Planting My Tank With Low Light Plants

[mancin]

I'm really new to the live plants, so I'm trying to take in as much information as possible. I have a 55 Gallon that I currently have 2 Amazon Swords in and am in the process of trying to get some java moss to grow on a flat piece of rock. I wanted to add some other low light plants to the tank. I want to avoid having to do CO2, if possible. Here are some plants that I was thinking of adding, as well as the quantity of each. Can someone let me know if this seems like a good setup or if I should swap some plants out? Also I was planning on purchasing the plants online as it seems to be cheaper than purchasing from my LFS.

2 X Java Fern
3 X Java Fern (Narrow Leaf)
3 X Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green
3 X Cryptocoryne Wendtii Tropica
1 X Anubias Nana
2 X Amazon Sword (existing)

I'm still in the process of stocking my tank with fish. The final inhabitants will be at least a pair of GBRs and a couple small groups of schooling fish (Harlequin Rasboras for sure, and possibly some tetras?). I will also likely have a couple BN plecos. I know that the type of fish can determine what plants you should/shouldn't get, so I wanted to put that out on the table.

Also, is there any reason not to add all of the new plants at once?

 

[three-fingers]

That all sounds great .

You may want to think about a very basic fertiliser (since you have low light and not very demanding plants, it doesn't need to be NPK).

Something like Seachem Flourish or Tropica Plant Nutrition (doesn't need to be +). You might not need the fertiliser, it's just a nice thing to add just in case your plants get deficiencies if the plants grow well .

 

[Craster]

Nothing wrong with any of those. You want to keep the Java Ferns and Anubias off the substrate - attach them to some wood or rock (I use superglue). They will grow in the substrate as long as you don't bury the rhizome, but they'll be much happier off it.

The fish you mention will be fine with those plants.

 

[mancin]

Great! Thanks for your help. I'll definitely pick up some of that fertilizer. I'm also heading to the LFS today to get some smaller pieces of wood to attach some of the plants to. I'll post some pics once I get the plants and have it set up.

 

[SuperColey1]

All the plants you are looking at are heavy feeders so I would suggest definately using TPN+ and not the standard.

I would also suggest much more plantsmass than you are looking at there. those few plants will look quite sparse in a 55 and algae will like it even under low light with low dosing.

I would stick to the ferns and Anubias you have chosen but get much more of the Wendtii to fill out a little. Then dose the TPN+ as the bottle recommends.

Plant them all straight away together, and dose from the start, have the photoperiod at 6 hours and work your way up half an hour each week unitl you get to your desires 8-10 hour photoperiod.

I would suggest that seeing as Harlequins will stay in the upper levels of the tank quite a lot and you are after 2 schools that Rummy Nose Tetras would look good as they stay closer to the bottom and are one of the only tetras that actually school once comfortable in the tank. Cardinals and many others will school for a few weeks until they settle at which point they tend to do whatever they want

AC

 

[mancin]

I would also suggest much more plantsmass than you are looking at there. those few plants will look quite sparse in a 55 and algae will like it even under low light with low dosing.

I would stick to the ferns and Anubias you have chosen but get much more of the Wendtii to fill out a little.

OK, I will add some more of the Wendtii.

 

[Elrohirthehasty]

java ferns are the best, get a lot and plant on driftwood. it will look awesome!

 

[snowflake311]

I thought swords like brighter light. No less the 1 wpg 2-3 wpg would be best. But I could be wrong. All the others are good in low light.

 

[Alasse]

Swords will be fine in low light. I have a 90gal, runs about 1WPG lighting. I have

Anubias
Large swords
Chain swords
Crypts
A. Crispis
Java Fern
Val
Blyxa

All are growing no probs.

 

[mancin]

Thanks for all the feedback! You can see pics of my tank in this post. After getting the ferts right, everything seems to be doing pretty well. The Crypts are growing soooo slowly, but the new leaves look great.