Very new to plants, need advice

[JaredShope1]

Okay so I legit have NO clue how to do plants. I am getting a 29 gal for Christmas...and I wanna do some live plants but I have no idea where to start. I want kinda like an underwater grass scape. I don’t want to buy some crazy expensive aquarium plant substrate either if possible. I’ll probably only have gravel. Any advice is very appreciated. Thank you

 

[SaraB]

Gravel won't do for the grassy plants you want. There are a ton of beginner plants that don't require soil or special lighting. Anubias, anacharis, water wisteria, Amazon sword are all good plants. You can even do floating plants like giant duckweed or mini water lettuce.

 

[libertybelle]

Underwater grass-like plants are some of the hardest to do in terms of the necessary lighting, co2 requirements substrate needs etc, if you’re just getting started with plants it might lead to some frustration unless you’re willing to jump into the deep end with substrate/lighting/co2/fertilizer.

If not, as mentioned, there are a ton of plants that are less picky and you can make very lush aquariums with them. The first thing you’ll need to find out is whether the tank you’re getting comes with a light capable of growing plants. Many can’t handle much more than low light plants. Then you need to decide if you want to find things that will grow under the conditions you have or if you want to add lighting/co2/substrate to aim for particular plants.

 

[ZxC]

Go with inert sand such as pool filter sand or black blasting sand.

Build your own root tabs with Osmocote+ fertilizer and size 00 gel capsules. Place them in a grid pattern once per month - once per 3 months.

Buy a quality all-in-fertilizer such as Thrive and follow the direction.

Select some of these "grass like" plants:

sagittaria subulata
echinodorus tenellus
lilaeopsis brasiliensis

 

[aquanerd13]

You got it ZxC. Do sand and DIY root tabs. I highly recommend Nymphaea Rubra. It is not commonly said to be a beginner plant, but it is very easy IMHO. Salvinia Minima is very nice, I also recommend amazon swords. What are your water parameters?

 

[JaredShope1]

You got it ZxC. Do sand and DIY root tabs. I highly recommend Nymphaea Rubra. It is not commonly said to be a beginner plant, but it is very easy IMHO. Salvinia Minima is very nice, I also recommend amazon swords. What are your water parameters?

I was gonna do some Organic Potting soil with gravel on top to cap. Idk if this is good. My water is quite hard, because it is well water. My ph is 7.4 constant.

 

[aquanerd13]

I hate well water. It is so weird. My well water is GH/kh both at 3! and ph at 7.5!!! Well, vallisneria likes hard water, so that would be good. hmmm. This will be tough. I think you really need an RO unit. If you don't get an RO unit, you will probably have to get African cichlids, which don't usually do to great with plants. But then again, the water is probably to acidic for them. Yes, you want an RO unit. That is the best way to do it.

 

[JaredShope1]

I hate well water. It is so weird. My well water is GH/kh both at 3! and ph at 7.5!!! Well, vallisneria likes hard water, so that would be good. hmmm. This will be tough. I think you really need an RO unit. If you don't get an RO unit, you will probably have to get African cichlids, which don't usually do to great with plants. But then again, the water is probably to acidic for them. Yes, you want an RO unit. That is the best way to do it.

I’ve had tetras and mollies and platies and they do fine. My well water has a water softener so it’s not like they are swimming in a vat of liquid iron. Also, what is an RO unit?

 

[aquanerd13]

https://www.espwaterproducts.com/understanding-ro/

 

[Coursair]

I grow all of mine in sand.
I bury root Caps and use Thrive. I do weekly to every 2 week water changes.

 

[aquanerd13]

I actually have not had super great experiences with Anubias. I much prefer amazon swords. Anyways, what style of aquascape do you want?

https://www.theaquariumguide.com/articles/7-aquascaping-styles-for-aquariums