What plants would work for me..

[Mudfrog]

I'm looking for some plants that will work well for my setup. I currently use English Ivy and it grows very fast. I have the roots hanging into the tank. I actually like the looks and the fish seem to enjoy them as well.

I would like to add some green to the tank itself though. The plants need to be easy to grow. ATM the tank has plenty of light as it's a breeder and is only 13" tall. I use a 4ft shop light with dual Sunlight bulbs. However in the future when I get a deeper tank I imagine those bulbs will not be nearly as bright. So a low light plant might be in order.

I like floating plants but I have had much luck due to water movement. That being said I have only tried it with HOB filters, I'm currently using a canister filter so I can adjust how much movement the top has. For the rest of the tank I was thinking of using some java moss or something comparable (Petsmart sells a moss ball, not sure what it is though) on my driftwood and maybe some java fern towards the back. What is the best way to hold the plants in the sand? I have a fire eel which occasionally digs and I'll be adding clown loaches, which if my memory serves correct they dig some as well.. It's been so long since I had them I could be wrong though.

So I'm open to suggestions

Edit: Forgot to mention I do not plan on using CO2 or anything like that. If there is an easy additive that is used I might would go that route.

 

[Rivercats]

Low light plants like Java Ferns and Anubia's would work great. You don't plant these. Attach them to driftwood or rocks. You can plant them but the rizomes cannot be buried, only the roots. Since you have diggers these would be a good option. It's hard to suggest any other plants without information... what size/gallon tank, what type substrate, Ph. For floating plants I use small Water Hyacinth and in the past have used Frogbit. Both can be found at pond stores. One thing with those floating plants is they need strong lighting. Don't really know if your lights would be strong enough but you could try... think Frogbit might be the better option. Java moss would work fine but also needs to be tied onto DW or a rock.

 

[Mudfrog]

Ok, I tested the PH this morning and it's 8.0. The substrate is pool filter sand. The current tank is a 50g breeder (48x18x13). It has a lot of light now but I imagine when I go to a 20"+ tall tank it will greatly decrease.

I've been using English Ivy in a HOB for around 4 months and it has grown like a weed. I had to remove the HOB as my fire eel was trying to escape. The roots are just dangling now, which I actually like. I would just like to add some more green to the rest of the tank.

 

[Rivercats]

Wow, that is a high Ph which means you also have hard water. Alot of plants can handle that type of water but I've seen tanks with African cichlids with things like Java moss, anubia, and a couple other plants. You might want to do a search on plants that tolerate hard water with a high Ph. I actually have a bunch of Varigated Potho's in the front corner of my 220. The root grew down in the water about 20 inches and the Rummy Nose really loved hanging around in them. So did the oto's when they rested. I just trimmed the roots back to a few inches so start over. I didn't want them to hit the substrate.