Questions About Live Plants

[Noobyfish]

Im interested in having a few easy to care for plants in my new tank.

What kind of substrate is needed? I heard Seachems Fluorite, but do i put a bottom layer of this and then plain gravel on top, mix it evenly, or just Seachems?

Is fertilizer you add to the water needed?

When vacuuming gravel do you go around the plants or uproot them? Or vaccum at all?

 

[unspoken930]

I started off with java fern and java moss both do not require fertilizers, or flourite. however they do appreciate it.. well the java fern that is. If your going to get flourite put a layer on the bottom then put gravel on the top... DONT mix them evenly... talk about cloudy red muddy water.... and i also found that you should empty the water out of your tank before adding it unless you want a bed red clay cloudy mess... it took like 4 huge waterchanges and an extra filter (made for a 10 gallon)on my THREE gallon tank...and you should vacume all gravel exposed but dont uproot the plants.

 

[Noobyfish]

1 more question

If im just adding a few of the hardiest plants there are will I need to add C02?

 

[catastrophi]

If you rinse our flourite properly it shouldnt be a problem. It'll be cloudy at first but it will clear up. I highly suggest eco-complete. It's a planted aquarium substrate and requires NO rinsing.

Ferts are really optional depending on your wpg, tank size, and if your injecting co2.

If your just adding low light plants co2 isn't realy needed.

 

[BigIan]

ferts and CO2 are only realy needed if you planning to have lots of plants,


if your poping in a hand full they shouldn`t need any fert at all

i recomend amazon sword, vallis, cabomba, java fern, & hornwortthey are all very hardy plants and require little in the way of care

 

[Noobyfish]

Do I add plants before I cycle the tank or after?

 

[George Farmer]

What kind of substrate is needed? I heard Seachems Fluorite, but do i put a bottom layer of this and then plain gravel on top, mix it evenly, or just Seachems?

Seachem Flourite is a good substrate for plants, there are plenty of others too. You can mix Flourite with gravel evenly i.e. 50:50 or use pure Flourite if you can afford it. Aim for a fine gravel i.e. 1-3mm grain.

Is fertilizer you add to the water needed?

Liquid fertilser is necessary if there's enough plant growth to need it. If you have only a few slow growing plants with "average" lighting i.e. one or two tubes then the fish food/waste and tap water will probably provide sufficient nutrients.

When vacuuming gravel do you go around the plants or uproot them? Or vaccum at all?

If there's room around the plants then vacuuming is fine. Do not uproot them, it will affect their growth. If you plant very heavily i.e. not much open substrate then the plants' growth should deal with waste/detritus providing you have healthy growth rates. This is one reason it is important to understock with fish, "overstock" with plants in a "proper" planted tank.

Do I add plants before I cycle the tank or after?

If you are cycling the tank using off-the-shelf ammonia etc. then add plants after cycling i.e. once the filter is mature. Ammonium is a very big algae trigger so it is wise to ensure your filter is working effectively before planting and lighting the aquarium.

The planted forum is a good place to visit to ask questions on plants.

 

[Noobyfish]

I was planning to do just add a few hardy fish to start the cycle.

Should I add the plants before or after the first few fish?

 

[George Farmer]

Before. Plant growth will help deal with toxic nitrogen compounds i.e. ammonia/ammonium, nitrite. You will experience algae though. The more plant growth there is, the less algae.

 

[Majjie]

Adding plants will help to build up the bacteria necessary for a cycled tank (carried in on the roots etc), although I would recommend fishless cycling.

Anubia spp. are very good for realtively low light tanks.

 

[Noobyfish]

Thanks for all the help everyone and sorry this wasn't posted in the right section.
So far these are the plants I am thinking of getting.

-Dwarf Anubias
-Tropical Hornwort
-Dwarf Sagittaria
-Thai Onion Plant
-Java Fern

My tank is 46 gallons I posted earlier about the fish. I'm hoping these can grow in relatively low light with little fuss.

I dont know how many plants I can have without needing to add co2 so I don't even know how many of each to buy yet. Let's just say if I bought one of each would I be able to get by without adding co2?

Also if a plant is tied to a rock does that mean I'll have to by a fertilizer because its roots aren't in the substrate?

 

[Qays]

I reccomend java fern, i have kept it without lighting for at least 2 months and its still fine!