Absolute planted tank newbie, some basic questions and recommendations?

[eco23]

Hi everyone,

I'm an absolute noob with planted tanks so bear with me

The more involved I become with the hobby, the more ridiculous I feel that I have plastic plants in my tank, lol. I want to start transitioning from fake to real, but I'm overwhelmed with some of the info on planted tank websites...so I'm hoping you guys can recommend a few plants that would work for me.

I don't want to get involved with co2, or have anything high maintenance...just nice, simple, easy to grow plants. Here's my setup-

48 gallon freshwater

Duel Zoo-Med T-5 HO lights...
-1 "Ultra Sun" 39 watt 6,500K high intensity trichromatic full spectrum daylight lamp CRI rating 98 (don't know if any of that matters )
-1 "Coral Sun" actinic lamp, also 39 watt, short wavelength region of spectrum peaking at 420 nanometers (again, don't know if that means anything to you )

Normal aquarium gravel

The only plants I have in there now are some Vals (some of the leaves are browning, I just started adding Aqueon plant food the other day), Java Moss and a Morimo Ball.

I'd love some recommendations on easy care plants that would work with my setup...thanks!!!

 

[eco23]

Oh, I also have 2 airstones I'm considering turning off...would that make a difference?

I've got a Fluval 405 which creates plenty of surface agitation, so I'm thinking the air stones aren't necessary for anything other than aesthetic reasons.

Also, any websites you'd recommend to purchase plants from?

(sorry so many questions!)

 

[j2112j]

The coral sun bulb makes things look nice, but doesn't help much if at all with plants. Depending on the kind of plants you want, may want to switch out that bulb with another Zoomed "UltraSun" or "FloraSun".

Not sure though if that total (78w) would mean getting into co2. Might want to mention the height of your tank for others to comment.

 

[eco23]

The tank is approximately 20-21'' tall.

The actinic light is pretty much going to be mandatory. To be honest, having only the daylight lamp on looks kind of crappy, with the bluish light it looks beautiful...my girl would make me sleep on the couch if I took it out, lol.

I'm hoping to find something short and spriggy for the front of the tank, and obviously something fuller for the back.

 

[eco23]

The fake ones I have in there now are a version of Ambulias. I like the look of their real counterpart was suitable.

I have just normal aquarium gravel and I've seen different opinions online whether it needs to be in a different substrate.

 

[jcolon]

You wont regret switching over to live plants ... looks sooooo much better than fake. Depending on which you go with ... not that much more maintenance is needed. In the link below should help. I have mostly Amazon Sword and Ferns, relatively low maintenance plants.

In regards to the air-stones ... I'd keep them ... you never know when an impeller may break, motor burn out etc ... and in that case, your air-stones could save your stock in the short term.

PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

 

[JustOneMore20]

You can replace the actinic lamp with a 10000K. It is more whitish and would pair better with the 6500K instead of getting another 6500K. Together they look good. It would open up your plant options and might help your Vals grow better. Otherwise you are limited to Java fern, Crypts, Anubias, and Java moss. Other plants might live and they might grow but they won't thrive.

 

[jetajockey]

Air stones are more for aesthetics than anything, if you have a filter of some sort causing surface movement. If you were using co2 you'd want to minimize that to keep from offgassing the co2 as quickly, but in your case it doesn't matter.

I suggest switching to a planted substrate, but if you don't want to fool with it, or really like the gravel you have, then just get some root tabs to put under the rooted plants.

I also agree about switching that actinic, if you go with a 10000k bulb it'll give the tank a crisp white appearance also. As to what you choices in plants you have, if you get both bulbs going your options are vast, you can probably grow most things.

At that point, if you are dosing ferts and have decent light going, the only thing limiting growth is going to be co2.

 

[eco23]

Thanks guys. That's kind of what I was looking for. Honestly, I don't think replacing the actinic is going to be an option. To tell the truth, the real reason I want to switch to real plants is just because I feel stupid having plastic ones in there, lol. The bluish tint is kind of a must have for me, plus in the evening we turn off the white and let just the actinic light glow until we shut it off for the night. Adds a really cool effect to the room.

How about anacharis?

 

[j2112j]

I have anacharis growing (very slowly), under just one T8 17w 8,000k.

 

[jetajockey]

anacharis should be fine. I have a bowfront that has a actinic in the fixture and it's not the best plant grower but it does fine with low demand plants.

 

[eco23]

Thanks. Any ideas on something short and spriggy for the front of the tank? I've checked out some sites, but I trust the recommendations of AA members more than them. Plus, there's so many types and I know so little about plants that it's a bit overwhelming.

 

[mudraker]

You might want to look hard and heavy at crypts, especially Wendtii variety.

A great forground plant, reddish, very dark green plants. When these babies take off, they remind me of an octopuss with tentacles flowing in the water.

There are many other varieties that are easy to grow in very low light. They came in varying heights, colors, are easily obtainable and usually not expensive.

They will grow in regular gravel substrate and lowlight, but will absoulutely take off with the addition of root tabs, especially if you use a combination of a micros and a macros.