The Switch To Live Plants?

[kcalbat]

ive owned fish tanks for some time now but have always used fake plants because im scared i will kill live ones.

Im debating whether i should make the switch to live plants.

In all how hard is it to do this?

What are the requirements?

What are the benefits. Is it worth it in the end? My first priority is the fish i have...would they feel more comfortable in a tank with live plants?

thanks in advance.

 

[chishnfips]

in my opinion live plants are far better, you will need a good light source, a day glo plus I think are a good choice of bulb.

and maybe some sort of fertiliser stick in the substrate. They benefit the aquarium as I am sure they feed of your nitrates in the tank.

only thing is the fish eat them but it all depends on what fish you have and what plants you get. I am not a plant expert at all, but I am sure someone will tell you the best sort of plants

 

[voo]

Have a browse through the planted tank section of this forum. There's many people in the same situation as you, making the switch over to planted tanks.

Your past bad experience with plants may be due to lack of knowledge and the wrong plant choices. People in the planted section will help guide you with what you want. As a starter, what ideas do you have? Are you wanting a heavily planted tank, or just a couple of plants?

It'll help if you can mention the size of your tank, and the light wattage that you have (most likely written on the tube). This will give the people an idea of what plants you will be able to grow. Certain plants demand higher light and a good substrate, others dont.

 

[kcalbat]

i have a deep(25 inch) 44 gallon, pentagon shaped tank. I checked the tube and there are no numbers on it so i dont know about the wattage. I know that the light is rather fluorescent (spell check?)

on my tank lid there is another section for and additional light fixture...i just got regular gravel, not specified for plants.

thanks for the replies.

 

[chishnfips]

any day glo light or day glo plus light will do for plants, its more about the spectrum they cover I think rather than that of a regular light. They mimick tropical conditions.

I use sand as a substrate, I suppose gravel would be just as good.

but as voo said the planted section is really good, there are alot of plant experts in there.

 

[kcalbat]

awesome ill check that out!