Wasted money and trying to redirect

[Chickadee47 68]

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?

 

[Essjay66 181]

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.

 

[GaryE27 26]

I have been a plant killer. Good with fish, but with plants, I'm the grim reaper. Or maybe I was. After 60 years of tanks, I am getting a handle on that.

So with that intro, I suggest you temper your expectations. Start your tank with plants your reading or advice here says are easy. Use root tabs for roots, liquid for floaters. Don't overload on tabs. Some easy plants won't be, others will go crazy.
I used to live in Montreal, with medium hard water. I had good plant growth figured out. I moved 20km to a different, softer water source, and most of the easy plants I had grown became impossible. But when I tried previously 'impossible' plants again, they grew. Now I'm 800 km east and am learning what plants will grow in my pristine soft tap. It's taken me 5 years to develop a list of what works and doesn't work here. Sometimes it isn't you - it's your water and the minerals in it.

My Petsmart doesn't care. They sell the same plants in every outlet across the continent. If they die, you buy more. There are 2 people in my local club who sell plants, and they have many fewer offerings. Why? Because they grow the plants in local water and they know what works and what doesn't. See if you can find those local sources.

"Suggestions for lush background plants for low tech tanks". I would say start with Rotala and be prepared to trim and replant to build it up. That works in my water. I have done well with Anubias in all water, and some of the larger growing Cryptocorynes from tissue cultures have become huge and impressive here. They take about a year to get really big and are good backgrounds.

It may take some experimentation. Research too. This hobby is often us trying to deny biodiversity at the same time as we worship it. Every plant has a natural history. Some grow here, some grow there and it's often a process of us figuring where we're growing. Are you here or there?

 

[Chickadee47 68]

Thanks, GaryE. The plants were my wake-up call to control my enthusiasm a little. Seeing all those beautifully aquascaped tanks on YouTube made me go a little crazy. My water changed drastically when I moved only 5 miles away. That is why I gave up on the hobby the first time. I will make sure the plants I buy going forward are labeled as easy. And no more trips to Petsmart! I vowed to stop going there years ago for other reasons. There's only one LFS around here and I'll give them as much business as I can. They are limited in stock though. If they don't have it, I'll buy online. I'm done with the big box stores.

 

[GaryE27 26]

Those beautiful planted tanks online are a bit like those beautifully sculpted abs online. No doubt they exist, but not on me. I still exercise and intend to have such a body before I turn 80, but I may have to content myself with what I can manage with what I have...

You can make a beautiful tank that pleases you, and visitors to your house greatly. And in many cases, people buy many many plants, place them carefully then take a photo. 2 months from now, what you saw might not be what you see online. But it may be better.

 

[fishorama58 1]

I think many of those extremely pretty tank are just for show not long term. I've seen videos of Amano setting up amazing tanks! But not how they look after several months without his crew. Not that he's not great at scaping, he is.

I belong to a plant club & some members are into meticulous maintenance, high light, co2 injected smaller tanks. Some are very good at it & I'm jealous of their work...but it is a LOT of work. That's not my style. I want some pretty plants that grow at least ok for me in my low tech tanks with my tap water. I get to try many plants for free & I've killed many too (oops). "Try it, it may grow for you" seems to almost be a club motto, lol. You'd think we all live in say a 50 mile radius we'd all have similar water, but we don't.

If your lfs & Petsmart are close to you, take plant notes & pics if they don't mind that; we can help you make better choices. I've seen the "corn plant" (dracaenas) & some other "iffy" plants. Don't go by the "easy to grow" label, it's not the same for every tank. I did a quick search of "Malaysian Red Plant" & it seems to be a variety of java fern.

Tell us more about your planned tank (size, light, possible fish, etc,). We can all help you with our different experiences & just maybe keep you from our mistakes...we've all made them.

 

[Chickadee47 68]

I did a quick search of "Malaysian Red Plant" & it seems to be a variety of java fern.

I found that out when looking it up. It didn't even say that on the packaging. I should've known by the roots though. It is a leafy tall plant and seems happy attached to the driftwood.

Tell us more about your planned tank (size, light, possible fish, etc,). We can all help you with our different experiences & just maybe keep you from our mistakes...we've all made them.

It's a 20g long with gravel substrate, driftwood, and a section of sand. Journal pic in my signature. There's overhead lighting, but I don't know what type of bulbs they are. It also gets indirect light from the window 10 ft away.
I want to get a small school of fish or possibly a few honey gouramis, some corys, a few snails, and maybe some shrimp later on.

 

[MuddyWaters1]

I am of the opinion that the folks who have those tanks with unbelievable plants that are perfect are focused primarily on the plants. The fish are almost an afterthought and usually, from what I've seen, there are very few fish in the tanks like that.

I think they generally use RODI water and are extremely careful with what they add back into the water to control what the plants get. They spend tons of time trimming.

I use CO2, but I also use tap water and I like a lot of fish in my tanks- sometimes to the point of being a bit overstocked. I fight algae and fight plants that are difficult dying off, etc. I've had some good success, but not to the level that those amazing tanks have. It's still fun, but I've learned that what I want in my tanks and what I'm willing to do (or not do) won't support the kind of scenery that those tanks provide.

 

[gimme30]

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.

I've tried a bunch and Aquarium Plants Factory has been the best so far. Not perfect but none of them are. With their buy X get Y free deals they're usually the cheapest, with free shipping at $150, and portion sizes are consistently better than anyone else I've tried. 2 days to my house, but you're a little further out so probably longer to you. You may want to try nurseries closer to reduce travel time. I'm lucky in that I don't have to buy fish online, but plants are another story.

 

[Chickadee47 68]

These posts are reassuring. I will stop aiming for aquascaped perfection and just find plants that work. Heading to the LFS later today and will just ask about easy plants.

I've started to form an opinion after looking at some of these beautiful tanks online. One channel describes their tanks as "natural." The rocks and driftwood are piled up to form an illusion, then glued all over, and the gaps stuffed with filter floss. It looks pretty when it's done, but natural...?

 

[Essjay66 181]

I always think of tanks with plants falling into 2 categories - tanks full of plants, beautifully aquascaped with a few fish for added interest or fish tanks with live plants as decor. I'm in the latter group. My tanks are not beautiful to look at, they've evolved rather than been planned. I've tried quite a lot of plants, most of which haven't survived, but I've bought more of the type that thrive. The nearest I get to 'aquascaping' is with my crypt balansae. When that sends up new plants where I don't want them I carefully pull the new plant out and clip off the runner, then replant it where I want it.

 

[fishyfisher45 16]

I myself buy my plants off of Facebook marketplace and buy lots of small cutting for cheap. Bad thing about is it is a 50/50 gamble but so far on the 70$ I spent it has worked out and I have lots of healthy anubias and some Sword.sp.

 

[GaryE27 26]

These posts are reassuring. I will stop aiming for aquascaped perfection and just find plants that work. Heading to the LFS later today and will just ask about easy plants.

Be wary. Remember the person at the lfs may have been selling shoes yesterday, and may have zero experience with tanks. But they will have been told to wing it and pretend they know the job. I've seen ex students of mine working in pet stores as part of reintegration programs after prison for small crimes. They knew less about fish than they did about home security systems.

I would consider a .... book. That ancient tech allows for overviews in the way the internet doesn't always. You could go to the library. Or, at the store, note the names (ideally Latin names) of the plants they have, go for a coffee and look them up on your phone before going back in to shop. Depending on sellers for unbiased info can come around to bite you.