I had acquired a tank that is roughly 75 gallons and had come up with the idea of a salt water tank. Little did i know of all the work and money i would need to pour into such a thing. With only a few years it didn't make sense to make such a large investment. I decided that i would begin my process of a large 75 gallon planted tank. I wanted to know if anyone had any plants they would recommend. As well as fish and filters. Thank you!
75gallon tank!
- Thread starter Mc96928
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SKB
Aquarium Advice FINatic
If you've never had plants before, I'd start with the basics. I have java fern, java moss, Anubis nana, amazon sword, and ill be getting in some Christmas moss and water sprite soon. Those are supposed to be the sure fire plants to have. You don't NEED to add any plant food or carbon etc. but I suggest 2+ watts per gallon. Research different aquarium plants. One of my favorites, red tiger lotus. Which I would love to have some day, those say they require 4-7 watts per gallon. But when u get into certain plants they say they require a lot of maintenance plant food, carbon, etc. If you want a full planted tank, I'd used dirt substrate. I haven't used dirt substrate so, I can't give you advice on that. But, this post will bump this up so if anyone else has suggestions they can also post. 
FishBoy185
Aquarium Advice FINatic
It depends on what type of lighting you have. Cant wait to see some pictures.
I don't have any lights. Do you suggest any?
NYgiantsRP
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you want a high tech planted tank, it will be MORE expensive then a saltwater setup. Co2, fertilizers, the plants, the light fixture, and even the pruning stuff. It's not cheap. You should start with the plants that SKB reccomended, she gave good starter plants theat don't need any extra care. Just a few reccomdations for lighting, T5 high output is the most cost friendly, but not cheap. Also, get a timer, so the lights will turn on and off at the same time everyday. 8-10 hours a day is a good amount of light for the plants.
I would not recommend a dirted tank to a newbie to planted tanks. You can use any smaller grained substrate for simple lower light tolerant plants. But lighting is still important even for low light plants. Red Tiger Lotus are actually quite low light tolerant and one of the few non-green plants you can use in a low light tank that adds color. Also using Crypt Wendtii Red or Bronze is another way to add non-green color to a low light tank. Swords and Crypts do much better when root tabs are added since they are both very heavy root feeders. Tiger Lotus also benefit greatly from root tabs. While you can decide not to give low light plants any ferts it is much better to add even a weekly dose of liquid ferts such as Seachem Flourish Comprehensive and API Leaf Zone which supplies Iron and Potassium. Some nutrients such as Potassium are not present in a non fertilized tank as nitrates and phosphates are so adding them weekly will save you a headache down the road when nutrient deficiencies rear their ugly head. You can still have a nice low light tank, with a cheap substrate of sand, and use ferts without breaking the bank. What it boils down to is if you want plants you need to invest alittle money if you want to be sucessful IMO. Otherwise just go with a fish only tank and a few nice silk plants made for aquarium use.
