Live Plant Beginner

[TheMurrays]

I have planted a couple tanks in the past, but never had luck with the plants surviving for long periods of time. I need some general advice on the care of live plants. What kind of lighting and substrate do you begin with? Also, do you need prune them, or put anything extra in your tank to help them along? I'm not looking to do anything elaborate, but I would like to keep healthy plants. Thank you!

 

[jcolon]

I'd suggest you look at the link below .... It all starts with they lighting IMO. If it's not adequate, they'll die off or not grow ... may not die but wont strive. Look at the low light plants and then start from there. You can get a few low maintenance plants that really do not need high intensity lights, yet add so much to your aquarium.

PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide

 

[TheMurrays]

Thank you! I definitely want to go with low light plants. What about substrate?

 

[jcolon]

Most low light plants AA members recommend are
Anarcharis, Anubias, Java Fern, Java moss and crypt and to some extent amazon sword.

I wanted you to see what options out there. Substrate can really be whatever you like. You can go "high tech" and go with Eco-complete substrate which has nutrients included ... or mineralized soil ... to give your aquarium that natural dirt look.

An inexpensive yet effective substrate is Pool Filter Sand ... it's just small enough in size to anchor the roots of plants, yet large enough not to cloud up the water like Play sand tends to do. Just make sure to thoroughly rinse any sand otherwise you'll have a cloudy tank until it settles.

 

[Flossie]

Pool filter sand all the way! Way better than play sand and waaaay more affordable than aquarium sand. Not as dirty as gravel...

 

[TheMurrays]

Most low light plants AA members recommend are
Anarcharis, Anubias, Java Fern, Java moss and crypt and to some extent amazon sword.

I wanted you to see what options out there. Substrate can really be whatever you like. You can go "high tech" and go with Eco-complete substrate which has nutrients included ... or mineralized soil ... to give your aquarium that natural dirt look.

An inexpensive yet effective substrate is Pool Filter Sand ... it's just small enough in size to anchor the roots of plants, yet large enough not to cloud up the water like Play sand tends to do. Just make sure to thoroughly rinse any sand otherwise you'll have a cloudy tank until it settles.

Thanks. I didn't think the plants would stay rooted in sand. I might try that.

 

[TheMurrays]

For low light plants, will the standard lighting that comes with the tank be enough? Or do I need to supplement/replace it?

 

[jcolon]

For low light plants, will the standard lighting that comes with the tank be enough? Or do I need to supplement/replace it?

They might work with the lowest of light plants ... maybe. Those lights are really only suitable for looking at fish ... not for sustaining plants. I would recommend you get a proper fixture and bulbs. T5 fixtures and bulbs are used by many members .... as long as the color temperature the bulb is about 6500 -6700 K (lumens) you should be fine.

 

[jetajockey]

Agreed totally with what jcolon said, it all begins with lights. They make/break a planted tank. If you go with the really really really really really low demand plants, you'll still be fine, but doing ferts and substrate choice is pretty much irrelevant because these plants aren't going to do much growing anyway. The plants I put in this category are rhizome plants like java ferns and anubias, and also java moss.

You can possibly get away with some other low demand plants like anacharis, hornwort, cabomba, wisteria, etc if you run a t8 fixture with a daylight (~6500k) bulb, but no guarantees.

If you do eventually upgrade, as jcolon said, look into t5/t5ho fixtures, the low end fixtures are cheap enough nowadays to make it worthwhile even if you plan to stay low tech.

 

[Atxpunx]

I do okay changing the incandescent bulb with a cfl of adequate wattage. Cfl ( compact fluorescent ). I grow amazon sword, anacharis, cambomb, java fern & marimo balls without a hitch.

 

[FishDroid26]

If I have a a T8 Fixture what bulb would be recommended ? I've seen the Zoo-Med brand T8 Bulb 10,000 K sunlight would that be suitable for plants?
Also looking at the plant guide site that is recommended around here, what determines low light, med light? Is Low Light = fluorescent standard full spectrum lighting?

 

[HalfMoon B]

Tis should help clear a few things up!

 

[TheMurrays]

Thanks for the advice. Should they have these bulbs at my lfs or will they need to be ordered?

 

[HalfMoon B]

Depends on your LFS, mine are hit or miss...

 

[TheMurrays]

Could anyone give me a link to fixture/bulb? I have tried to do searches, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Like I said, I'm really new to the lighting thing. Also, I have to have a hood, as I have cats. They try to get their paws in the smallest of holes on top of my tank, so I have to be careful.

 

[HalfMoon B]

Could anyone give me a link to fixture/bulb? I have tried to do searches, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Like I said, I'm really new to the lighting thing. Also, I have to have a hood, as I have cats. They try to get their paws in the smallest of holes on top of my tank, so I have to be careful.

I'm a big fan of the aqueon versa-tops. Allows for your choice of lighting, keeps evaporation down, and, you can view everything from the top!

 

[TheMurrays]

Also... can these plants do fine in brackish water?

 

[TheMurrays]

I'm a big fan of the aqueon versa-tops. Allows for your choice of lighting, keeps evaporation down, and, you can view everything from the top!

Thanks, I will look those up!

 

[TheMurrays]

Also, I don't have a hundred + dollars to spend on a light. I need an inexpensive one that works well.

 

[BfishLpond78]

What size tank are you working with? I may have missed it, sorry.