What Plants Should I Get?

[mdwheeler]

I'm building (slowly...not very cheap) a 29 gallon freshwater planted aquarium and not sure what plants to get. Theres SO MANY I'll have pressurized Co2 injection and 3.3 wpg (4X24watt T5 HO).

I currently have wisteria in my 10 gallon. Its super brittle, but grows really well and looks nice. Very lush. Also have some kind of Rotala (I don't like it though). Might go for Rotala Magenta. Probably will get a little Cabomba.

I also plan on getting a nice piece of driftwood that I can make a 'tree' effect out of. Whats the best moss for that?

Whats a good ground cover though? Vallis? Micro-sward?

Tell me what you think is best. Pics would be much appreciated! But not required

 

[SuperColey1]

That is a question you should have asked before getting the lights upgraded. lol. You have very high light there!!!

Basically you can buy any plant on the market (that is suitable for aquariums and not terrarium/vivarium) and you will have more than enough light.

CO2 will be hard to maintain though unless you can get super flow (10-20x minimum) and then get it all positioned well for distribution.

I would suggest just using 2 or even 1 of those tubes for a 5-6 hour photoperiod to start with and then increase slowly. i.e. after a week add the second tube, after 2 weeks move up to 7 hours etc. Just so that you don't get algaefied whilst getting the balance right in the tank

Check out plantgeek.net as that will show you the plants and also tell you if they are aquatic or not:

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_all_gallery.php

Hope that helps

AC

 

[BethK]

Anubis would be better for bogwood and a big piece of wood, covered in it looks beautiful.

Amazon swords are lovely too

 

[mdwheeler]

CO2 will be hard to maintain though unless you can get super flow (10-20x minimum) and then get it all positioned well for distribution.

I would suggest just using 2 or even 1 of those tubes for a 5-6 hour photoperiod to start with and then increase slowly. i.e. after a week add the second tube, after 2 weeks move up to 7 hours etc. Just so that you don't get algaefied whilst getting the balance right in the tank

I'm currently bargaining with a seller to get a uniweild gas regulator with a burkert solenoid, probably to placed on a 5 or 10 pound tank. I'm not too worried about co2.

Luckily the light I plan on getting has independent switches and is supposedly 'timer ready' meaning I can leave all the in bulbs and control each one individually.

Thanks for the website link!

I'll be takin a loot at Anubis and I do agree the Amazon swords are very pretty !

 

[RadaR]

I'm not too worried about co2.

Just be concerned. CO2 is the hardest resource to control in the planted tank.
Lights? That's easy, just dont have too much and dont leave them on for more than 8hours a day. Kelvin isnt important.
Nutrients? Again, easy. Just calculate how much you need to dose in order to cover the estimated nutrient demands so that they're not a limiting factor. Aim for a number say 30ppm of NO3, 3ppm of PO4 and 20ppm of K. If the plants show that they need more, then dose more.
CO2, well this is more trickey. Too low and you can get some of the worst types of algae. Too unstable and again, you'll get algae. Too much, uh oh, dead fish. Say your CO2 input was spot on, but if you dont have good circulation around the tank then some areas will be low in CO2. And we know what that means algae. Sometimes getting the right about of CO2 takes lots of trial and error. With highlighting it's much harder to find this sweet spot.

 

[SuperColey1]

As per Radar. CO2 looks daunting with regulators and cylinders etc but that is pretty simple in reality.

When we talk about maintaining CO2 being very hard it is not much to do with the CO2 itself. It is simple to get CO2 into the tank at a steady level. It is much harder to get that CO2 distributed.

Could take a day/week/months to keep repositioning filter equipment/circulation pumps to get it right and the more light above the harder it gets.

Of course while you take days/weeks/months the algae is taking it's chance and again the more light the faster and more aggressive it is.

AC