New Planted Aquarium

[cmavrik]

Hey guys,
I was wondering if a gravel substrate would be ok for live plants. As well as the light, a Current USA Freshwater LED+ would that sustain plants? Any advice would be appreciated.


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[Brookster123]

Tank size? Height? What types of plants? What type of gravel?

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[cmavrik]

Hello,
55 gallon, 24 inches, and not sure of plant type.


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[cmavrik]

My gravel is just pea sized gravel


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[Brookster123]

A 3" bed of pea gravel will be ok..the current sat + will give you high end of low light on that tank..

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[cmavrik]

What plants would you recommend for these conditions?


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[Brookster123]

Swords and crypts, vals.. anarchis. Moss on a nice big piece of driftwood

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[philipraposo198]

For plants I would suggest crypts, Asian ambulia, bacopa monnieri, bacopa Caroliniana, anubias, dwarf sag, pennywort, cardinmine lyrata, swords, val's, water sprite, floaters, ferns, rotala rotundifolia, hygro compacts, sunset hygro, guppy grass and there are so.many more.

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[Brookster123]

Originally Posted by philipraposo198

For plants I would suggest crypts, Asian ambulia, bacopa monnieri, bacopa Caroliniana, anubias, dwarf sag, pennywort, cardinmine lyrata, swords, val's, water sprite, floaters, ferns, rotala rotundifolia, hygro compacts, sunset hygro, guppy grass and there are so.many more.

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30% of those plants are med light.. hygro compact in a 24" tank under low light??

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[BBradbury]

Originally Posted by cmavrik

Hey guys,
I was wondering if a gravel substrate would be ok for live plants. As well as the light, a Current USA Freshwater LED+ would that sustain plants? Any advice would be appreciated.


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Hello cm...

Standard pea-sized gravel is fine for plants. That's what I use. It never compacts, so you don't need to worry about voids that can cause water chemistry problems. It allows good water circulation for plant roots and is easy to vacuum. LED lighting alone isn't going to be enough to sustain even low light light plants. Not sure why you'd use it, unless you had fake plants and just wanted the fish to have a little different look. The little research I've done on it tells me to pass and use a more standard lamp.

Just one reporter's opinion, though.

B

[Brookster123]

Originally Posted by BBradbury

Hello cm...

Standard pea-sized gravel is fine for plants. That's what I use. It never compacts, so you don't need to worry about voids that can cause water chemistry problems. It allows good water circulation for plant roots and is easy to vacuum. LED lighting alone isn't going to be enough to sustain even low light light plants. Not sure why you'd use it, unless you had fake plants and just wanted the fish to have a little different look. The little research I've done on it tells me to pass and use a more standard lamp.

Just one reporter's opinion, though.

B

Led lighting will most definitely support plants.. what are you talking about?!?!? Half the people one here use led lighting, bml ring a bell?? Finnex?? Current?!?!?

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[cmavrik]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the replies! Would I need to provide some type of carbon dioxide? Such as root tabs or Flourish?


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[azmodan]

Originally Posted by cmavrik

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the replies! Would I need to provide some type of carbon dioxide? Such as root tabs or Flourish?


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Ferts and a carbon supplement are very important to planted tanks. If you decide to buy the liquid ferts in a bottle most people do a combination of Seachem Flourish and API Leafzone, although in the long run for such a big tank it's generally recommended to purchase dry ferts and mix them in water yourself. Dry ferts are actually quite simple to use and you just need a digital food scale (~$10 on Amazon) in order to measure the quantities. In addition to this any sort of heavy root feeder like crypts or swords will need root tabs. These can be purchased online from a number of places or there are all sorts of easy DIY versions you can do at home too (just google DIY root tab or do a forum search here on AA). For a carbon supplement many people use Flourish Excel or the generic form of it glutaraldehyde. Beyond that you can also look into pressurized CO2 but that's another ballgame and not necessary for low/med light tanks.

[philipraposo198]

I grow all of these plants without issues under similar lighting conditions.

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[Brookster123]

Originally Posted by philipraposo198

I grow all of these plants without issues under similar lighting conditions.

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By similar you mean a 6" shorter tank and stronger light? No offense.. let's just dial in the advice.. you certainly know how to plant a tank..

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