mlinden84

I'm considering going with live plants in my new 55 gallon. Having never had them before, I have a few questions. The tank isn't set up yet, and won't be for at least a few weeks, but I figured I'd start figuring some stuff out now.
I will be getting low light plants (if that helps to answer the questions!)

1. I see all this stuff for fertilizing plants... what is better, the substrate stuff, the root tabs, or the liquid stuff? (and what brands?)
2. I hear about problems with snails... do the snails actually harm the plants, or are they just pesky?
3. Is there some sort of substrate that is better than others? (large gravel, fine gravel, sand, etc?)
4. Kinda silly question, but will cycling the tank with plants in it harm them at all?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!
Also, if anyone on here happens to sell plants I would definitely be interested!

sirdarksol

1. I prefer using either fluorite or Ecocomplete (you can find both in Drs Foster and Smith's "substrate" section). So far, I've had some success with root tabs or spikes (the spikes are a new product. They're supposed to last for a year). It's really not a matter of fertilizing, it's a matter of providing minerals, particularly iron, for the plants.
2. I've never had any real problems with snails. They're in a couple of my tanks. If I notice them "blooming", I know that I've got a problem with my tank and need to get nitrate numbers down.
3. Substrate kind of depends on the plants in question. Large plants that don't really spread have no issues with gravel, but some smaller plants that spread like a carpet may have some issues and would prefer finer gravel or sand. My favorite plant substrates are Ecocomplete and a 50/50 fluorite/sand mix.
4. Shouldn't be a problem to cycle the tank with the plants.

As for other tips, head to plantgeek.net. They've got info on a bunch of different plants, including light requirements. Stock lighting can only support certain plants (thankfully, a lot of them are really pretty, like Java moss.) Many plants require higher amounts of light.

mlinden84

Great thanks for your help!
I don't know if it matters or not, but I will be adding the mollies and cories that are in the 20 gallon to the new tank once it is cycled. Then I will be adding more cories and I'm still undecided about what else to get.

sirdarksol

I have a similar setup. I've got a planted tank with three platinum mollies and a bunch of Amano shrimp (no cories, though, because it's a brackish tank and cories don't do well in salt). I'm just counting on the mollies' rabbit-like nature to eventually populate the tank with more mollies.
Both of those fish are good with plants, so everything should work out well.

mlinden84

Hehe that's exactly what I was thinking! I was like well I have enough mollies for a 20 gallon, but really I could just wait a month and they would have enough babies for a 55!