Plants

[GRJ]

Hi all, i am a newbie and i am currently cycling my 108ltr tank 'fish in' and i am doing daily water changes to help the fish through the process. Its been running nearly two weeks with fish now and yesterday i had some donated media and gravel from a matured tank, which was put in within twenty minutes of getting it. My question is, what live plants could i put into my tank in its current status which wont affect any of my water parameters? Or, are there any plants that would help my cycle along? My fish keep nibbling the fake plants and its not fair they dont have some real ones. Any advice???GRJ

 

[Christine1014]

Hi! If you just have the standard kind of lights that came on your tank and don't want to spend a bunch of extra money right now, I'd recommend java fern. It's a low-light plant that's pretty undemanding, and plants are great at keeping nitrate levels down. The only thing with java fern is that you can't just plant it in the substrate or it will rot. You have to tie it to a piece of wood or a a rock or something. At this point, i'd caution against adding wood to your tank, as it can lower your ph which can, if it drops low enough, inhibit cycling. (You can always transfer it to a piece of wood later though).