plants doable with this setup?

[rcl]

I am looking to set up either a 10g or 15g tall tank. So far I think I am going to be using sand as substrate (not positive yet), and I am going to get neon tetras and more than likely some kind of exotic dwarf-sized pleco (hopefully one that won't chew on the plants..). I am also looking to leave the top gallon or two of the tank dry, and to have frogs that go in and out of the water onto rocks jutting out of the water.

I want to plant this tank pretty well, but I have never done any plants before and I'm wondering what kind of plants would be good for this smaller tank? Also, I am planning to have snails in this tank. I know snails lay eggs on plants, but do they disrupt or eat them?

The lid for this tank is standard size for a 10g/15gtall tank and has space for 2 lights (each 1/2 the length of the lid); am I going to need expensive speciality lighting, and if so is it going to be very expensive to get these kinds of lights in this small size?

Is the care going to be difficult on these plants? I have read that many of them need 'root tabs' added, these won't be bad for my fish will they?

Confused in plant land,
Robert

 

[tstenback]

The snails will likely eat some of the plant leaves (usually the decaying ones but...snails will be snails ) the fish should be OK with plants the only one that i have no experience with is the dwarf pleco. I know that the larger plecos will uproot everything in the tank just by there normal movement.
You say it hass 2 lights...which type(incandescent,flourescent,pc) if they are incandescent then yes you will need to go to at least flourescent bulbs usually try for 2.5-4 watts per gallon for a heavily planted tank (this depends on the types of plants you select)
The care is relative some plants are very fussy and require a lot of attention while others grow like weeds no matter what you do. But overall a planted tank requires more work than a non planted tank.

 

[Lateral Line]

The general guideline is 2 Watts of fluorescent light per gallon, using full spectrum lamps, (5500K - 6500K), turned on for 10-12 hours a day. If you choose a tall tank, you'll want a little more as water absorbs light. This will give you "Medium" light.

There are a lot of small plants. Browse the list at Tropica to find some that match your water chemistry, require Medium light and are flagged as "Easy" or "Very Easy".

Many types of snails will eat plants, it is their natural diet. Snails can be a real nuisance.

Plants need certain nutrients. Some plants absorb them through the leaves. This will generally come from the tap water when you do changes, although a very small amount of aquatic plant fertiliser from time to time may help - certainly nothing like the levels the makers will tell you. Plants with well developed roots use them to absorb their nutrient. Again, a root tab under such a plant won't go amiss - they will not harm your fish, they are specially formulated for aquaria. Don't use garden or house plant fertilisers.

 

[Silly me]

a Lot of plants grow well when they grow out of the water, have a look for plant that would need a open aqarium.

 

[rcl]

Okay great while I was out at the store I picked up 2 bulbs (my fixture holds 2) that are 25watt full-spectrum or some such lighting, so this sounds like it is plenty for any plants I have.

While I was out looking at plants at the LFS I noticed a lot of them looked like they had browning leaves/leaves with holes in them. Is this normal? They looked like they had seen better days but for all I know its perfectly normal to have plants with some leaves like this? If it's not normal, should I absolutely not buy these plants, or can I buy them and under proper care will they restore themselves to good health?

P.S., I am considering putting 1 or 2 amazon sword plants in my 120g aquarium as well. I am wondering if this is a bad move if the plant ends up not thriving, will it potentially hurt my water quality/clarity or create other issues, or would it simply die and I would be out a couple bucks?


Robert

 

[Lateral Line]

A few tatty leaves is no big deal, cut them off. If the whole plant looks tatty, then it probably is not a good buy, although given suitable conditions, most plants recover with time.

Swords are pretty tough. If the conditions are really bad, they will slowly deteriorate and eventually die. If you remove the dead leaves as and when, they will not cause you any trouble.

You can, of course, buy your plants online - a lot of people do, the quality and choice is usually better.

 

[rcl]

Can somebody suggest a good place in the USA that ships plants that is reputable and doesn't kill on prices / shipping?

Thanks for the suggestion,
Robert

 

[Lateral Line]

I'm European so my favourites will not do. Aquarium Plant are a recommended US site, although I couldn't open their web site when fishing for the link. Another US side one is Drs Foster and Smith.

*** EDIT ***

The Aquarium Plant site is working, it is just being i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-y s-l-o-w.