Tropical plants

[Kieron1]

Hello

I am soon to be setting up a new aquarium. This is my third tank but will be the first time I have taken it seriously. My tank is over 4 foot long and I am looking to spend a lot on plants and know they can be difficult to keep alive.

Recently in my local stockist the shop assistant pointed out some special gravel (can't remember its name) which apparently feeds the plants. Its expensive - £25 for a large bag. Can anyone tell me if this works or if its just a gimmick?
Also, how long does plant food last for (the stuff you bury in the gravel)
And finally do Co2 units work well with feeding the plants?

I would appreciate any help!

Kind regards

Kieron

 

[rdd1952]

There are several substrates for planted tanks. I can only speak from personal experience on one of the. I am using the Eco Complete Planted in my 75 gallon and it works great. It is a black gravel and I love the look. As mentioned, it is expensive, about $20 to $30 for 20 lb depending on where you get it. Some of the other products are flourite based. One of the LFS near me uses the Red Sea Flora Base in their planted tanks and they always look good when I go in there so I assume that one works too. I think the owner of that store actually competes in a lot of the aquascaping competitions.

As for plants, there are some good pinned topics in the planted section. I would suggest starting with easy to grow, low maintanence plants until you get things established. Then you can start switching to more elaborate ones. I have ordered plants from here on 2 occasions and they were in great shape when they arrived. Their prices are as good as any I have found too. This site has pretty good profiles on plants so you can get an idea of the care and requirements of what you are considering buying.

 

[poorstudent]

Does the Eco Complete turn your water black? I saw that it says it is perfect for a black water tank - is this due to it's color, composition, or "staining" of the water?

Oh, and Flourite is a great, easy to use product. And you don't have to use it alone. you can try to mix it half and half with some small gravel.

 

[Dubby]

Kieron1:

For growing plants well you need -
- Good lighting (atleast 2W/gallon)
- Fertiliser (liquid and in substrate)
- CO2 (definitely reqd.if you have high intensity lighting)
- good substrate (perhaps a combo of laterite/clay and sand)

Now depending on your lighting conditions you can choose appropriate plants.
Hope this helps.