Beginner aquatic plant advice

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Aroc2226

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29 gallon is all
I have a couple pieces of driftwood and a handful of plant right now.

Plants are doing okay. A little brown but as I understand it a bit of CO2 should fix that.

I know there are many resources out there giving advice on plants.

Thought Iā€™d pick some brains.

Not looking for a carpet but some planted foreground ideas.

Iā€™m not new to the hobby but I am new to a planted aquarium

Thanks as always in advance
 
Are you intending to add fish to this tank? Because if you do, injecting CO2 isn't really good for the fish. And the fish themselves are a source of CO2. Would you mind giving a little more info? What kind of plants? What kind of lighting? And are you adding any fertilizer?

In answer to your question, cryptocoryne parva might be good for what you have in mind. Or Anubias nana petite attached to pebbles .
 
Are you intending to add fish to this tank? Because if you do, injecting CO2 isn't really good for the fish. And the fish themselves are a source of CO2. Would you mind giving a little more info? What kind of plants? What kind of lighting? And are you adding any fertilizer?

In answer to your question, cryptocoryne parva might be good for what you have in mind. Or Anubias nana petite attached to pebbles .
I am a beekeeper as well. Been doing it as a hobby for about 10 years now.

One thing I learned early on was when asking for advice you could expect 10 different answers from 10 different people.

Iā€™m learning this hobby is no different.

Basically find what works for you using the advice given.

That being said I donā€™t have many fish right now. A single Lyre Tail Molly, a Bristle Nose Pleco and a couple Kuhli Loach.

No fertilizer.

Not sure what plants are in there. I know Java Fern for sure. I can post a couple pics.

Lighting is a full spectrum grow light although Iā€™d need to up grade it
 

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CO2is not going to help. Sharkweek is correct. The plants in the photo are java fern and Anubias. These are low-light plants and thus low nutrients. But they do need both none the less. A good comprehensive supplement is Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement. Or Brightwell Aquatics FloriMulti.

Can you provide the light data? It looks good in the photo, there seems to be red in the light. Plants need red and blue light to photosynthesize, and green added to the red and blue is beneficial. Light with a colour temperature in the 5000K to 6500K range is good.

As for plants, the chain sword plant Helanthium tenellum, usually does well. I'm not certain what the plant in the third photo is...?
 
CO2is not going to help. Sharkweek is correct. The plants in the photo are java fern and Anubias. These are low-light plants and thus low nutrients. But they do need both none the less. A good comprehensive supplement is Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement. Or Brightwell Aquatics FloriMulti.

Can you provide the light data? It looks good in the photo, there seems to be red in the light. Plants need red and blue light to photosynthesize, and green added to the red and blue is beneficial. Light with a colour temperature in the 5000K to 6500K range is good.

As for plants, the chain sword plant Helanthium tenellum, usually does well. I'm not certain what the plant in the third photo is...?
I donā€™t really like the idea of adding fertilizer and chemicals to a tank if I can help it.

I might try though

As far as light I canā€™t really give you a lot of information outside of what was already mentioned. Wife bought it for me a few months ago and I really donā€™t know what it is. I do plan on upgrading
 
I donā€™t really like the idea of adding fertilizer and chemicals to a tank if I can help it.

I might try though

As far as light I canā€™t really give you a lot of information outside of what was already mentioned. Wife bought it for me a few months ago and I really donā€™t know what it is. I do plan on upgrading

On the light, hen some manufacturers say "full spectrum" it can be this or that. Can you find a link to the website of the manufacturer, it will hopefully have data.

You have a very wise approach when you say you do not like adding chemicals. I am a firm believer in that, because I know that substances in the wat4r enter the fish with the water they take in regularly, getting into the bloodstream and internal organs. But the fish need food, and so do plants. And the low level of minerals in a comprehensive supplement is not going to affect the fish but will help the plants. While fish being fed and water changes may sometimes provide all the plants need, it is not always the case. My floaters did not do well without a single dose of Flourish Comp.
 
