Cost Of Keeping Live Plants

Well I recently decided to go with live plants, not really knowing anything. The rep at the pet store told me the light I already have and the fishes waste are all the plants need. Since then my plants started dying and I learned about liquid fertilizer and liquid carbon, but the fertilizer is dosed weekly and the carbon daily and I realized this is gonna add up quick and cost a lot of money in the long term. So I want to know where’s the cheapest place to buy these?? Possibly in bulk and online? TYVM!!!

 

What plants did you get?

 

Well I recently decided to go with live plants, not really knowing anything. The rep at the pet store told me the light I already have and the fishes waste are all the plants need. Since then my plants started dying and I learned about liquid fertilizer and liquid carbon, but the fertilizer is dosed weekly and the carbon daily and I realized this is gonna add up quick and cost a lot of money in the long term. So I want to know where’s the cheapest place to but these?? Possibly in bulk and online? TYVM!!!

 

What plants did you get?

corkscrew vallisneria & italian vallisneria so far but I’d like to have a heavily planted eventually.

 

corkscrew vallisneria & italian vallisneria so far but I’d like to have a heavily planted eventually.

Those plants are easy. On your other post, those vals were just melting. It’s normal for plants to melt when their environment changes. They eventually grow new leaves.

If you want to do a heavily planted tank, you might want to do a dirted tank. Use organic potting mix and cap it with some sand or gravel, then you won’t need to add much ferts for some time.

You can do dry ferts, nilocg sells it on their website. You can also use an all-in-one fert like thrive or easy green. It’s $20 for a nice sized bottle and so far has lasted me almost a year.

Also, the liquid carbon you purchased melts vals. So that might be another reason it’s melting faster than normal. It’s really not needed, many plants can grow with only the Co2 produced by the fish.

 

What plants do you have, I don't dose co2 or ferts and my plants are fine

 

HI Phishy77 I feel you, I have the same problem with the cost of things and keeping my budget low. I usually get my stuff from "That Fish Place That Pet Place" In Lancaster Pennsylvania, you can order plants there online and get a discount if you are part of their free "Pet Rewards system"



here is a link, you can set the search options from low to high price wise that way seeing their cheapest plants. Most of their plants are very good quality. Hope this helps

 

You can make it cheap.You can make DIY root tabs with empty gel capsules and osmocote pluse plant fertilizer. Shove a few in the substrate near plants roots, replace every few months. This costs 10-15 dollars and will last well over a year. Now you're feeding the roots, to feed the leaves of the plant you can pick up the all in one liquid fertilizer in the link for $20.00. One small bottle treats 2500 gallons. If your tank is small that can last a very long time. That's it. You're done. You don't need co2 or any other liquid fertilizer. If you're still having issues after that it's likely inadequate lighting. Nowadays you can get a nice aquarium led plant light on amazon for 50 bucks if it comes to that. With this route you're looking at 35-50 dollars a year.

 

@ toeknee now your talking correct budgeting

 

You could always use dirt capped with sand or gravel as the substrate. Setting it up is a bit of a hassle and it can get messy if you're not careful, but the result is a tank that will require no fertilizers for at least a couple years for a fairly minimal cost.

Getting a good LED light also helps. I've had great success with lights that cost only about $20-$30 from amazon so don't think you have to shell out a hundred bucks for a fancy brand in a pet store.