Jim

OK, after reading all the comments on how good my new tank looked, I hate to have to admit the plants were all cheap plastic ones... and after seeing all the great looking planted tanks here (Eespecially your new 75 gallon, Isabella ....lol) I decided to go for it.
I really liked the look of my tank, so I tried to match the plastic plant version as much as I could.
I have a bunch of Anacharis & Moneywart, 2 banana plants, plus a really nice Madagascar Lace. Oh, and 1 I can't really identify (see picture 3)
So here's the pictures of my planted tank:

Pic 1 is of my tank with the plastic plants
Pic 2 is of the tank with real plants
And I could some help with picture 3. Can anyone tell me what this plant is? Is it a amazon sword? I think it is, but when I went back to the LFS they told me " Duhhhh, I don't know" Go figure!

Attached Images

	Old Tank.jpg (185.0 KB, 47 views)
	New Tank.jpg (182.4 KB, 47 views)
	Mystery Plant.jpg (224.4 KB, 45 views)

Gunnie

Picture #3 is a java fern. You need to un-bury it, or it will rot and die. You can tie it to a piece of driftwood with cotton string or thread, and it should attach itself to the driftwood. Your tank looks very nice, however, you might want to read up on the lighting requirements of all your plants, and see if you have enough watts per gallon to keep them green and healthy. Here's a great article to get you started. You've done a great job!

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=17

Jim

Gunnie,
Thanks, I read the plantgeek section about java ferns... that's definitly what it is, no mistaking the pattern to the leaves. I'm gonna just pull it out and get rid of it. It would look stupid attached the the wood pieces I have; they're not the right shape for plants..
As for the lighting, I have 3 flourescent tubes: The tank came with a single 30 watt Eclypse Daylight, and I added a dual T5 with a 21 watt Colormax full spectrum and a 21 watt 6700K plant lamp. The total is 72 watts for a 42 gallon tank; aprox 1.7 WPG.
(BTW, the tank label said it was a 46 gallon, but I filled it gallon by gallon... it only holds 42...lol)
I think I have enough light, but I may switch the Eclypse daylight with another plant light... I'm not sure if I need to or not yet.
Any advice you guys could provide about this would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Gunnie

Don't get rid of the java fern! Tie it to something else if you don't want it on your driftwood, and just let it sit on top of the gravel. It is much too pretty to just throw away! Dino or Butterfly would probably be much more helpful than I about lighting. I do believe though that the madagascar lace sword needs more light. I think the swords need about 2 wpg to really thrive. On Plantgeek.net they have a plant guide where you can enter the common or scientific name in a search and get the lighting and other requirements for each species of plant. The folks in the forum on that site are also awesome and helpful. Butterfly and Dino are both staff on that site:

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php

Jim

Opps, too late...lol* That's OK, one of the LFS's has lots of jave frens.* What I planned is getting another piece of driftwood, something that would look good with it growing on it.* Once I get it boiled and soaked, I'll go get some more and do it right.*
As for the Lace, I looked on Plantgeek, and all it says is Requires moderate light.* But I can't find a guide to what Moderate is in terms of WPG.* I'll register later and ask the forum

Butterfly

Your tank probably IS a 46g but after you add substrate, decor and plants it won't hold 46g of water I think your lighting will be ok for what you have. I'm not a big lighting Guru but the folks at plantgeek.net can explain anything you need to know
I have java fern attached to wood and well as rocks and in one tank it looks like it's growing out of the substrate when in truth it's attached to a flat rock and the rock sits on the substrate.
Carol

Isabella

Good luck with the plants Jim. They will grow with time and make your tank look beautiful, as all plants do

Jim

Carol, the LFS that I bought the first java fern had dozens... so once i have a new piece of driftwood ready I'll go back and get some. Of course with my luck they'll be out!!! hehehe