Transition to Realness

Currently have a 38 gal with plastic/silk plants, driftwood, and flagstone caves. The gravel is, dare I say, a mix of garden rocks - there's sandstone, gravel, all different sizes but mostly smooth pebbles (pic attached). I've got two HOB filters (aquaclear 50 and a tetra whisper) running so that I have one for a QT tank and because I'm nervous about the bioload. It's pretty well stocked with these fish/snails:

10 phantom tetras (1 juvenile was born in the tank)
6 red eye tetras (also a baby one who was born here)
6 corydoras cats
1 (new) columbian/false zebra pleco
3 olive nerites

I was thinking when we started this tank that real plants always make for happier fish/inhabitants (especially for the ones we chose liking lots of cover and filtered lighting, etc.), but felt like I wouldn't be able to handle the upkeep that comes with real plants. I just keep the tank lights at about 25% and have about 7 hours of total darkness each night.

Now that we have a pleco (who I desperately want to spoil haha) and I'm working from home I'm entertaining the idea of transitioning to some or all live plants, but being a newbie have no idea how to start or what I might need to change (besides adding fertilizers, possibly, and making sure there is enough light...and I also learned about pest snails from a previous experience).

Is this something anyone has done? Any advice for how to do it - gradually, complete overhaul/start over - would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

Easy plants to start might be Cryptocoryne and Echinodorus. Not very demanding of light or CO2.

 

Hi zeeweeling,
I see the watering can. This leads me to offer a suggestion as a possible path for you to start into living plants. Many of the best common plants grow with there roots out of the substrate glue on to wood , ornaments or rock . Java fern and Anubias are two you can start with today. Some shops sell them already glued to wood in my town.
Anyway back to the watering can . Containers can be used for plants that don’t need to have a drainage hole as you would with a house plant.
You will need a low quality potting mix and gravel on top .
Heres a couple of old quick and dirty snapshots of a few containers. Not long ago I had the full tea set in one tank . Sorry the lights are not on at the moment these are old photos but you get the idea?





You will need a timer on your lights set to 7 or 8 hours.

 

Hi zeeweeling,
I see the watering can. This leads me to offer a suggestion as a possible path for you to start into living plants. Many of the best common plants grow with there roots out of the substrate glue on to wood , ornaments or rock . Java fern and Anubias are two you can start with today. Some shops sell them already glued to wood in my town.
Anyway back to the watering can . Containers can be used for plants that don’t need to have a drainage hole as you would with a house plant.
You will need a low quality potting mix and gravel on top .
Heres a couple of old quick and dirty snapshots of a few containers. Not long ago I had the full tea set in one tank . Sorry the lights are not on at the moment these are old photos but you get the idea?

View attachment 691467

View attachment 691472You will need a timer on your lights set to 7 or 8 hours.

Nice pots! Ours is a teapot actually my husband made, he is a ceramist...so we have lots of pots around the house. So i can actually have all of the plants in pots without changing substrate, is what you are saying? What if i wanted to “plant” them in the substrate i have? Would i have to empty it out to put the soil underneath the gravel?

 

Oops, that’s a very hobbit looking tea pot sorry. Some plants can grow in just straight gravel with root taps , but not many grow as well as when in proper aquarium soil.

if you take the slow approach and start with mosses and plants that don’t grow in any soil . Anubias and java fern . Plus all the different floating plants. You could be happy for the next two years? Then you have the excuse to buy another tank or do a complete reset with aquarium soil.

While it’s possible to change sand to gravel or gravel to sand with the fish still in the tank the whole time adding aquarium soil with fish in the tank is not something I would recommend.
Many of the top quality aquarium soils are made to leach ammonia for 5 weeks. No fish can be in a tank with them. There are some brands of aquarium soil that are new and dont do that but even these can change PH . You might get a reply from someone that knows of a good soil to add with fish in the tank ?

I have one proper planted tank , it’s impossible to clean the substrate. I like being able to remove everything not only for pushing things around to vacuum but also just to catch fish. If you put a small fish in a planted tank that’s it you will never catch it.

Here is a link to a well dressed young Aussie guy showing some of his pot planted tanks .

 

Oops, that’s a very hobbit looking tea pot sorry. Some plants can grow in just straight gravel with root taps , but not many grow as well as when in proper aquarium soil.

if you take the slow approach and start with mosses and plants that don’t grow in any soil . Anubias and java fern . Plus all the different floating plants. You could be happy for the next two years? Then you have the excuse to buy another tank or do a complete reset with aquarium soil.

While it’s possible to change sand to gravel or gravel to sand with the fish still in the tank the whole time adding aquarium soil with fish in the tank is not something I would recommend.
Many of the top quality aquarium soils are made to leach ammonia for 5 weeks. No fish can be in a tank with them. There are some brands of aquarium soil that are new and dont do that but even these can change PH . You might get a reply from someone that knows of a good soil to add with fish in the tank ?

I have one proper planted tank , it’s impossible to clean the substrate. I like being able to remove everything not only for pushing things around to vacuum but also just to catch fish. If you put a small fish in a planted tank that’s it you will never catch it.

Here is a link to a well dressed young Aussie guy showing some of his pot planted tanks .

Thanks so much this really helps. I like the idea of the slow approach...I especially wanted to try the floating plants to see if my red eyes would be a little more outgoing with the added coverage.