Plants

[lemurstampeed33]

Do different aquatic plants need different care?

 

[Khuligirl93]

Yes. They do.

If you ask more specific questions we can be more help

 

[Maxw47]

Yep. What are your lights, substrate, and ferts? Im sure we can recommend some good plants for ya!

 

[lemurstampeed33]

Well I'll be changing my tank into a planted one in two weeks. the plants I am looking at are the tiger-lotus,the purple waffle,dragon tongue,African fern bolbitis and the val-corkscrew. What lights should I get for them and how many watts. Btw it's a 20 gallon

 

[lemurstampeed33]

Btw guys thanks for the help

 

[Maxw47]

Well I'll be changing my tank into a planted one in two weeks. the plants I am looking at are the tiger-lotus,the purple waffle,dragon tongue,African fern bolbitis and the val-corkscrew. What lights should I get for them and how many watts. Btw it's a 20 gallon

What are purple waffles, dragon tongues, and African fern bolbitis? Scientific names? Once I know I can help you out.

 

[lemurstampeed33]

They are the kinds of plants make sure you look up the the name and aquatic plant after. For example tiger lotus aquatic plant.

 

[lemurstampeed33]

What are ferts. I know it has somthing to do with fertilizer

 

[Khuligirl93]

Looks like the purple waffle you mentioned might be Hemigraphis Exotica (this is a scientific name). In that case it is not a true aquatic plant and will not survive under water.
Ferts mean fertilizers. It is necessary to add them to a planted tank so the plants can have the proper nutrients to grow.
Maybe try doing a bit more reading on this forum so you can learn more.

 

[Maxw47]

Dragon tongue and purple waffle aren't true aquatic plants. They'll rot after a while. As for the others, they are pretty low key. I would get a dual T5 fixture, with bulbs as close to 6,500 K as you can. What are your plans for substrate?

 

[lemurstampeed33]

Are ferts expensive and what should I use for my substrate.

 

[Maxw47]

A good substrate is Eco-complete. It should run you about $25 for a 20lb bag. I would recommend 2 bags but you could get by with 1. As for ferts, I would get seachem flourish comprehensive, it costs like $5 a bottle or something like that and will last you a long time. Get some root tabs too, especially if you get swords or other heavy root feeders. Those don't cost much either.

 

[lemurstampeed33]

Does the lights light hood completly cove the top of the tank. Thanks for all the help. Any good plant recommendations

 

[Maxw47]

No the light shouldn't. I would get a fixture that has the little arms that support it on the ends of the tank. As for plants, this setup gives you a lot of options. Maybe some stargrass, water wisteria, crypts, dwarf sag. All of these plants will go wild in this setup. Except for the crypts, they don't grow as fast.

 

[lemurstampeed33]

I'm getting Eco complete for my sub straight it cost 30$

 

[Maxw47]

Two bags or one?

 

[lemurstampeed33]

One bag.

 

[lemurstampeed33]

Do I need to add co2

 

[Maxw47]

I don't like dealing with CO2. If you do start getting algae, cut down how long your light is on. Wait a few weeks. If you still have algae issues then start dosing some excel, it's liquid carbon.

 

[lemurstampeed33]

Ok thanks