallons? im not sure lol
so nothing about the pennywort? it did well about halfway underwater...

 

[mgamer20o0]

get a pic of it and show. the closer it is to the light the better it would do. just because it looks bright doesnt mean much. its how much light the plants need.

 

[FishEggs]

the bulbs also need to be a specific color temp specified by the kelvin rating. for plants it should be between 5000k-10,000k most often 6700k. if you cant find the kelvin rating make sure it says daylight on it.

 

[Hornpipe2]

You might find this site useful, it's got some good recommendations (though stay away from Duckweed as it really is very hard to dispose of): An Easy Planted Tank

Most of these you can get free by asking in the Classifieds. I know my local Petsmart carries Java Ferns and Anubias at about $5 a plant, so check there if you only need a couple.

 

[DizzCat]

there is also a plant that grows adundantly in the front yard that looks alot like pennywort and ive been eyeballing it for some time but its growing out of water....-_-' i tried putting some in water and they pretty much died.what the heck???

Water plants and air plants are very different. Air plants, like the one growing in your yard, have a thicker stem and thicker skin on their leaves. They get their nutrients out of the spoil. Water plants have very thin stems and the leaves have open pore skin to allow them to get nutrients out of the water column. If you try holding up a water plant it falls over and they are very wilty when out of water. Air plants stay upright when held up. When you try growing air plants under water they may live for a little while, but eventually die from too much water; from being water logged. Opposite with water plants, they dry out and die real fast out side of water.

The plant in your yard that looks like Pennywort is not that, just resembles it.

The only way you could maybe grow an air plant in a tank is if only the stems are in the water. I have some common vines growing out of my tank this way. The vines are outside the tank and the stems are in the water.

 

[Evilameba]

thanks all!

 

[DragonFish71]

Water plants and air plants are very different. Air plants, like the one growing in your yard, have a thicker stem and thicker skin on their leaves. They get their nutrients out of the spoil. Water plants have very thin stems and the leaves have open pore skin to allow them to get nutrients out of the water column. If you try holding up a water plant it falls over and they are very wilty when out of water. Air plants stay upright when held up. When you try growing air plants under water they may live for a little while, but eventually die from too much water; from being water logged. Opposite with water plants, they dry out and die real fast out side of water.

The plant in your yard that looks like Pennywort is not that, just resembles it.

The only way you could maybe grow an air plant in a tank is if only the stems are in the water. I have some common vines growing out of my tank this way. The vines are outside the tank and the stems are in the water.

*Nods* That Lucky bamboo is the same way. The stalks can be submerged but the leaves have to be above water. They do look great sticking out of our 20 though. They will also send down roots from any "branches" so we have roots forming high up and growing to the gravel. Like a floating plant sending down roots. The otos love playing in them.