Plant Or Not To Plant

[doresy]

Ok, so been doing this for 4 years now, Have a 155lt aquaone 850 with Dwarf Gouramis, Neon Tetra, Harlequines, Corys, Flying Foxes and Guppys, oh yes and a couple o platys. Stats... Am. 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 40, Ph 7.6. In my tank I have plastic mango root and plastic rocks all of which (I think) look authentic. The substrate is 2-3" of black quartz..... Now then.....the plants (oh dear ) All artificial and on the most part, very neon green with algae forming I only said I been doing this a while, didn't say I was good at it
Well I tried a real one once, it was stripped clean in a couple of days and left behind an infestation of snails
I would, maybe, like to try again. This time with your expert help I am rather swayed toward heavy or dense planting and with a long, grass like plant. I have quite a lot of fish so if there is too much open space it all looks a bit busy. I like my fish to appear, then disappear if you know what I mean
Question 1. I am hoping that a real plant-planted tank will help to reduce my constant 40 ppm Nitrate level a bit??

Question 2. Don't really know about this CO2 thing.....will I absalutely really need extra equipment??

Question 3. Bearing in mind all the above, plant suggestions.

Question 4. My lighting consists of 2 bright tubes and a sort of pinky one. Is the latter something to do with plant light?

Any other info greatly appreciated

 

[three-fingers]

Question 1. I am hoping that a real plant-planted tank will help to reduce my constant 40 ppm Nitrate level a bit??

If the plants grow, then yes . The nitrates in my 'overstocked' 16 gal are lower then when they come out the tap.

Question 2. Don't really know about this CO2 thing.....will I absalutely really need extra equipment??

No, you don't need co2. Co2 is good for plants, but personally I think it's a waste of time and money unless your going to be fertilizing the plants, have relativity good lighting and have a lot of plants.

Question 3. Bearing in mind all the above, plant suggestions.

Choosing the right plants is the most important part, after that it's really easy. I would recommend Hygrophila polysperma for keeping nitrates down, it thrives in almost any conditions and grows very fast. You should do an advanced search on http/www.tropica.com/default.asp, with your lighting as low (possibly medium) and look for 'easy' or 'very easy' plants. Next is to get your plants from a good source in good condition (preferably potted with a good root system). Naturally, i would recommend tropica potted plants from http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/ as these are the best quality possible, but I've heard greenline are good, and they are cheaper if that's a problem.
Buying from your lfs isn't a good idea unless you are 100% sure of what you are getting, you could end up with snails, and they most often sell non-aquatic plants and plants that require high light.

Question 4. My lighting consists of 2 bright tubes and a sort of pinky one. Is the latter something to do with plant light?

I don't know, maybe. Take the tube out, and look at the name of it, this should be a give away. If not, then google it .
You should check the wattage of your lighting tubes too, to see how high lighting your tank has. Though the Watt per gallon rule isn't that great, most places use it.

 

[doresy]

Question 1. I am hoping that a real plant-planted tank will help to reduce my constant 40 ppm Nitrate level a bit??

If the plants grow, then yes . The nitrates in my 'overstocked' 16 gal are lower then when they come out the tap.

Question 2. Don't really know about this CO2 thing.....will I absalutely really need extra equipment??

No, you don't need co2. Co2 is good for plants, but personally I think it's a waste of time and money unless your going to be fertilizing the plants, have relativity good lighting and have a lot of plants.

Question 3. Bearing in mind all the above, plant suggestions.

Choosing the right plants is the most important part, after that it's really easy. I would recommend Hygrophila polysperma for keeping nitrates down, it thrives in almost any conditions and grows very fast. You should do an advanced search on http/www.tropica.com/default.asp, with your lighting as low (possibly medium) and look for 'easy' or 'very easy' plants. Next is to get your plants from a good source in good condition (preferably potted with a good root system). Naturally, i would recommend tropica potted plants from http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/ as these are the best quality possible, but I've heard greenline are good, and they are cheaper if that's a problem.
Buying from your lfs isn't a good idea unless you are 100% sure of what you are getting, you could end up with snails, and they most often sell non-aquatic plants and plants that require high light.

Question 4. My lighting consists of 2 bright tubes and a sort of pinky one. Is the latter something to do with plant light?

I don't know, maybe. Take the tube out, and look at the name of it, this should be a give away. If not, then google it .
You should check the wattage of your lighting tubes too, to see how high lighting your tank has. Though the Watt per gallon rule isn't that great, most places use it.

wow.....thanks for all the info