Determined to try a planted tank!

[Horsegirlmaddy]

Hello all! I've always felt a little left out, with everyone around me having big beautiful planted tanks...I love all my tanks, but I want to try plants now!! In my beginner days, I put a plant or two in a tank, but didn't have any lights in the tank and so it withered away and I decided I wouldn't try any more. I now have a 35 gallon frog tank, and am looking to try out plants for real this time. So far I've managed to keep hornwort alive- not much of a feat, as t cares for itself!

So I want plants that can thrive in a tank with just a 50W fluorescent light, that have strong roots (my frogs don't show any interest in plants at all, but just in case their big feet kick up a bit of substrate), do well in room temperature water (21 Celsius), and preferably don't need too much fertilizer or added CO2. A hefty list, I see now...
The other option would be to plant my 60 gallon hexagon, but I feel like that might be quite a PITA, being a smallish base and quite tall (therefore far from the lights).

Or possibly my African tank (leopard Ctenopoma and a Senegal bichir), which has LED lights...but I'm possibly eliminating this tank from my collection in the near future...

Too many choices so basically, any suggestions are very welcome!

 

[Zimmanski]

Check out some low light plants like java fern, anubias and anarcharis. The anubias and java ferns would be good since you attach them to rocks or driftwood so no worries about substrate getting kicked up and they're very undemanding. I say anarcharis because they don't need much light, and grow like crazy so it shouldn't be an issue with the substrate thing again, they also don't need co2 or liquid carbon. Good luck! Once you go plants you won't look back!

 

[Horsegirlmaddy]

Fantastic thanks so much! How do you attach them to rocks and driftwood? Also, I saw a list of plants I can order, and there were some labeled big plants- are they supposed to be emersed, like in a palludarium? Im also looking for swamp plants for my tortoise's habitat, if you know of any!

 

[bevoholic]

Fantastic thanks so much! How do you attach them to rocks and driftwood?

I just used a brown thread and tied one piece to my DW and then wrapped it around my anubias a few times then tied it off. Eventually it will take hold and I'll cut the string off.