Need Help Picking Plants

[Cereal]

Hey, I'm relatively new to the site (been lurking in the shadows for a while ) and have a few questions for you pros. I'm starting up a heavily planted tank and wasn't sure what plants I would be able to put in it and survive/thrive. The tank is a 29gal (30Lx12Wx18H) and I will be using these lights 30in 2Bulbs fixtures. It is a 2 bulb T5HO fixture with two 10000K 24W bulbs. I decided to get that fixture because I saw that mfdrookie516 was using it in his 40gal (which is a beautiful tank) and because it was cheaper than most of the other lights I saw. I'm not sure if that leaves me at medium light or not because everything I read said something different. As of right now I don't have any ferts or CO2 systems set up. I leaning towards what mfdrookie516 once again suggested in this thread about the system for $150. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/co2-question-any-suggestions-149895.html If I do get a system it will be a few weeks away at the minimum. I might start DIY until then to see if I like it or not.

Now that I got that out of the way, here is a list of the plants I plan to get. I'm asking which plants you guys think will work with my setup because every site I look at gives different parameters for the plants. I'm so confused I will gladly accept any suggestions for other plants, or if you find one that I picked unsuitable for my conditions. I'm planning on ordering them from aquariumplants.com, but once again if someone has a better place in mind, please let me know.

1x Corkscrew Vals (10 plants)- Vallisneria americana var. biwaensis
1x Dwarf Sag (10plants)- Sagittaria subulata
2x Ambulia- Limnophila indica
2x Bacopa australis
1x Ludwigia peruensis
2x Ludwigia Broadleaf- Ludwigia repens
2x Rotala indica- Rotala roundifolia

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh well, once I think of it I'll let you guys know. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Let me know if you have any question. Thanks again.

 

[Cereal]

Oh yeah, I use EcoComplete substrate. That's what I forgot. :/

 

[mfdrookie516]

Well, I'm not sure whether I should hide or not... I guess that depends on how much money you end up spending!

I think you've got a good plan. IMO, that lighting won't *require* pressurized co2, but it would be a valuable addition. I think your plant selection looks good, though I think some lower growing carpet type plants like blyxa japinoca would look really good in there.

 

[Cereal]

Yeah I figured I would be right on the line of needing Pressurized CO2 or not. I will probably get it and eventually upgrade to a bigger tank. I heard a while ago that blyxa japinoca need higher light. The website I was going to order my plants from is out of blyxa japinoca, do you know of any other place I could get it, and other plants from? My LFS doesn't supply plants, and when they do the plants are bad.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I have some on its way, but it will be a while before I have any extra. I'm honestly not real sure about online dealers... you might check aquabid. I think the light you have will grow about any plant you want, except for the most light demanding plants.

 

[Cereal]

Thanks man! I can be patient Are you serious about the light being good enough for most plants? Everywhere I have read has given me different views on my light. Oh and would you suggest a glasstop for the tank and what about a filter? The filter I have is an Aqueon 30 or something like that.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I don't like glass tops. They get in the way. The only time I ever use them is to hold the bag when I'm floating fish, then to hold the air line while I drip them. The rest of the time, there's no top on my tanks.

For filtration, I'd highly suggest a canister if you're going to inject co2. They allow you to run an inline reactor, and can be set to not cause surface agitation with off gasses co2.

And, yeah, I think that light will do fine. Everyone told me my tank would be considered medium light, running pretty much the same lighting. Well, it's growing high light stuff, the carpet plants are actually carpeting.... My experience shows otherwise.

 

[Cereal]

Ok thanks for the great advice once again! I'll probably get a canister filter once I get a bit more money to spend. I'm really excited about this tank now. I wish I got a 40g or 75g for the extra aquascaping room, but oh well.