Plants In Gravel?

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I’m wondering what live plants are fairly easy to grow; if I put them in gravel?

I have java moss, anubias and java fern in one of my tanks but they are all attached to gravel/rock. My other tanks don’t have the space for wood; so it would be something to go in the gravel, something hardy and something low light; the tanks get natural light but the tank lights aren’t on very much.

Also what would be a good fertilizer to use?

 

[ian]

plants are ok in gravel. It depends where you are gonna put your plants as in, foreground, midground or background...
as for fertaliser theres Tropica plant nutrition plus which is the best on the market.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

It's only a 7.5 gallon tank so it'll not make that much difference will it? I'd maybe like something bigger for the back and something shorter for the front?

 

[ian]

low light foreground, i would personally go for, Marsilea quadrifolia, Hemianthus micranthemoides, Small cryptocorynes ie, parva, lutea, lucens. Background, i would be thinking, Vallisneria, Egeria densa, Bolbitis heudlotii, Most Hygrophila, some people also get on well with Swords.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Thank you. I've saved the names so I can look into them

 

[BethK]

Swords would be good

 

[flix_cw]

I've got a 7.5 gallon with gravel as well. My crypt wendtii is absolutely flourishing as my background plant, especially since i added Seachem Flourish Excel.

 

[RadaR]

As long as enough nutrients are dosed to water column (or if the tank has very low lighting), then technically no one needs a nutrient substrate. It helps mop up any mistakes though (if you forget to dose, the nutrients in the substrate are there as back up).

 

[Rlon35]

I did a 55 g with 30 watts of regular floruescents, growing plants in standard gravel. I only dosed Flourish or TPN once per week, while dosing Excel 2-3 times per week. It was the nicest tank I've kept, IMO, employing the jungle look if you well. I used hornwort, giants vals, wisteria, lotus plants, onions, rotala walachii, and crypts, with mosses, anubias, and blyxa making up foreground patches. Currently, I don't see much improvement with high tech. But, if you guy high light, you must have a good fert schedule and co2 injection to avoid major algae problems. With low tech, as long as you use fast growers and dose excel, you won't even have to do weekly water changes. Just my opinion. I have yet to accomlish the carpeting effect with high teck, and the patches in the loew tech looked pretty good.

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I have got anubias attached to bog wood and I got some elodea (spelling); not sure which variety; the shop didn't have labels. I did research and it said it should be fine in gravel.

My tank gets natural light from about 6.30am until the curtains are shut at night; it gets a lot of natural light but no tank lighting (I get winged at for using too much electricity lol).