Need help putting together a low-budget planted tank

Penelope .R · Jan 25, 2021

Hello again!
Recently I came into possession of a sixty gallon aquarium stocked with four silver dollars, one kissing gourami, four dwarf gouramis, two molly's, three snails, and one pleco. Right now it's furnished with some gravel and plastic plants. I really want to spruce it up with some live plants but don't know where to start. I'm doing other research but I'm hoping to find some cost effective tips here, and figure out what plants are strong and fast growing enough to survive my fish.
The biggest thing is cost, I'm about to get my first dog and don't have much loose change to spare.
I'm wondering what substrate I should buy and how much (a specific brand name to look into would be nice), as well as good plants for beginners.
I keep the tank around seventy eight fahrenheit and have a Hydor 250 canister filter.

itiwhetu · Jan 26, 2021

You will need to get rid of the silver dollars if you want plant.

Guyb93 · Jan 26, 2021

Penelope .R said:
Hello again!
Recently I came into possession of a sixty gallon aquarium stocked with four silver dollars, one kissing gourami, four dwarf gouramis, two molly's, three snails, and one pleco. Right now it's furnished with some gravel and plastic plants. I really want to spruce it up with some live plants but don't know where to start. I'm doing other research but I'm hoping to find some cost effective tips here, and figure out what plants are strong and fast growing enough to survive my fish.
The biggest thing is cost, I'm about to get my first dog and don't have much loose change to spare.
I'm wondering what substrate I should buy and how much (a specific brand name to look into would be nice), as well as good plants for beginners.
I keep the tank around seventy eight fahrenheit and have a Hydor 250 canister filter.

Cheapest option for substrate iv found if children’s play sand .... that’s what I use now , plants .. I’m not green fingers what so ever so have a good idea what almost indestructible lol
Marimo moss ... thing is cheap and it won’t die down side doesn’t grow fast at all
Amazon swords , iv had die but always seem to revive them selves at the last with tiny new leaves
New to hornwort but so far the thing seems relentless and very adaptable I have areas of high flow and low light in my tabk and it’s still grown 3inches in a few weeks
Java fern again still new to this plant but I can’t fault it seems strong and easy and also good to hide filter pipes and such behinds them as there tall
Hope that helps you a little
Iv also ripped a load of Marimo moss up to make a blanket effect across the sand look ok enough lol

Penelope .R · Jan 26, 2021

itiwhetu said:
You will need to get rid of the silver dollars if you want plant.

That's the thing, I'm looking for plants that could survive the silver dollars. Years ago someone put a plant in this tank and they ate it like it was an ear of corn. I want to do a heavily planted tank with driftwood hiding places or something of the like, my hope is if I get many plants in the tank they won't be as obsessed with destroying them.

Penelope .R · Jan 26, 2021

Guyb93 said:
Cheapest option for substrate iv found if children’s play sand .... that’s what I use now , plants .. I’m not green fingers what so ever so have a good idea what almost indestructible lol
Marimo moss ... thing is cheap and it won’t die down side doesn’t grow fast at all
Amazon swords , iv had die but always seem to revive them selves at the last with tiny new leaves
New to hornwort but so far the thing seems relentless and very adaptable I have areas of high flow and low light in my tabk and it’s still grown 3inches in a few weeks
Java fern again still new to this plant but I can’t fault it seems strong and easy and also good to hide filter pipes and such behinds them as there tall
Hope that helps you a little
Iv also ripped a load of Marimo moss up to make a blanket effect across the sand look ok enough lol

Thank you, this helps. So you can put children's play sand in an aquarium? I've used it for my hermit crab community before but I would think there'd be something icky in it. So I can plant directly in sand as well? And one more question, what is the cheapest place to buy the plants? I have less than two weeks to get it put together, I'm trying to get as much done before I adopt my dog as possible (as he'll probably steal most of my time).

Guyb93 · Jan 26, 2021

Penelope .R said:
Thank you, this helps. So you can put children's play sand in an aquarium? I've used it for my hermit crab community before but I would think there'd be something icky in it. So I can plant directly in sand as well? And one more question, what is the cheapest place to buy the plants? I have less than two weeks to get it put together, I'm trying to get as much done before I adopt my dog as possible (as he'll probably steal most of my time).

Yes I use play sand ... it took some cleaning tho lol I just plant straight into the sand also .. I’m sure others have better ways though ahahah erm I use Amazon for my plants or just grab them on my trips to the pet shop , I think I paid less than £5 for 5 Java fern on Amazon they never come all lush but they always come green and useable

Penelope .R · Jan 31, 2021

Guyb93 said:
Yes I use play sand ... it took some cleaning tho lol I just plant straight into the sand also .. I’m sure others have better ways though ahahah erm I use Amazon for my plants or just grab them on my trips to the pet shop , I think I paid less than £5 for 5 Java fern on Amazon they never come all lush but they always come green and useable

I ended up putting in playsand, it looks great. It took me three hours in the freezing cold to get it clean but my tank looks so great! I still have about ten more lbs to put in, I just haven't washed it yet. I'm also going to use it in my twenty gallon community tank. All that's left is the plants, I want to get it done this week if I'm lucky enough not to be snowed in. I'm going to comparison shop local pet stores, I figure the best shot I have at the silver dollars not eating everything is if I buy already well established large plants and maybe supplement their diet with other veggies in the meantime. We'll see, thus far this tank has been a giant money pit, but I admit I'm falling in love with these fish, especially my kissing gourami.
Thanks for the help!

Penelope .R · Feb 5, 2021

This is my newly planted tank, we'll see how long it lasts but for now I'm loving it.
Basically I bought a bunch of plants just to see which ones my silver dollars go for the fastest. They ate some of them overnight, but Hornwort, Java fern, green cabomba, and water sprite are mostly untouched. I put the eaten plants in my 20 gallon tank, which I was planning on planting anyway, all that lives in there is a betta fish, some cory cats, AFD's and a snail. I bought some more of the plants they aren't eating today and everything looks great. I got two rocks from a friend and attached the Java ferns to them.

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Need help putting together a low-budget planted tank

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