dismantle me
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Today I set up a 55 gallon aquarium that I'm using for angelfish. I was wondering what types of live plants I should buy and how I should arrange them.
Plant ideas for 55 gallon
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medge00
Aquarium Advice FINatic
welcome to AA.
what plants you should get depends on what soil you have, what light, what kind of work you want to put into this, etc. I'd post in the Plant section of the forum for better results. I'd also search that forum for ideas. www.rexgrigg.com should have some good info about what a planted tank needs to get you started.
what plants you should get depends on what soil you have, what light, what kind of work you want to put into this, etc. I'd post in the Plant section of the forum for better results. I'd also search that forum for ideas. www.rexgrigg.com should have some good info about what a planted tank needs to get you started.
fishstixs05
Aquarium Advice Freak
First, for a 55 you should get a better light, becuase it is has a deeper style to it. I have a 55 and the plants dont grow nearly as well as in the 29. For angels, tall plants like amazon sword and jungal val look very good. some microsword in the foreground would also look good. not a plant epert, but this basic idea should took good.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'll move this over to the Planted forum, where you will get more responses.
djlen3
Aquarium Advice Regular
What is your lighting situation?
If you are using the hoods and tubes that normally come with 55s, you will need to upgrade your lighting, as they are generally 15watt NO tubes and really worthless for growing much at all in an 18" tall tank.
A 55, IME(I have two of them), needs a minimum of 110watts over it to grow low - moderate light needy plants.
Len
If you are using the hoods and tubes that normally come with 55s, you will need to upgrade your lighting, as they are generally 15watt NO tubes and really worthless for growing much at all in an 18" tall tank.
A 55, IME(I have two of them), needs a minimum of 110watts over it to grow low - moderate light needy plants.
Len
mitche8359
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have a 55g with angels as well. I'm trying ty keep a south american theme but I'm not finding a lot of plants from that area. I have some anubias in the tank. Red Rubin is also in there, but I'm thinking about taking it out I recently had a bunched plant that I used to control algea, but I pulled it all out a week ago. It had taken over the tank. I also have a little bit of java moss on the drifwood. It will come back full strength in a month or so. It needs trimmed regularly. I'm in the market for some additional plants myself. Let us know if you find a good online source.
djlen3
Aquarium Advice Regular
Check out this site for plants. I've dealt with them and have been very happy with their plants and service.
http://www.aquariumgarden.com/index.php?doc_base=home.php
As you know, 55s are quite narrow, and all but the small varieties of sword plants simply grow too large for them.
Sad that you pulled out the 'bunched' plant. It was probably a stem plant and rather than just pull it, you could have pruned and/or divided it to continue it's use as a nutrient user. Stem plants are what I would suggest, as well as Cryptocorynes. If you want a nice 'grass' type plant that won't take over the tank, I suggest E. Tenellus, which is a sword but classified as a 'micro sword'. They do need fairly good lighting however, and many of the plants I've mentioned are not S. American, but fit nicely into a 55. For a background plant, Vallisneria is a nice tall plant, that doesn't use a lot of real estate.
Len
http://www.aquariumgarden.com/index.php?doc_base=home.php
As you know, 55s are quite narrow, and all but the small varieties of sword plants simply grow too large for them.
Sad that you pulled out the 'bunched' plant. It was probably a stem plant and rather than just pull it, you could have pruned and/or divided it to continue it's use as a nutrient user. Stem plants are what I would suggest, as well as Cryptocorynes. If you want a nice 'grass' type plant that won't take over the tank, I suggest E. Tenellus, which is a sword but classified as a 'micro sword'. They do need fairly good lighting however, and many of the plants I've mentioned are not S. American, but fit nicely into a 55. For a background plant, Vallisneria is a nice tall plant, that doesn't use a lot of real estate.
Len
dismantle me
Aquarium Advice Newbie
How much would new lights cost?
medge00
Aquarium Advice FINatic
depends on what you want... try www.hellolights.com, www.ahsupply.com... google searches...
mitche8359
Aquarium Advice Addict
I bought my kit at ahsupply. I was very happy with it.
mitche8359
Aquarium Advice Addict
djlen3 said:
I've spent some time looking at aquariumgarden. I might place an order from them today. As far as the bunching plant (Elodea densa (Anacharis)), I did take cuttings from it several times and replanted. I was mostly using the plant for algea control. I really didn't like the looks of it and decided it was time for the plant to go. I might decide otherwise if the algea comes back. Plus most ot the snails must have been on the plant since the snail population has been drastically reduced.
I've tried Echinodorus tenellus before in the tank and don't recall it ever really taking offl. I have 2wpg, not sure if that's enough light for it. Likely most of the stuff in the tank now isn't SA. As you stated, the swords just don't fit right in a 55g tank. That's why I might lose the Red Rubins. I am going to get some more tenellus though and see what happens. I like the Anubias nanas and will likely get a few more of them. Not SA again, but hey, you do what you can.
I don't really like Vallisneria. I did get some of it with the assortment that I ordered a few years ago, but the plants were not in the best of condition and didn't survive long.
Momotaro
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
No. I don't think you will like the results!
Glosso is not going to grow for you under the existing lights. It really needs high lighting levels, at least 3WPG, and CO2 injection. It will flounder and die off in your existing set up.
Mike
Phlegethon
Aquarium Advice Activist
Anacharis grows tall and is not picky about lighting or substrate. Asian Ambulia is nice and bushy, will also grow pretty tall, and is not too picky about lighting either. Amazon swords like a lot of ight in my experience, and a rich substrate with a lot of iron, but they look great with Angels. It grows pretty large, but I have found a type, "compacta" that stays under 6". Ludwiga repens also grows tall and is retty hardy with a red color if you have enough light. Dwarf Sag is a great foreground plant for a tank that big, and crypts are great for mid-ground and hiding the lower sections of larger plants. Japanese Fans, combined with dwarf hairgrass in the foreground looks very nice, but requires a little more light. The hairgrass will make your tank look like a lawn. Java Fern & Java Moss are of course always easy to grow.
Those are the only plants I have much experience with.
Arizona Aquatic Gardens is where I get most of my plants,
http://www.azgardens.com
HTH
Those are the only plants I have much experience with.
Arizona Aquatic Gardens is where I get most of my plants,
http://www.azgardens.com
HTH
fishstixs05
Aquarium Advice Freak
www.bigalsonline.com has a 130w(2x65) with moonlight and fan for about $100, it is what I am eventually getting
fishstixs05
Aquarium Advice Freak
here are all the ones for 48" hood http://www.bigalsonline.com/search/...itebuilder/catalog3-1&keywords1=48"&x=19&y=11
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