I donā€™t really like the idea of adding fertilizer and chemicals to a tank if I can help it.

I might try though

As far as light I canā€™t really give you a lot of information outside of what was already mentioned. Wife bought it for me a few months ago and I really donā€™t know what it is. I do plan on upgrading
I too agree with no chemicals, but my water does not supply what the plants need. I find the Flourish comprehensive @Byron mentions at half the recommended dosage once a week is sufficient. As already said all the plants you have have low requirements so that will probably do the trick. My own approach is to use only plants rated as easy (low light, low nutrient, don't need added CO2). Typically these are quite inexpensive - if something works in my tank I keep it, if not its in the bin. This applies to the tank in my signature, everything in there is super easy and maintenance is minimal, meaning flourish comprehensive + trimming when needed. My fish don't care how much I paid for the plants or how exotic they are, and my neighbours and friends all seem to think the tank looks great.
 
AQUARIUM PLANTS 1.01

TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF

Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, you only need the light on for a few hours in the evening. You might turn them on at 4 or 5pm and off at 9pm.

If you do have live plants in the tank, you can have the lights on for 8-16 hours a day but the fish and plants need 8 hours of darkness to rest. Most people with live plants in their aquarium will have the lights on for 8-12 hours a day.


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LIGHTING TIMES
Most aquarium plants like a bit of light and if you only have the light on for a couple of hours a day, they struggle. If the light doesn't have a high enough wattage they also struggle. Try having the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day.

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it.
If you get a small amount of algae then the lighting time is about right.

Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off.

Plant lights should have equal amount of red and blue light and a bit less green light.


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TWO LIGHT UNITS
If you have two light units on the tank, put them on timers and have one come on first, then an hour later the second one can come on. It will be less stressful for the fish.

In the evening, turn the first light off and wait an hour, then have the second light go out.

If the lights have a low, medium and high intensity setting, have them on low in the morning, then increase it to medium after a couple of hours, and then high for the main part of the day. In the evening, reverse this and have the medium setting for a few hours, then low. Then turn the lights off.


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LIST OF PLANTS TO TRY
Some good plants to try include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, H. ruba/ rubra, Elodia (during summer, but don't buy it in winter because it falls apart), Hydrilla, common Amazon sword plant, narrow or twisted/ spiral Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).

The Water Sprite normally floats on the surface but can also be planted in the substrate. The other plants should be planted in the gravel.

Ambulia, H. polysperma, Elodia/ Hydrilla and Vallis are tall plants that do well along the back. Rotala macranda is a medium/ tallish red plant that usually does well.

H. ruba/ rubra is a medium height plant that looks good on the sides of the tank.

Cryptocorynes are small/ medium plants that are taller than pygmy chain swords but shorter than H. rubra. They also come in a range of colours, mostly different shades of green, brown or purplish red. Crypts are not the easiest plant to grow but can do well if they are healthy to begin with and are not disturbed after planting in the tank.

Most Amazon sword plants can get pretty big and are usually kept in the middle of the tank as a show piece. There is an Ozelot sword plant that has brown spots on green leaves, and a red ruffle sword plant (name may vary depending on where you live) with deep red leaves.

There is a pygmy chain sword plant that is small and does well in the front of the tank.


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GROWING PLANTS IN POTS
We use to grow some plants (usually swords, crypts, Aponogetons and water lilies) in 1 or 2 litre plastic icecream containers. You put an inch of gravel in the bottom of the container, then spread a thin layer of granulated garden fertiliser over the gravel. Put a 1/4inch (6mm) thick layer of red/ orange clay over the fertiliser. Dry the clay first and crush it into a powder. Then cover that with more gravel.

You put the plants in the gravel and as they grow, their roots hit the clay and fertiliser and they take off and go nuts. The clay stops the fertiliser leaching into the water.

You can smear silicon on the outside of the buckets and stick gravel or sand to them so it is less conspicuous. Or you can let algae grow on them and the containers turn green.

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We did plants in pots for a couple of reasons.
1) I was working in an aquaculture facility and we grew and sold live plants to shops. Some of the shops wanted advanced plants in pots so we did that.

