Plant Newb

[Psyhampster]

When I get my 30 gal on tuesday, i'm interested in having it be a planted tank. Can I add the plants as soon as there is water? Any substrate/temp/lighting recommendations? I'm looking for low maintenence AHRDY plants, I.E Java Fern/Moss?

 

[Guest]

Yes, you can add the plants right away, I even think it's best to do so. Plants consume ammonia, and can help you through the cycling process with less danger of ammonia spikes.

Java fern, Java moss, and a lot of cryptocoryne species do well in low light. (I'm assuming you ar going with a standard hood, which will give you low light.

Read the sticky topic at the top of this forum for more basics on lights, substrate, etc...

 

[gheitman]

Psyhampster - If you haven't already added your plants I would suggest starting out with some fast growing stem plants like Hygrophila in addition to the ones you mentioned. The stem plants take their nutrients directly from the water and will help keep algae growth from becoming a problem. If you overplant your tank when you first set it up this will also help fight algae growth. You might also look at adding Dwarf Sagittarius to your tank. I planted some in one of my 10 gal tanks with a 15W fluorescent lamp and after several months it has spread over the entire tank in a nice carpet. Here is a link to another website with info on planted aquariums including profiles of many different species.

http://www.plantgeek.net/

As far as substrates go I have used Flourite from Seachem in two of my aquariums with great success (I haven't used it in any others). It is high in iron content and Seachem recommends using it by itself (don't mix it with other substrates). If you plan to have cories or other bottom feeders with barbels I would not recommend Flourite because it has sharp edges which the fish eventually will damage the barbels on. This has been my experience in any case. Good luck with your new aquarium.

 

[malkore]

Actually, my cory's have no issues with flourite substrate, but it's a good point to bring up.
I've found water quality has more to do with barbel erosion than sharp substrate...at least with the substrates I have used (pea gravel, flourite, eco complete, sand)

 

[Psyhampster]

Hate to bring this back to life, but do hardy plants like Java moss need a special plant substrate, or can I just use normal gravel, or can i just bury them in little pots?

 

[malkore]

Most plants don't need a special substrate, and that includes java moss and java fern.

 

[Psyhampster]

ok, thanks.

 

[Psyhampster]

would amozan sword need a plant substrate? any suggestions on other easy plants would be great.

 

[malkore]

swords are heavy root feeders, so a nutrient rich substrate is advantageous for swords.

However, I have a very healthy sword in a plain sand substrate. So a plant substrate is not mandatory for sword success...but it is an extra layer of insurance for success.

 

[Minze]

So is substrate important at all? Can you have a regular gravel substrate and add liquid/tablet fertilizers and have asuccessful planted tank?

 

[malkore]

Substrate is important. But if you can't afford flourite or eco-complete, pea gravel and root tabs can make up for it. Plant substrates are more convenient..but you pay for it.

 

[Minze]

Can you put a colorful gravel, etc over top of the plant substrate?

 

[malkore]

If you really want to, sure. I affectionately refer to the colored variety as 'clown puke gravel'.
I don't find it aesthetically pleasing to put a lot of effort into using real plants and creating a more natural environment, to then turn around and use fluorescent pink gravel.

I don't mean to be snooty tho...its your tank, and if you really like the colorful gravel, then use it. Its technically fine to layer substrates. However I'd suggest flourite over eco-complete for the bottom layer, simple because it's heavier. Regardless, layering of 2 gravel substrates will always result in the two getting mixed together, so the colorful stuff won't stay on top forever.