I've gone live

[tanker]

Was at the lfs and saw a beautifully planted tank, so i thought that i'd take the plunge. At the moment, the tank looks great. Hope this continues!
Not much else to say, i was just really impressed with the difference the real plants made!

 

[The_Budmaster]

great news
What kind of plants did you get?...any pics?

 

[tanker]

I'll try and get some pics soon, but the mother-in-law has borrowed the cam for their holidays.

I couldn't tell you the plants exactly - no names at the lfs. There is some type of grass i think, a tall broad leaf one, shorter one with distinct white edges, a short one with large leaves, one with pipe cleaner type branches, and some floating plants.
That make sense? Probably not! When i get some pics i'll get them on here.

 

[Dragonslair]

Now that you have your plants, don't forget to feed them until they get truely established. Don't rely on the gravel substrate to provide sufficient food to keep them lovely and green. A proprietary liquid food made especially for aquarium plants is recommended. Remember too about extra lighting. Not too much of either otherwise you will encourage the growth of algae. Whew! a lot to think about I know. Happy gardening!!!

 

[tanker]

Thanks dragonslair - i've got some nutrafin plant gro liquid that it says to put in weekly.
The tank has about 12 hours light a day, with a special plant-growing bulb in it (this came with the tank), and one for making the fish look nice. Will i need 2 plant ones, or will this be ok?

I've a bit of algae growth, do i need to cut back on 1 or the other, or is a little ok?