Wasted money and trying to redirect

[Chickadee2 22]

I was in Petsmart just looking at filter media and somehow lost all control in the plant section. I didn't even have my tanks set up yet. I bought what looked good in the little plastic tubes without doing any prior research on soil & light requirements. I even bought a semiaquatic plant that I've since learned will rot in a few months. I guess I'll try to make a houseplant out of it? One plant, the Malaysian Red Plant, wasn't labeled as an epiphyte, so I stuck it in the gravel. After researching it, I attached it to driftwood and I think it'll be okay. The cardinalis 'roseafolia' - not sure it will thrive in a low tech tank. Shame on me for not researching beforehand.

Also, between the driftwood that I didn't boil first and the Flourish tabs I stuck in the gravel, my water is tinted. It is still cycling so no fish in there yet. Are Flourish tabs safe for invertebrates? There is a trace amount of copper in them. I pulled them out when I was rearranging plants and am afraid to put them back in. I did buy some API Leaf Zone, but this will not help the plants that nourish from substrate, correct?

Where are some good places to buy plants online? I see lots of different companies come up in searches, but I could use some opinions.

Suggestions for lush background plants for a low-tech tank?

 

[Essjay21 136]

Flourish tabs are fine with inverts. I use them in both my tanks and both have Neocaridina shrimps and nerite snails. Both inverts actually need some copper, it those meds which contain a lot of copper that harm them.