Wondering what plants I could add to my tank?

[Lefky]

I currently have 1 Amazon Swords, 1 Water Sprite, and 4 Dwarf sag. I have had the sword for almost 2 weeks and everything else for almost a week. I add monthly root tabs for the sword and a weekly dose of API Leaf Zone to the tank. My swords has become greener but I have noticed no growth at all with the plant. My water sprite and dwarf sags are brown in coloring and have not grown at all. Will the dwarf sag spread across the gravel? My water temp is 80-82F with 7.5PH. I do weekly water changes adding dechlorinated water to the tank. I was wondering what plants I could add to my tank? I was looking for colorful bushy plants to replace the fake ones on the side, perhaps scarlet temple? I also wanted another 1 or 2 single plants, maybe a dwarf lily in the corner? Would most swords work in the tank?

Edit: I do have gravel substrate if that may be affecting my current plants. I also have low-moderate lighting I think.

 

[Roger121]

have u 50 lumens per liter to fluorescent or 15lumens per liter to Leds?, u can have plants in gravel man the nutritive substrate is only if Co2 injection.

 

[Lefky]

I don't want to get into the co2 stuff. Also I have no idea about the lights I have in my tank, they came with the kit and didnt give a description of it. All I know is that they are white LED lights.

have u 50 lumens per liter to fluorescent or 15lumens per liter to Leds?, u can have plants in gravel man the nutritive substrate is only if Co2 injection.

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

The white colored substrate could be benefical to you, as it may reflect some of the light around a bit more. How tall is your tank? ANd iIF it's a "kit" type of set-up, your overall PAR reading in water, may be a bit mediocre, so maybe suggest some "low light" plants to start out with...then, if those do well, you can probably advance to a higher threshold once you've estblished your natural affinity and competency of your new planted tank set up. Sorry but my keyboard sucks and always is acting up lately with a buncha typos...

And FYI, those plants ARE at only the beginning of their submersion/transition stage of being introduced to your new aquarium. They are quite new from what you're telling us of just how long they've actually been in the water. Furthermore, the most important tip I can tell you is, since you already planted 'em is...do NOT touch 'em! Do NOT move any of 'em! : ) And IF this is an already cycled tank, usually when you acquire NEW plants, I do NOT fertilize 'em at first.I usually wait for about a week, as IF it is a cycled tank, then the water usually has enough nutrients in it already. But after that, I usually THEN add ferts. However IF it is NOT an established tank, I would add ferts, yes.

And also, when starting up a new tank, (this is just me) I always add a TON of plants to prevent any early algae growth. The more plants...the better IMO...maybe a ratio of 36 inches of plants to every ONE fish.

 

[Lefky]

The white colored substrate could be benefical to you, as it may reflect some of the light around a bit more. How tall is your tank? ANd iIF it's a "kit" type of set-up, your overall PAR reading in water, may be a bit mediocre, so maybe suggest some "low light" plants to start out with...then, if those do well, you can probably advance to a higher threshold once you've estblished your natural affinity and competency of your new planted tank set up. Sorry but my keyboard sucks and always is acting up lately with a buncha typos...

And FYI, those plants ARE at only the beginning of their submersion/transition stage of being introduced to your new aquarium. They are quite new from what you're telling us of just how long they've actually been in the water. Furthermore, the most important tip I can tell you is, since you already planted 'em is...do NOT touch 'em! Do NOT move any of 'em! : ) And IF this is an already cycled tank, usually when you acquire NEW plants, I do NOT fertilize 'em at first.I usually wait for about a week, as IF it is a cycled tank, then the water usually has enough nutrients in it already. But after that, I usually THEN add ferts. However IF it is NOT an established tank, I would add ferts, yes.

And also, when starting up a new tank, (this is just me) I always add a TON of plants to prevent any early algae growth. The more plants...the better IMO...maybe a ratio of 36 inches of plants to every ONE fish.

The tank is 16in tall; I have no clue what PAR is sorry. My tank is almost cycled also and has been up for 2 months.

 

[Roger121]

PAR is the photosynthetic Active Radiation , I was trying make it simple using kelvin and lumens but the correct way is using (Umol/S) xd

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

PAR seems to be a MUCH easier way of determining your light's overall output. ANd usually 6,500k's is good. But most LED's nowadays in a decent light, are at 7,000k.

 

[Lefky]

PAR seems to be a MUCH easier way of determining your light's overall output. ANd usually 6,500k's is good. But most LED's nowadays in a decent light, are at 7,000k.

I'm not sure about its intensity. The tank I purchased is down below

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

Ok. Yeah your PAR will be good, about the high 60’s-70; about medium to high light—perfect! : ) You’ll be able to grow just about any plant(s).

 

[Lefky]

What do you recommend for harder water, 80-84F, and gravel substrate?

Ok. Yeah your PAR will be good, about the high 60’s-70; about medium to high light—perfect! : ) You’ll be able to grow just about any plant(s).

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

My temp used to be at 80 degrees, but certain algae like warmer water such as that, so I dialed back down to 75 degrees now; I use dirt and CaribSea’s Eco Complete. My water’s hard too here...

 

[Lefky]

My temp used to be at 80 degrees, but certain algae like warmer water such as that, so I dialed back down to 75 degrees now; I use dirt and CaribSea’s Eco Complete. My water’s hard too here...

I can't lower the temp here since I live in the desert and its now 100F during the days. My house temp is 80-82F. Do you think the list below will be ok in my tank?

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

Yeah 80-82's totally fine. IF it does get any hotter at all ever, all you need is a simple clip on or table side little fan. You can acquire those at pretty much any store ya know?

 

[Lefky]

Yeah 80-82's totally fine. IF it does get any hotter at all ever, all you need is a simple clip on or table side little fan. You can acquire those at pretty much any store ya know?

Alright sweet! Cant wait to see these plants grow.

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

Yeah whenever I start any planted tank, no matter what size the tank, I ALWAYS load up with a TON of plants. For example, if I decide to only keep 1-2 fish at first for the first 6 months to a year, I'll buy about at least 12 plants heh...at least that many, varying in sizes and species...pretty much algae will never get a chance to grow then...it'd be like a 100 to 1 odds AGAINST any algae!

 

[Lefky]

Yeah whenever I start any planted tank, no matter what size the tank, I ALWAYS load up with a TON of plants. For example, if I decide to only keep 1-2 fish at first for the first 6 months to a year, I'll buy about at least 12 plants heh...at least that many, varying in sizes and species...pretty much algae will never get a chance to grow then...it'd be like a 100 to 1 odds AGAINST any algae!

Now that's a lot of plants! Haha. I was just planning on adding a short area on one side and a super tall bushy side on the other. Maybe some with some color hopefully. Do oto’s live a long time? And do they need groups?

 

[-Mak-]

Ok. Yeah your PAR will be good, about the high 60’s-70; about medium to high light—perfect! : ) You’ll be able to grow just about any plant(s).

Sorry, where are you getting this? I doubt a regular stock light puts out anywhere near that much PAR

 

[SFGiantsGuy]

Oops! I completely forgot that he has a "kit"type of light. Oops!