Too many plants?

[mollymom]

Hey everyone,

I have a 50 gallon hexagon front-corner back, tank. I have blueprinted out my tank, found the plants I want, added them to the blueprint, and etc(have not bought them yet)... But, now I'm wondering if I put TOO many plants on it.

Tell me what you think...

2 bunches Corkscrew Val
2 bunches Pennywort (8-10 stems in each bunch)
1 Radican Sword
1 (or 2?) bunch/es Cabomba Furcata
2 bunches Mexican Oak Leaf
1 bunch Ludwigia Repens
1 bunch Wisteria
One order of Dwarf Sag (not worried about this)

Because my tank is not long, it will fill up fast, finding plants tall enough is the real challenge!

If it's useful here are my dimensions:
Height: 23 inches
Depth: 23 inches
Length: 30 inches

Any help would be greatly appreciated,
thanks!

 

[andresdeo]

If you are going for a heavily planted look I dont think it's too many, it's a start! How about posting the blueprint you had in mind.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello mol...

You'll need some pretty strong light or very tall plants for a tall tank. The light will decrease, the deeper it has to travel.

B

 

[mollymom]

Hi, thanks for the replies. I decided to just go ahead and buy them!
And yes I am going for heavily planted look.

BBradbury, I purchased an "upgrade" on my lighting, suggested by another member on here. It is the US current plus light fixture. Really cool light!

The plants are coming next Thursday! (ship out next Wednesday)

 

[Fresh2o]

A little of a year ago I added a bunch of plants to my tank (there was a reduced shipping charge if you ordered more plants...from AquariumPlants.com). It turned out to be too many and there was a lot of crowding and competition for light. I knew that some species would do fine and other might not. Just like fish, plants may require more space as the grow and fill out, often become larger than anticipated. Of the 8-9 types of plants I ordered, I think I only have one type left. My tank is full of plants that I got from PetsMart (gel packs) and from other users.
I see you've ordered several bunches. If for some reason you cannot plant all of them in because of available space, then it might be better to only plant the healthiest specimens. Sometimes it's trial and error on which ones thrive and and which ones don't. Good luck with this!

 

[jwh0818]

Great choice for lighting! Next light you get, you should look into www.buildmyled.com you can choose many options for each specific tank. You can have dimmers to go from low to high tech gradually! Still you purchased a great light!

 

[mollymom]

Fresh2o: Thanks for your input, I will definitely make sure there is enough room, will not plant some if there is too many!!!

jwh0818: Thanks for the suggestion , will check it out.