First Planted Tanks, Clueless!

[squidneh]

I have never had live plants in my tanks, so this is an entirely new thing to me.  I am currently in the process of switching my 75gallon over from artificial looking to a more natural theme.  I have several pieces of driftwood that are almost done 'curing' (for lack of better terms).  I also have a 40 gallon home to three bettas, one barely old enough to not be called fry, and the other two juvies.
 
Both tanks are going to be very low tech.  The 75 gallon has very good filtration, while the betta tank has just enough circulation to prevent any hot spots in the water from the heater and relies mainly on frequent water changes and siphoning. Each tank has LED lights, about 60 watts in total per tank, 3-4 inches above the water.  No co2. The substrates are sand.
 
I'm willing to dose with ferts but I'm looking for fairly low maintenance hardy plants, as this is my first attempt at it.  I would like the tanks to be moderately planted.
 
So far the plants I have read about are
-Amazon Swords
-Java Ferns
-Java moss, marimo moss balls
-Anubias
-Duckweed
 
From my understanding, these would be suitable plants for my set ups. Any opinions? Different plants I should consider? Is my lighting terrible enough to be considering an upgrade? How many of each kind of plant?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Low tech plants, you have already mentioned some on your list, other choices may be cryptocorynes, elodea, water wisteria, cabomba, bacopa, vallis, silvinia natans (floating plant) to name but a few.
 
Duckweed is nice but can be difficult to get rid of if you no longer want them.
 
Low lights as you have should be fine for these plants, adding ferts will help as well.

 

[Byron]

I would not include most stem plants here, if the light is low.  I've no experience with LED (still using T8 fluorescent) so can't offer anything on that.  But stem plants like Cabomba and Wisteria will not do well in low light.  Soft water may be an issue for Wisteria too, depending.  I've tried these more than once and they just slowly fall apart.  One of the few stem plants that does manage well in less light is Brazilian Pennywort.  It also grows very well floating, quite a nice surface cover.
 
On the fertilizers, may or may not be necessary depending upon the light, fish load/feeding and your tap water GH.  Can explain if asked.
 
Byron.

 

[Ch4rlie]

I would not include most stem plants here, if the light is low.  I've no experience with LED (still using T8 fluorescent) so can't offer anything on that.  But stem plants like Cabomba and Wisteria will not do well in low light.  Soft water may be an issue for Wisteria too, depending.  I've tried these more than once and they just slowly fall apart.  One of the few stem plants that does manage well in less light is Brazilian Pennywort.  It also grows very well floating, quite a nice surface cover.
 
On the fertilizers, may or may not be necessary depending upon the light, fish load/feeding and your tap water GH.  Can explain if asked.
 
Byron.

 
Apologies, I realise my mistake here.
 
Byron is indeed quite correct and stem plants such as cabomba and wisteria will not do so well in low light like these.
 
But lesson learned here for others to read and see mistakes can easily be made, especially regarding plants and lighting.
 
Good catch Byron.

 

[Byron]

 

[squidneh]

Okay guys, thanks for the help! 

 

[Alasse]

I've found success in low light tanks (under 1 WPG) with
 
Java fern (all types)
Ambulia
Crypt Wendtii
Various larger sword plants
Pgymy chain sword
Val
Aponogeton crispus
Elodea
Wisteria (it grows slow and can get straggly...i have though had it planted and left to float around)
Bolbitis
Hygrophila polysperma
Anubias
Frogbit
Duckweed
Hornwort
Java moss
Peacock moss
Marsilea hirsuta
Ludwigia repens
 You can certainly have a stunning planted tank using low lighting

 

[RyanTheFishGuy64]

(I have been silently listening in on this because I have been wanting to plant my tank)
 
Do you think I could put Peacock Fern in a low lighted aquarium?
 
Thanks

 

[squidneh]

Thanks for the list Alasse, I will admit I am very envious of your beautiful tanks, they are what drove me to want to switch over to a more natural theme! Very helpful list.
 
I have actually found some decent lighting at home depot that will give me just over 1 watt per gallon, so a bit more light. Hoping to have the light by the weekend and plants will follow,

 

[Byron]

I have actually found some decent lighting at home depot that will give me just over 1 watt per gallon, so a bit more light. Hoping to have the light by the weekend and plants will follow,

 
I would assume this is T8 fluorescent, a dual tube fixture taking 4-foot tubes?  If so, this is very good light for low and moderate light plants.  I use this on my larger tanks and have for more than 20 years.  You can buy the less expensive tubes at Home Depot too; a 6500K and a 5000K combo works very well.  Phillips make these, as do Sylvania.  HD here in Canada carry Phillips now.
 
Byron.

 

[squidneh]

Yes, that's what they are Byron 

Glad to hear they will help me out a bit more.  I still plan to stay on the low light side of things to be safe - of course I'm sure once I get the hang of things I will quickly be re-scaping. 

 

[Byron]

Sounds good, and you will have nice tanks with this lighting.  To illustrate, here is my 115g and 70g Amazonian tanks, both having the mix of tubes I mentioned, on for eight hours daily.  No CO2.  Liquid fertilizers once a week.  Couldn't be much simpler.
 
Byron.