Need Help With Planting In My Tank

hey everyone, i get paid tommorow and i want to make my tank better. its a 95L and i currently have 8 lemon tetras 6 pepperd corrys and 4 swordtails. i have a main focus point a bit of bogwood in the middle and i have lots of Vallisneria spiralis Vallis all over the place. just recently got 2 little java ferns and i have a little bit of water sprite in there. All nice and easy plants to grow which is what i want and more of the same easy to grow would be good i dont want anything that is hard to keep. i am going to buy fluval 305 to step up my filtration and want to buy more lemon tetras or another schooling fish as i think there is still room but that is for another day to decide. ive seen so many peoples tanks on here and they look amazing! so would love some tips on how to make them look so great. what type of plants is they that can easyily be found and easy to grow? is having bog wood in the center the best thing? i was thinking about adding java moss but have nothing to put it on but i like the sound of a carpet of java moss.

Tank: Elite 95L

Substrate: Sand

Filtration: Will be fluval 305

Lighting: not sure one that came with the tank but i brought a aqua glow bulb for it to help grow plants.

Fish: Comunity set up


So if anyone has got any ideas i would love to hear them. thank you.

Sorry picture aint great my iphone wont let me move photos to my computer for some reason so had to use web cam lol

Unbunch the Vallis (ones on the left, centre-right) and plant them one plant at a time in the back. Mine is growing to 3-6 ft long right now, so it will still grow out for you

All of the undemanding plants which are recommended by Tropica should work great for you. I usually recommend starting with Anubias and Hygrophila. Stem plants can be hit and miss, so it is worth trying a few different ones.

For plants which need to be attached to stuff (Anubias, mosses, Java ferns), it may be worth growing them on small bits of rock or wood.

Any specific reason you want the 305? Seems a bit overkill for a tank that size.. I used to run mine on a 215 litre tank, which was perfect.

Kitty Kat said:

Unbunch the Vallis (ones on the left, centre-right) and plant them one plant at a time in the back. Mine is growing to 3-6 ft long right now, so it will still grow out for you

All of the undemanding plants which are recommended by Tropica should work great for you. I usually recommend starting with Anubias and Hygrophila. Stem plants can be hit and miss, so it is worth trying a few different ones.

For plants which need to be attached to stuff (Anubias, mosses, Java ferns), it may be worth growing them on small bits of rock or wood.

Any specific reason you want the 305? Seems a bit overkill for a tank that size.. I used to run mine on a 215 litre tank, which was perfect.

Click to expand...

thanks for the reply. ive just been looking at some anubias actually. only prob is i have nothing to attach it to. i already have a java fern trying to atttach it self to my bogwood but only got it the other day. yeah my vallis have grown alot they tend to die at the top though so they dont seem to be growing up towards top of the tank that much they just get growing outwords and starting new plants which is good cz i got lots more then ive brought but want them to be longer. and filter its allways good to be overfiltering right? must keep the water and a better condition. and cz i wanted the 205 but then i found the 305 brand new for only like a tenna more? see thought it would be silly to get the less powerfull one. a 305 would be okay wouldnt it? surley u can turn down the strengh of the flow and it will be ok?

No, you can't turn the strength of the flow down. It would mean you would not be able to keep any fish which require gentle flow. I don't think overfiltration is a good or bad thing.. most important is getting good circulation in the tank.

Can you get a photo of the Vallis tips?

You could get some small bits of wood or rock for the Anubias, they don't have to be much bigger than 1*2 inches or so.

i have just brought an amazong sword some java moss and 2 anubias. 1 problem is i had a few amazong sowrds before and they just died. i had it in my sand i use liquid fert is there anything else i need to do to keep it alive? they look gr8 so wanted to give it ago again. java moss never had before and hoping it will create a carpet effect across my sand at one end will this work? and never had anubias before so should be good to see what thats like. im hoping to move all my vallis to the back have the amazon sword at the other end of my tank to the bogwood and have a carpet of java moss. or has anyone got any better idea? never been great with making the tank look amazing lol any help would be amazing

The Java moss doesn't carpet well on its own, you may want to guide it by attaching it to some flat stones or making a carpet using mesh.

For the swords, post the exact symptoms. It is often nutrient deficiency which hinders them.