What Do I Need To Get For Plants In A New Tank

[Gourami123]

apart from aquarium and water and gravel and filter and heater what else do i need for them to grow successfuly

 

[fatheadminnow]

What size tank do you have, in gallons, and how many watts of light do you have?

A good trace fertilizer is almost a necessity; such as Seachem Flourish.

-FHM

 

[Gourami123]

43 gallons no light yet

 

[fatheadminnow]

Okay, I would try to get at least 60 watts of light, and then dose some trace fertilizer.

Keep lights on for 8 hours a day.

See where this takes you.

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

i put my light on for 11... will this promote algae growth?

 

[fatheadminnow]

i put my light on for 11... will this promote algae growth?

In a cycling tank, algae will almost be certain if the lights are on.

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

i put my light on for 11... will this promote algae growth?

In a cycling tank, algae will almost be certain if the lights are on.

-FHM

ah ok

 

[natalie265]

In other words, probably best to cycle the tank first (in the dark).

When choosing plants, be careful to select hardy species. There are some plants that are almost impossible to grow without massive lights and CO2.

Some of my favorite easy plants are:

java moss
java fern (these grow best attached to bog wood)
cryptocoryn wendtii
duck weed (a floating plant. Love it or hate it, it DOES grow like a weed!)

and slightly more difficult, but still doable:

valisneria
amazon sword
red rubin sword

And ditto on the fertilizer. I dose my tank about three times a week.

 

[Gourami123]

thanx lots of help

 

[BigFairy]

anubias may also be suitable for your setup

 

[waterdrop]

I've noticed that some of the planted tank specialists will start a new tank as low as 4 to 6 hours of light and then very, very gradually increase the hours if they don't see algae starting. Having high turnover and good circulation can be important to not getting algae.

~~waterdrop~~