Starting Over....25 Gallon (Tall)

[tactrunkmonkey]

Hey guys, finally getting back into fish again as I now have to money to invest into this hobby. My tank as of now, 25 Gallon Tall, has no fish in it, just driftwood. I am hopefully going to get some new plants for my tank today, but if not then I definitely am tomorrow, and I need some help. I have two 36W bulbs for my tank, which is about 20 inches high (~50cm) and I am pretty sure that is sufficient lighting, is it not? Also, I have a dirtlike soil mixed in with my gravel (I forgot the name, I think it was eco-something) What are some good beginner plants. Like I said, I have two 36W bulbs and my tank is about 100 Liters, and I have the eco-soil thing, do I need anything else? Thanks in advance.

 

[Purrbox]

The eco-something, is Eco Complete and a very good plant substrate. I've heard lots of good reports on it.

That's enough light that you'll probably need to look into CO2 and Fertilization. You'll want to make sure to pick up fast growing stem plants while getting the aquarium established. Getting these things taken care will help ensure that you aren't constantly battling algae.

Rotala rotundifolia (often mislabeled Rotala indica) would be an excellant choice. Other easy plants include Anubias, Java Ferns, most Crypts, Mosses, Vals, Sags, Anacharis, Wisteria, etc. I'd recommend checking out PlantGeek.Net's Plant Guide for more information. You'll definately be able to grow anything requiring medium light or below, probably anything labeled high light, and maybe some of the very high light plants. Look for the ones labeled as easy to grow.

 

[pitt420dude]

Hello tactrunkmonkey, you're lights are great, and pc lights like that are indeed quite efficient. With that amount of light, you can grow pretty much anything. You should definitely check out PlantGeek.net - Your Aquatic Plant Resource for suggestions as purrbox pointed out, and be sure to ask us any questions you may have.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I would definitely suggest some fast growing stems, like the ones Purrbox suggested as well as Bacopa caroliniana and Ludwigia repens.

I don't think you'll be able to grow everything with that lighting, seeing as how the tank is tall and PC lighting doesn't penetrate to the bottom that well...but you'll definitely have alot of choices.

Get some fast growing stem plants and you shouldn't need to inject co2. Dosing potassium and a micro nutrient like Flourish is a good idea though. With enough fish in the tank, you shouldn't need to dose nitrates or phosphates.

 

[tactrunkmonkey]

Can anyone give me a list of plants that don't require CO2 to be put into the tank? Thanks in advance...

 

[Purrbox]

Whether or not you need to inject CO2 is not based on the plants that you are growing but rather the amount of light that you have over the aquarium. If you stick to medium light (approximately 2WPG) or less, then you probably won't find it necessary to inject CO2. Then you just need to select plants based on the amount of over the aquarium. PlantGeek.net Plant Guide, the APC Plant Finder, and Tropica.com are all good sources of information on the requirements of specific plants. PlantGeek is nice since it allows you to search for plants based on lighting requirements.

 

[pitt420dude]

I don't believe there are certain types of plants that need CO2, but at the same time, I'm pretty sure EVERY plant benefits from it being in the water column.