2) Plants like sword plants love nutrients and have big root systems so they needed more gravel and big pots. When given ideal conditions these plants would produce lots of runners with new plants on and we got more plants to sell.

3) Most of the tanks only had a thin layer of substrate that was nowhere near thick enough for plants to grow in so having them in pots allowed us to grow plants in tanks with minimal gravel in the tank.


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TRUE AQUATIC VS MARSH/ TERRESTRIAL PLANTS
Lots of plants are sold as aquarium plants and most are marsh plants that do really well when their roots are in water and the rest of the plant is above water. Some marsh plants will do well underwater too.

Hair grass is not a true aquatic plant, neither is Anubias.

Some common marsh plants include Amazon sword plants, Cryptocorynes, Hygrophila sp, Rotala sp, Ludwigia sp, Bacopa sp. These plant do reasonably well underwater.

True aquatic plants include Ambulia, Cabomba, Hornwort, Elodia, Hydrilla and Vallis.

The main difference between marsh plants and true aquatic plants is the stem. True aquatics have a soft flexible stem with air bubbles in it. These bubbles help the plant float and remain buoyant in the water column.

Marsh plants have a rigid stem and these plants can remain standing upright when removed from water. Whereas true aquatic plants will fall over/ collapse when removed from water.


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IRON BASED PLANT FERTILISER
If you add an iron based aquarium plant fertiliser, it will help most aquarium plants do well. An iron based fertiliser is not just iron, it contains other nutrients as well, but the main ingredient is iron. The liquid iron based aquarium plant fertilisers tend to be better than the tablet forms, although you can push the tablets under the roots of plants and that works well.

You use an iron (Fe) test kit to monitor iron levels and keep them at 1mg/l (1ppm).

I used Sera Florena liquid plant fertiliser but there are other brands too.


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CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)
There is no point adding carbon dioxide (CO2) until you have the lights and nutrients worked out. Even then you don't need CO2 unless the tank is completely full of plants and only has a few small fish in or no fish in it.

There are no natural waterways anywhere around the world that have supplemental CO2 added to them to make aquatic plants grow. People add CO2 to aquariums to help some marsh/ terrestrial plants grow underwater. These plants should not be grown in aquariums and the fact they need to add CO2 (as well as huge amounts of fertiliser and light) just to keep them alive is a clear indication they shouldn't be kept underwater.

In an average aquarium, there is a constant source of carbon dioxide produced all day and night by the fish, and the bacteria in the gravel and filter. More CO2 gets into the aquarium from the air mixing with the water. And plants release small amounts of CO2 when resting. There is no real need to add CO2, either in a gas or liquid form to an aquarium unless it is devoid of fish. There is plenty of CO2 in the water in most aquariums.

Liquid CO2 boosters often contain Glutaraldehyde, which is a disinfectant used to clean and sterilise medical equipment. It is highly toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms and people have wiped out tanks by adding too much of it. These products should not be used for aquariums.

For aquarium plants to use supplemental CO2, they need lots of light and lots of nutrients. Unless they have the light and nutrients, they won't use a lot of CO2, so there's no point adding extra. To check if your plants are getting lots of light, see if any of them produce streams of tiny little bubbles from their leaves. This is called pearling and is the plant photosynthesising and producing tiny bubbles of oxygen. Algae also does this when given bright light and nutrients.


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PLANT SUBSTRATE
Some pet shops sell aquatic plant substrates that are meant to improve plant growth. Most don't do anything except add a lot of ammonia to the water and eventually turn into a brown mud on the bottom. Since the majority of aquatic plants take in the nutrients they need via their leaves, having a plant substrate is not going to help much. There are exceptions to this and laterite (red clay) can sometimes be added to the gravel to increase the iron level for the plants taking in nutrients via their roots. But for most plant tanks, all you need is gravel on the bottom of the tank.

Most aquatic plants need at least 2 inches of substrate to grow in and some need 3-4 inches.
 

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