fish-4-life
Aquarium Advice Activist
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- Jan 9, 2011
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what would be some nice plants for a 55 gallon tank?
live plants for a 55 gallon tank?
- Thread starter fish-4-life
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zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
depends on your lighting, CO2, and what type of plants you like 
We would need to know a little bit about what you are trying to accomplish...
Are you looking at a high light, high tech tank with dosing fertilizer and injecting CO2? Or are you looking to just grow some low light slow growers without a lot of additional maintenance?
If you are running a stock lighting hood, chances are it will be difficult to grow plants in a 55. Most stock hoods are pretty insufficient for growing live plants.
Check out plantgeek.net under the low light plants to get an idea of what would be good starter plants. A word of caution: also check the non-aquatic section and take note. If you go to petsmart or other large chains, they sell many plants that are marketed as aquatic plants but they will not survive fully submerged. That is probably the #1 live plant newbie mistake.
Are you looking at a high light, high tech tank with dosing fertilizer and injecting CO2? Or are you looking to just grow some low light slow growers without a lot of additional maintenance?
If you are running a stock lighting hood, chances are it will be difficult to grow plants in a 55. Most stock hoods are pretty insufficient for growing live plants.
Check out plantgeek.net under the low light plants to get an idea of what would be good starter plants. A word of caution: also check the non-aquatic section and take note. If you go to petsmart or other large chains, they sell many plants that are marketed as aquatic plants but they will not survive fully submerged. That is probably the #1 live plant newbie mistake.
fish-4-life
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
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im a bit confused. what are the different oprtiona=s for lighting? what does it mean by injecting Co2? im confused
There are many options for lighting:
T12 and T8 florescent bulbs (these are what come in most stock lights... lower wattage and less light than other alternatives, but can still work if there is enough wattage over the tank)
T5HO (t5 high output florescent lights): These are popular in both reef tanks and planted thanks. They are higher wattage than T8 or T12 bulbs of the same length. The fixtures tend to be expensive, but are some of the best lights for growing plants
Compact Florescent Lights: Come in many forms, ranging from cheap to expensive. They work well for plants, and generally put out more wattage than standard T8 and t12 bulbs.
LED Lighting: Just emerging onto the planted tank scene. Never used them, but lots of people get good results with them. Can be economical if you build your own fixture. Off the shelf fixtures tend to be pretty pricey
Metal Halide: Very powerful lighting, used on pretty much just the largest planted tanks. They are much more popular for use on reef tanks. They put off a lot of heat, and are very expensive.
If you tell us what kind of lighting you currently have (type of bulb, color temp of the bulb, wattage, etc) we can let you know what your expected results for growing low light plants with it will be.
As far as CO2 injection: Plants need CO2 during photosynthesis. There is some CO2 in water (water will equalize with the concentration of CO2 in the air). We have found that in the planted tank hobby, injecting additional co2 into the water column does wonders for plant health, growth, and controlling algae. There are a few different methods to it (pressurized systems versus DIY systems). It is not a requirement to inject CO2 to have a planted tank (at least not until you move into the realm of high light). However, there are some plants in the hobby that are hard to keep alive in a tank without injecting CO2 into the water and without putting very powerful lights over the tank.
T12 and T8 florescent bulbs (these are what come in most stock lights... lower wattage and less light than other alternatives, but can still work if there is enough wattage over the tank)
T5HO (t5 high output florescent lights): These are popular in both reef tanks and planted thanks. They are higher wattage than T8 or T12 bulbs of the same length. The fixtures tend to be expensive, but are some of the best lights for growing plants
Compact Florescent Lights: Come in many forms, ranging from cheap to expensive. They work well for plants, and generally put out more wattage than standard T8 and t12 bulbs.
LED Lighting: Just emerging onto the planted tank scene. Never used them, but lots of people get good results with them. Can be economical if you build your own fixture. Off the shelf fixtures tend to be pretty pricey
Metal Halide: Very powerful lighting, used on pretty much just the largest planted tanks. They are much more popular for use on reef tanks. They put off a lot of heat, and are very expensive.
If you tell us what kind of lighting you currently have (type of bulb, color temp of the bulb, wattage, etc) we can let you know what your expected results for growing low light plants with it will be.
As far as CO2 injection: Plants need CO2 during photosynthesis. There is some CO2 in water (water will equalize with the concentration of CO2 in the air). We have found that in the planted tank hobby, injecting additional co2 into the water column does wonders for plant health, growth, and controlling algae. There are a few different methods to it (pressurized systems versus DIY systems). It is not a requirement to inject CO2 to have a planted tank (at least not until you move into the realm of high light). However, there are some plants in the hobby that are hard to keep alive in a tank without injecting CO2 into the water and without putting very powerful lights over the tank.
fish-4-life
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2011
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can you use any light you want? i mean, does the hood of the tank matter? and i a m getting a 55 gallon tank. dont have it yet. will get it in summer. it will be off of craigslist so i dont know what tank i will be getting. i probab;y wont inject Co2. i just want some live plants for my fish. what plants would you recommend and what type of lighting.
Pretty much any lights will work, as long as the light is in the proper spectrum/has the proper color temperature.
My personal preference for a 55gal tank would be T5HO lighting... but again, they can be pricey.
You can use shop lights from home depot or lowes if you want... it depends on your budget, and the way you want the tank to look.
For low light plants on your tank, you need to have about 40-60W of light over your tank that has a color temp of 6500K - 10000K.
The light is the most important part to growing plants. I really cannot tell you exactly what kind of plants you will be able to get until you have an idea of the lights... but the best plants for beginner low light tanks are usually:
java moss
java fern
anubias
hornwort
anacharis
These are all pretty easy plants to keep. Again, read up on PlantGeek.net - Your Aquatic Plant Resource . You will get some good ideas on what kind of plants are out there.
My personal preference for a 55gal tank would be T5HO lighting... but again, they can be pricey.
You can use shop lights from home depot or lowes if you want... it depends on your budget, and the way you want the tank to look.
For low light plants on your tank, you need to have about 40-60W of light over your tank that has a color temp of 6500K - 10000K.
The light is the most important part to growing plants. I really cannot tell you exactly what kind of plants you will be able to get until you have an idea of the lights... but the best plants for beginner low light tanks are usually:
java moss
java fern
anubias
hornwort
anacharis
These are all pretty easy plants to keep. Again, read up on PlantGeek.net - Your Aquatic Plant Resource . You will get some good ideas on what kind of plants are out there.
zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
+ 1 fort! i wish i had found this site before adding plants to my 65 gal. i didnt know anything about lights, co2 or substrate. and guess what? my tank completely crassed and looked like a mess and i had to re-do my whole tank which sucks. Since your getting your tank in the summer, you should do ALOT of research and ask questions here. it will pay off in the long run. Fort384 covered everything you really need to know for now. goodluck
and i had to re-do my whole tank which sucks. Since your getting your tank in the summer, you should do ALOT of research and ask questions here. it will pay off in the long run. Fort384 covered everything you really need to know for now. goodluckSimilar threads
