What are some good types of live plants

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


freshwaterpleco
 
Posts: 131
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:56 pm

What are some good types of live plants

by freshwaterpleco

What are some good types of live plants for my 29 gallon freshwater aquarium.


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

It depends on the light you have.The little 15 watt lights that say they're for plants they sell at stores like Petco, Petsmart, and probably Wallmart won't grow anything. Tell what lights you have and we'll go from there.


freshwaterpleco
 
Posts: 131
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:56 pm

by freshwaterpleco

I have a 20 watt bulb that is a bleish color


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

That's not even good enough for plants requiring relatively low levels of light. You can go two ways in my opinion. Are you any good at building say a hood for your aquarium out of water resistant wood? If you are, you can buy 40 watt fluorescent fixtures from the hardware store and group them together, next to each other, screw them to the inside top of the hood, and use 40 watt plant bulbs. I use 4 4foot bulbs with a 60 gallon tank and have beautiful plants such as Java moss and fern, Anubias bartari and nana, and even Amazon sword. If you're not so crafty/carpentry oriented, you can buy a hood and do the same with the lights I suggested, OR, buy expensive VHO, power compacts, aquarium halides or others. If you go this way you'll start at $100.00 minimum, and replacement bulbs are really expensive as well. All fluorescent bulbs need to be replaced after 8-12 months, so if you can build a hood for the hardware variety the cost is very low, say less than $40.00 for 4 fixtures grouped together with bulbs. In my experience the low light requiring plants are the easiest to grow because the lower levels of light don't stimulate as much algae growth. Java moss, Anubias nana(small), and Anubias bartari (large) are the easiest to grow and they're beautiful. The moss is best grown on wood after you tie it down with thread, and the Anubias varieties can also be grown tied to wood and their roots will grow down around the wood like a jungle tree or a mangrove. Anubias can be grown in the gravel as well and the 'nana' (small) variety looks good as a mid way in plant. Grasses, Val (reed like), and most ground cover plants require much more light, so plan accordingly. The lights that are sold with aquariums (15 or 20 watt) are not good enough for plants even if they say they are. They lie. You have a 29 gallon tank, so I wouldn't go with less than 3 40 watt bulbs that cover the entire length of the tank, I'd imagine about 2 feet long. 4 would be better or more if you can fit them. I've seen single fixtures that have no reflector that could be grouped closely together and I would go this way. I'm using a fixture that holds 4 4foot bulbs and it looks pretty crude as it's just lying on top of my tank, but I don't think they make a 2 foot long 4 bulb fixture.
Last edited by Peterkarig3210 on Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Unless you're growing plants on wood, and you'll have to buy the kind sold at aquarium stores that sinks, you will need a kind of gravel plants will grow in, or at least smaller sized gravel than you have and at least 2 inches of it. I use undergravel filters on all my planted tanks though most people don't think this is a good idea because either the gravel is so small it goes under the filter plates or the roots of some plants can clog up the filter. I manage very well though. Good luck!


LeviNHeidi4480
 
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2008 10:26 pm

by LeviNHeidi4480

I have numerous live plants in my aquarium that are thriving with my stock bulb. Two of the best ones are the Amazon Sword Plant and Microsword. We add liquid fertilizer during our water changes and they have taken off great!


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

OK. I guess some people can do it with a stock bulb. I had a guy who couldn't do it with those 15 or 25 watt bulbs, and I have a few of these lights and they hardly put out any light at all. I'm happy if you prove me wrong. It's certainly easier to use the bulb that comes with the tank. Are you sure you don't have extra light getting into your tanks that add to the lights? I see that some of you don't have backgrounds for your tanks. That could allow enough light from other light sources to get into the tank.

What are some good types of live plants

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