Should I go Planted or Plastic?
- Thread starter NDIrish7
- Start date
leanne
Fish Crazy
Live plants give you more leeway with your nitrate levels as they use it up, meaning your tank will be more stable. Plastic plants are easier if you have fish that nibble them though.
ChriX
Fish Crazy
I think live plants look a lot better, although some tanks can look good with plastic if done right!!
Real plants all the way! They look a lot better and as already mentioned they help out the aquarium. Be warned though it can start to get exensive depending on the size of the aquarium, that is once you start diving into the likes of CO2, but you can keep it cheap if you stick to easy to grow non demading plants! Your running expenses wont be much more than a good set of tubes and ferts!
Dwarfs
Fish Connoisseur
Otos like plants, all FW fish do
Mustang5L5
Fish Crazy
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The question really answers itself after your plants start to go crazy and everything looks all wild and natural. SOme of the ways the plants grow and intermingle you just can't do with plastic.
Plus the tank stays cleaner. I have yet to ever vacuum my tank. I have tried, but i find it really doesn't matter. Waste breaks down FAST!
Plus the tank stays cleaner. I have yet to ever vacuum my tank. I have tried, but i find it really doesn't matter. Waste breaks down FAST!
George Farmer
ad aqua
I'd recommend live plants, they provide a more natural look, hiding spaces for fish and remove unwanted nutrients from the water i.e. fish and food waste. They also help combat algae if you plant fast growing species as they out compete for nutrients. I have a heavily planted tank and it never suffers from algae problems.
Bol
Fish Addict
You're going to get a pretty biased opinion, asking a question like that around these parts. 
But, the benefits of live plants are so numerous that I don't think I would keep a community tank without them. I like plants, both aquatic and outdoor, though.
However, the key, in my opinion, is to choose the correct plants for your situation. If you can't, or are unwilling to, invest in extra equipment and hassle (brighter lights, CO2 systems, regular fertilizers), then do some research beforehand and pick some low-maintenance, low-light plants. Choose the wrong plants for your situation, and you'll just be disappointed, and will miss out on the benefits (both practical and aesthetic) of having plants.
The point being, many people are scared off by thinking that in order to successfully grow plants, they'll need a gajillion watts of light, a $300 CO2 system, and three shelves full of fertilizers. Absolutely untrue with a low-light tank.
With a low-light (read: the standard lighting that comes with tanks, or close to it) tank, and the correct plants, you can have a thriving planted tank with little or no extra "work".
But, the benefits of live plants are so numerous that I don't think I would keep a community tank without them. I like plants, both aquatic and outdoor, though.
However, the key, in my opinion, is to choose the correct plants for your situation. If you can't, or are unwilling to, invest in extra equipment and hassle (brighter lights, CO2 systems, regular fertilizers), then do some research beforehand and pick some low-maintenance, low-light plants. Choose the wrong plants for your situation, and you'll just be disappointed, and will miss out on the benefits (both practical and aesthetic) of having plants.
The point being, many people are scared off by thinking that in order to successfully grow plants, they'll need a gajillion watts of light, a $300 CO2 system, and three shelves full of fertilizers. Absolutely untrue with a low-light tank.
With a low-light (read: the standard lighting that comes with tanks, or close to it) tank, and the correct plants, you can have a thriving planted tank with little or no extra "work".
Bol
Fish Addict
As you increase the light in your tank, and therefore the available energy, you'll find that eventually the plants will use almost all the available CO2 in the water, and in order to keep the plants at optimal health and growth (and to minimize algae), you'll have to inject CO2 into the water.
There are two general ways of doing this -- they both involve bubbling CO2 gas into the tank, but the gas generation method is different.
There's the DIY method, which uses a mixture of sugar, yeast, and water to produce CO2. Such a system is usually easy to assemble, dirt cheap to make and run, but it can get messy and inconvenient, especially for larger tanks. A quick web search for "DIY CO2" should find a few good sets of details. Here is a good article about DIY CO2, to get you started.
The other way of generating the CO2 gas is to buy it, in pressurized bottles -- generally, from a welding supply store or a beverage distributor. When you use a pressurized bottle, though, you'll need some hardware -- namely, a regulator which will let the CO2 out of the bottle at a predetermined (fairly slow) rate (edit: and in most cases you'll need a needle valve, too, to finely tune the flow rate). Some regulators come with bubble counters (which let you see how much gas is actually coming out of the bottle) and/or solenoids to allow you to turn the CO2 flow off and on with an electric signal. Of course, if you want your flow to be controlled automatically, you need to either put it on a timer, or you have to have a sensor and controller (usually pH is used as the factor).
Here is Chuck's guide to pressurized CO2, which does a much better job of explaining it.
As you might guess, the cost of these little doodads start to add up pretty quickly. At the least, you'll probably shell out $150 to $200 to get started, and with automatic controls, it's fairly easy to top a $400 price tag.
There are two general ways of doing this -- they both involve bubbling CO2 gas into the tank, but the gas generation method is different.
There's the DIY method, which uses a mixture of sugar, yeast, and water to produce CO2. Such a system is usually easy to assemble, dirt cheap to make and run, but it can get messy and inconvenient, especially for larger tanks. A quick web search for "DIY CO2" should find a few good sets of details. Here is a good article about DIY CO2, to get you started.
The other way of generating the CO2 gas is to buy it, in pressurized bottles -- generally, from a welding supply store or a beverage distributor. When you use a pressurized bottle, though, you'll need some hardware -- namely, a regulator which will let the CO2 out of the bottle at a predetermined (fairly slow) rate (edit: and in most cases you'll need a needle valve, too, to finely tune the flow rate). Some regulators come with bubble counters (which let you see how much gas is actually coming out of the bottle) and/or solenoids to allow you to turn the CO2 flow off and on with an electric signal. Of course, if you want your flow to be controlled automatically, you need to either put it on a timer, or you have to have a sensor and controller (usually pH is used as the factor).
Here is Chuck's guide to pressurized CO2, which does a much better job of explaining it.
As you might guess, the cost of these little doodads start to add up pretty quickly. At the least, you'll probably shell out $150 to $200 to get started, and with automatic controls, it's fairly easy to top a $400 price tag.
spottedbovine
Fish Fanatic
live plants............great for fish to snack on and if you have an albino corry like mine, sleep on 
Yenko
Fish Addict
I love my live plants. My tank is planted with Cryptocrynes, Java Fern, Java Moss, Sagitarius (Spelled wrong), Giant val and a Melon Sword. I don't do anything special for them; other than put in some fertilizer every week or two.
Cyrptocrynes, Java Fern and Java Moss will all grow with hardly any light. Java Fern and moss are good starter plants; cheap, don't need much light, fast-growing, and don't actually have roots in the gravel (They just stick to rocks), so you don't have to worry about your gravel.
Cyrptocrynes, Java Fern and Java Moss will all grow with hardly any light. Java Fern and moss are good starter plants; cheap, don't need much light, fast-growing, and don't actually have roots in the gravel (They just stick to rocks), so you don't have to worry about your gravel.
Believe it or not, I use live and plastic plants in my goldfish aquarium. Broad, flat-leaved plants keep the goldfish from eating the leaves...lol. (See picture)NDIrish7 said:I know nothing about live plants in a fish tank , so dont hate ,lol. Which ones should i have...plastic? or Live Plants?
any addition info on plants would be great!
do ottos need live plants to survive?
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