ready to change over to live plants....help?!

[Cobaltskyy]

Ok so I have read diff threads about low light plants and plants that don't need alot of care....im really not ready to get the CO2 and all that....I have 1 tiny java sword (?) in my 30 gal, a moss ball in my 10 gallon..and unidentified in with my betta...
What substrate do u recommend , what fertilizers, what light, what species of plants....I like the look of floating plants and would like some natural hiding spots for babies thanks!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Ok so I have read diff threads about low light plants and plants that don't need alot of care....im really not ready to get the CO2 and all that....I have 1 tiny java sword (?) in my 30 gal, a moss ball in my 10 gallon..and unidentified in with my betta...
What substrate do u recommend , what fertilizers, what light, what species of plants....I like the look of floating plants and would like some natural hiding spots for babies thanks!

If you want to stay low light, ferts aren't needed IME. If you're looking to upgrade your light in the 30g, a 36w, 6700K should work good and keep you from getting caught up using fert and co2.

Plantgeek.net is a good site to check out, they break the plants down into low/med/high lighting. They also have a list of non-aquatic plants that don't do well in aquariums. As for plants, Anacharis is good for planting or floating, anubias nana, java moss, different Vals just to suggest a few.

 

[Cobaltskyy]

If you want to stay low light, ferts aren't needed IME. If you're looking to upgrade your light in the 30g, a 36w, 6700K should work good and keep you from getting caught up using fert and co2.

Plantgeek.net is a good site to check out, they break the plants down into low/med/high lighting. They also have a list of non-aquatic plants that don't do well in aquariums. As for plants, Anacharis is good for planting or floating, anubias nana, java moss, different Vals just to suggest a few.

I should probably look at my bulb huh...LOL...any suggestions on substrate I just have reg gravel right now??

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I should probably look at my bulb huh...LOL...any suggestions on substrate I just have reg gravel right now??

It'll say on your bulb or google it and you should find it listed on someones webpage or I can help you figure it out.

Reg gravel is fine, I have Petco gravel in one tank now and PFS (pool filter sand) on my newest.

 

[Cobaltskyy]

What about mixing sand in with my current gravel? Will it mess up my current filter? Hey u have any idea what plant this is....a newb to plants I just picked a pretty one....lol

 

[Mr. Limpet]

What about mixing sand in with my current gravel? Will it mess up my current filter? Hey u have any idea what plant this is....a newb to plants I just picked a pretty one....lol

Are you thinking of putting sand on top of the gravel? If so, it'll eventually sift down to the bottom. I use PFS because the grains are bigger and it seems to work pretty good. I washed it before I put it in so the dust up you get with adding sand was minimized and my filter doesn't seem to have any problems with it.

Not sure about the plants, sorry. Go to plantgeek.net and see if you can find it, or wait for someone to post that knows it.

 

[mfdrookie516]

amazon sword from the looks of it

 

[fort384]

I am not a big fan of mixing substrates, but from a practical standpoint, I don't think it would cause you any problems. I just don't think it would look very nice.

The gravel you have will work just find for a low light planted tank. The planted 29g in my signature block had plain 'ol gravel in it, just like you have... and it was a jungle.

The key is lighting (even in a low light tank). That will make or break the success of a planted tank, and determine if you have a nice lush tank, or a few dying plants with a lot of nice algae...

 

[Cobaltskyy]

I am not a big fan of mixing substrates, but from a practical standpoint, I don't think it would cause you any problems. I just don't think it would look very nice.

The gravel you have will work just find for a low light planted tank. The planted 29g in my signature block had plain 'ol gravel in it, just like you have... and it was a jungle.

The key is lighting (even in a low light tank). That will make or break the success of a planted tank, and determine if you have a nice lush tank, or a few dying plants with a lot of nice algae...

I checked my bulb...5000K, 18W....upgrade I guess right???

 

[fort384]

Probably won't be able to grow a whole lot with that. Java fern and java moss might stay alive.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I checked my bulb...5000K, 18W....upgrade I guess right???

What fort mentioned, plus Anacharis, hornwort which I grew at .5 wpg (17w, 6700K in a 37g). Go to the link below for low light plants.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter=&filter_by=2&page=2

 

[Cobaltskyy]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Kneedeep kowboy]

Does it matter what plants you put in your tank? I mean in the way of mixing diff plants. Will any particular plants out "compete" other plants? Also are plants as picky when it comes to water chemistry or as long as the lights good everything is fair game?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Does it matter what plants you put in your tank? I mean in the way of mixing diff plants. Will any particular plants out "compete" other plants? Also are plants as picky when it comes to water chemistry or as long as the lights good everything is fair game?

IME mixing plants hasn't been an issue, just have to make sure they can get light and aren't too crowded. I look for (20-30ppm) no3 when testing, use low doses of Flourish Excel and my air stone is off most of the time to keep the co2 up.

 

[roydooms]

IME mixing plants hasn't been an issue, just have to make sure they can get light and aren't too crowded. I look for (20-30ppm) no3 when testing, use low doses of Flourish Excel and my air stone is off most of the time to keep the co2 up.

Do you have a CO2 system? If no and you only use excel for carbon, I remember Fort told me that air stone won't dissipate excel.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Do you have a CO2 system? If no and you only use excel for carbon, I remember Fort told me that air stone won't dissipate excel.

Nope, no co2 system for me, fish use oxygen and exhale (more or less) co2 into the water column. Plants use the co2 and output o2 (my understanding of it anyway). That's the beauty of planted tanks, it's a symbiotic relationship .

 

[roydooms]

Nope, no co2 system for me, fish use oxygen and exhale (more or less) co2 into the water column. Plants use the co2 and output o2 (my understanding of it anyway). That's the beauty of planted tanks, it's a symbiotic relationship .

That's about right I just want to add that during "lights off" plants use O2 and output CO2.

 

[fort384]

If you aren't injecting co2, running an air stone will actually increase the co2 in the water, as it will keep the tank at equilibrium with air, right at about 7 ppm or so.

 

[Aspencer]

What fort mentioned, plus Anacharis, hornwort which I grew at .5 wpg (17w, 6700K in a 37g).

I suppose if you float Anacharis for baby fry, you would be cutting light to the plants below and might be detremental if it is a low light plant?

 

[Cobaltskyy]

Ok scratching the floating plant idea....want type of plants would be good in the foreground for babies to hide in?