Help with planting/decorating tank; Ideas

[Tropical]

I have a 20 long tank (30"x13"x13"). It is pretty boring decoration wise. I have a few fake plants, a terracotta pot and a small cave. The gravel is Petco brand black, with a handful of neon colored mixed gravel scattered in.

I want to add some live plants, but I don't want them to overrun the tank. Also, if there are any plants that don't need special substrate and co2 or fertilizers, they would be the best.

The lighting is 20 watt, 120 volt, florecent light. It's just the normal light I got with the hood, I'd rather not spend a ton of cash on new lighting.

Current occupants are 4 platy and a female bolivian ram. Hopefully a school of neon tetras soon.

Here are some pictures:

 

[daileene]

how much is the color temperature of your light (K-kelvin)? 6500K-10000K are the ones that you should use when you want live plants. Daylight Compact flourescent is recommended.

Here is a link for a low light plants - no CO2 required. substrate is not a problem..gravel or sand is fine with plants although if you have swords as your plants, you might want to add root tabs (coz swords are heavy rooters and gravel and sand do not have too much nutrients than the substrates like eco complete, floramax, flourite)

 

[Tropical]

The light just says:

30" florecent Aquarium reflector
120 volt 20 watt 60 hz

Thanks for the info, but you didn't post the link.

 

[daileene]

oppsss here is the link:

Excellent List of Low Light Plants

 

[daileene]

hmmm so there is no Kelvin showing around the fixture? that actually is important because you cannot have any plants thriving in the tank if the color temperature is not present...20W is fine coz that gives you 1Watt per gallon, which puts you in the low light category. Do you still have the box the light fixture came in with?

 

[Tropical]

Nope I trashed it because it didn't fit in my stand cabnet. Oops. Here is a link to the hood I got, it doesn't give much info about the light though.

Aqueon Deluxe Full Fluorescent Black Aquarium Hoods at PETCO

 

[daileene]

I apologize but I don't have much experience with the strip light, but here is a link when it comes to lighting. I hope this one will help.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/a-beginners-guide-to-lighting-53375.html

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Nope I trashed it because it didn't fit in my stand cabnet. Oops. Here is a link to the hood I got, it doesn't give much info about the light though.

Aqueon Deluxe Full Fluorescent Black Aquarium Hoods at PETCO

Generally speaking kits only come with a basic bulb, IMO you should look at a 6700 k bulb rated for a 20w fixture. That will get you into the low to possibly the bottom end of medium light plants. I grow mid level plants, I just don't expect a ton of growth. But other than an occasional dose of flourish I don't have to mess with c02.

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[Tropical]

Would it be possible to do something simple, like java fern and some anubias without getting a new light?

 

[daileene]

you could try....but I cannot guarantee that they will thrive..they might live but they might not grow faster than they normally should...JMHO...color temperature is very important to plants. but try it for a few weeks and see how it goes.

 

[DragonFish71]

Java and anubias grew fine for me when I used just the stock lights. I have since gone to Walmart or any other stores I happen to be near and bought the tubes in daylight, 6500K for less than the "aquarium/plant" bulbs.

You might want to think about doing that to get the right spectrum once your bulb starts to burn out.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Would it be possible to do something simple, like java fern and some anubias without getting a new light?

You can grow most low light plants with the stock bulb, I did. The 6700 by zoo med made a big difference in my 37g tall and in both instances I was only driving 17 watts of power into it. So IME it doesn't take much. Now I have 89w @ 6700K and in the last 36 hrs my anacharis has grown 6+ inches .

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[Coleallensmom]

+1 on the java fern. That is one plant that will live even under very low light conditions.

 

[Tropical]

So could I start with maybe 3 java fern, then after a month or so add an anubias if the java fern is going well?

Also, I'm supposed to tie the java fern to a rock or something, right? None of my LFS's carry driftwood, so would just a flat rock work?

 

[Tropical]

Also, should I get any fertilizers or anything? What kind?

Will the plants change my water parameters at all, or should they remain pretty stable?

Sorry for the stupid questions, and
thanks for all the help so far.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

So could I start with maybe 3 java fern, then after a month or so add an anubias if the java fern is going well?

Also, I'm supposed to tie the java fern to a rock or something, right? None of my LFS's carry driftwood, so would just a flat rock work?

Yep, tie it to a rock or DW or if you have a decco piece, just don't bury the roots. Go to plantgeek.net and look at low light plants, there's a ton to choose from. I like moss balls, my Moors tear them up, then I use the free floating pieces and stuff them in gaps on my DW.

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[Tropical]

Has anyone here done a moss/driftwood tree before? I was just surfing the site and saw an awesome tree, but the poster wasn't sure what it was. Can I make a "tree" with any lowlight plants, java fern or moss maybe? I can't find a thread on how to construct one.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Has anyone here done a moss/driftwood tree before? I was just surfing the site and saw an awesome tree, but the poster wasn't sure what it was. Can I make a "tree" with any lowlight plants, java fern or moss maybe? I can't find a thread on how to construct one.

There's one thread that I know of, but can't link it here. Java moss is easy to grow and you could tie it where you want and let it spread out. I have a DW piece (not tree shaped) that I put jave moss on and it's slowly growing on it. My fantail makes sure it doesn't get too long though lol.

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[Coleallensmom]

So could I start with maybe 3 java fern, then after a month or so add an anubias if the java fern is going well?

Also, I'm supposed to tie the java fern to a rock or something, right? None of my LFS's carry driftwood, so would just a flat rock work?

You can tie it to just about anything. When I had it in my tank, I actually just wedged it gently between to small rocks and left it be. As the roots grow, they will attach themselves.

 

[Coleallensmom]

Also, should I get any fertilizers or anything? What kind?

Will the plants change my water parameters at all, or should they remain pretty stable?

You can dose ferts if you want, but it may not be necessary for the java fern. I started out with java fern in my first tank and I just used a simple fert like Florapride to give them a little extra iron/potassium. Plants won't hurt your water parameters- in fact if anything, they might lower you nitrates as they use up nitrates in their growth process.

Has anyone here done a moss/driftwood tree before? I was just surfing the site and saw an awesome tree, but the poster wasn't sure what it was. Can I make a "tree" with any lowlight plants, java fern or moss maybe? I can't find a thread on how to construct one.

Java moss would work for this. It's fast grower even in low light. Find a piece of wood that you like and just tie it on. I've done this already with rocks to make 'grass' cover.