wolfman21

I was thinking about getting some live plants as opposed to plastic ones and I need a little info. So please just let me know anything you can about the care of live plants, what I need to have (lighting, substrate, water conditions, etc) and the pros and cons of having live plants. Any info is helpful. Thanks.

hamstermann

Lighting, substrate, and other factors depend on the plants. In general, make sure there's enough iron in your tank and you have apropriate lighting. before you buy anything, study pictures of planted tanks and decide what you like as far as lighting, aquascaping, number of plants, placement of plants, etc. when you find a few you like, research them and THEN buy them and set them up.

My current favorite substrate is Eco Complete because it has lots of minerals and claims to help cycle your tank. Plus it's black, so the contrast with the plants is really pretty. Good Plants to start with without having to change lighting your tank lid comes with are: Java Moss, Java Fern, Anacharis, Hornwart, and Guppy grass (If you're trying to have a place for fry to hide).

wolfman21

I have fluorescent lights right now. Are the plants that you listed good under a fluorescent light?

hamstermann

yep, they should be fine.

mojoman101

is it all right to plant straight into gravel? do i need anything special?

wolfman21

I was looking for some plants and they showed light requirements. For low light, is that like an incandescent bulb, medium a fluorescent, and high light a UV? Just wondering so I know what I can buy.

sirdarksol

You can plant many plants directly into gravel. If you do so, however, you need a supplement that provides minerals that the plants need, like iron.

mojoman101

will the iron mess with my fish or the fish i may add in the future?

sirdarksol

You can get supplements made specifically for aquariums.

wolfman21

when a plant says that is requires low to medium light, does that mean that it would be fine under a fluorescent light bulb?

Gunnie

Yes. Take the total wattage of the bulb(s) and divide that number by the gallon size of your tank. This should give you your watts per gallon on your tank. I have a 10 gal. tank with 2 15 watt fluorescent bulbs, which would be 30 divided by 10 = 3 watts per gallon. 1 wpg is low light, 2 wpg is medium light, and 3 and above is high light.

wolfman21

awesome thanks!

vin

I have a couple of Anubeus Nana and Red Crytocorine plants that I've split and given several of them away and replanted my tank as well. Very easy to care for. I never have to use plant food as the nitrate in the tank seems to be helping them to thrive.

wolfman21

Generally what's the best type of lighting for growing plants and being good for the fish. I've heard both UV and fluorescent, but I don't know which one. Anyone know or have ideas?

griffin

i'd tend to think fluorescent since most fish don't really need uv. uv is also shielded by glass, so you'll want to take that into consideration as well.

plants do fine with fluorescent.

hope that helped

wolfman21

Which light is better for the fish-which one most closely resembles their natural lighting?

Gunnie

Here's a great article to help you with some of your questions:

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

Xenomorph

My local fish shop tried to tell me that I only need one fluro globe for my 4' tank - I'm now shopping for a new fish shop.....

Is there a danger in exceeding 3wpg?