Attention Aquaborists. In need of some plant info...

[Shadowraven]

I was wondering if any experienced plant keepers here would provide me with some help.

I am in the process of setting up a 55-gal tank. I originally planned to use only artificial plants in this set-up. My past experiences with plants have been, how do you say it, less than successful. Another word for it in layman's terms would be, a disaster.

However...

Since looking around on the Internet, I have seen some absolutely gorgeous planted tanks. I'll admit it now, I'm suffering from... plant envy.

What I need are some ideas about which plants would look really good in a tank this size and that won't let me kill them out of hand. I'd also like some tips from people having success in the plant department on what I can do to keep them alive and make them thrive.

I was mostly opposed to the use of sand before, but have heard that it can be a better rooting medium for plants. I have recently softened on the use of sand due to comments made here. But I will still only use a coarse sand. Please let me know what you plant-gods of the forum here think.

 

[WhiteDevil]

I hate sand, tired it a few times in planted tanks, im leaving it on the shelves from now on. I had compaction issues with the sand in my 55, no matter what it would get really hard and start fouling the water, PWC was every other day on this tank at the time.
My plants even down to the unkillable wisteria and anacharis died in this sand, and I tried both aquarium sand and play sand, Pool filter sand isnt really sand and looks like a midgets bean bag chair popped.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Pool filter sand isnt really sand and looks like a midgets bean bag chair popped.

Ha!

Ok... So sorta in agreement with WhiteDevil... though our views of PFS may be somewhat different. I have tried play sand and hated it. I have used PFS for a very long time now and couldn't be happier. I have PFS in my 40 breeder. You're welcome to take a look at my build thread (link in my sig) for some ideas.

I guess the big question is.... are you planning on upgrading lights? I've tried low light in the past, actually trying it again with a 10g. I never had much luck. It is very possible to have a great looking low light tank, I just never got that far. Now that I've upgraded to high light, co2 injection, and fert dosing, my plants look amazing (at least to me). I would never try and push someone in to something they don't want to do. If you're not comfortable spending the money to go high tech, don't. It's just been my experience that it is much more rewarding. YMMV

 

[WhiteDevil]

Im with MFD, Some parts of this hobby got way out of hand but were much needed parts due to the system. I have over 500 bucks in lighting alone on my 210, another close to 5k in filtration, not to mention the Co2 parts.
It gets very expensive very fast.

I used the PFS in a blackwater tank, which might have been part of the issue i had. It went foul quickly. I know alot of others who use it like Toilet paper and love it, for ME it didnt work out and aesthetically looked nothing like I wanted.

ebay and aquabid might be your new best friends if you go high tech.

 

[BigJim]

I like sand in my tanks. It's cheap, it looks nice, and my plants do fine in it. I have MTS in the tanks to stir up the sand and keep it aerated.

Play sand is very dusty and needs a lot of washing. I haven't used PFS, but I've used Quickrete Medium sand, which I'm betting is really close if not identical. It requires very little washing and looks like white sugar when new. I've also used a coal slag blasting compound called Black Blast with good results.

Insufficient light is the biggest reason people fail with live plants. Stock lighting often isn't strong enough for even low-light plants. If you've got a 55g, a nice 48" T8 shop light will do wonders for your tank. A two-bulb fixture will be good for low-light plants and a four-bulb fixture might bump you up to needing CO2 to prevent algae if the reflectors are good and you use 40W bulbs.

It's possible to have a nice low-light tank, but it takes patience since most low-light plants are slow growers. I really like the look of java ferns and anubias attached to driftwood. Crypts can also make a low-light tank interesting.

As mfd said, it's hard to beat a high-light tank if you're willing to put in the work and pay out for the equipment. I swore I'd never go high-light, but I got hooked on the plants and wanted to try LED lighting as an experiment. The LED link in my signature goes to a thread detailing my high-light tank experience so far.

 

[Shadowraven]

OK, I guess that covers the substrate issue.

The equipment part will be something separate entirely. I won't be spending a lot of money on it for sure, or I'll be spending more for the divorce!

What about the plants. Any suggestions?

 

[McLumpy]

It looks like you're where I was a month or 2 ago. I have a 55g too and just finished adding low-medium light plants. You can read more about it in my Low-Tech/Low-Maintenance thread, (link is in my sig).

Congrats on making the plunge to go planted, btw!

 

[mfdrookie516]

It looks like you're where I was a month or 2 ago.

Same here. Mid February, I had no idea which direction to go. I started with a 40 breeder and no plans for co2... that quickly evolved. You can also reference my 40 breeder journal for some insight. I'll warn ya though, it'll take a while to read if you try it.

 

[Shadowraven]

LOL. Fair enough. I have been warned! :=)

I'll check it out.