# What do i need to keep plants?



## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

*What do i need to keep plants? *need pics too**

I am planning on planting my 40BR tank, i am going to have a 350gph filter, spectra-stone gravel, 12" bubble stone, 2 pieces of driftwood, 36" light from Petsmart, and fish !
is there anything else i need to get or know in order to keep plants alive in this tank ? 
thanks


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

What type of plants? Please see the sticky to determine if you want a high tech or low tech setup.


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

low or high tech meaning maintenance ? if so then low


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

ok i saw the post of the plants, but does anyone have any pics of any of these plants ?
(some tall for the back and then small spirts of skinny grass for the front )


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

You will have a difficult time growing small grasses in a low tech setup.








is an example of a high tech setup in progress. (Still growing in)(Pic courtesy of Cavan Allen)
This is a low tech setup....








While both beautiful, that low tech tank is not the norm and its still 2.3wpg.

For a more "complete" scape you will need more than a low tech setup but it can still be beautiful nonetheless as you can see here. (You will note, there are no grasses in the low tech setup. (Just some dwarf Sag on the left).


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

what is 2.3wp mean? 
and wht does low tech mean?


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

Simpte - i love your pictures, what are the plants in your top photo, the tall grass in that back, the small grass all in the front and the medium grass on the farthest left. also what is the grass in you second photo in the far right that looks to have three large pieces that are drifting left?
and are all of these acceptable plants for my set-up ? i dont get what you mean by low tech and high tech. 
I am looking to put some driftwood in my tank and gravel and a pvc pipe and a couple pieced of rock for caves, i love plants and wanted to put some in too, but not as extensive and decorative as yours, even though they are very well set-up.
thanks !


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

The low tech approach deals with less lighting, little to no fertilization, just about any substrate and most important, no CO2. A high tech tank is a tank that was specifically designed to grow many, many types of plants and fast. MyraVan can give you more info on the low tech approach as my opinions are somewhat biased. As for the plants you asked about earlier.............
The grass is a type of val (probably giant val), the grass-like plant in the front left is dwarf sag and christmas moss behind it. The grass in the second photo is microsword. You could grow the dwarf sage but it will get kinda tall so you will have to "cut your grass" to the desired level. Neither of these are my tanks. These are fellow APC members tanks (I think I posted that with the pics). My skills are decorating are horrible. I can grow them, just not scape them. lol My latest scape is doing well. I need to put a cpl of rocks in the tank. I removed all of my dwarf sag (I think I got it all), and will be using aquatic clover or riccia for a foreground cover .
A low tech setup can grow many types of plants. A high tech setup will grow many more but either way you will have a great assortment.


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

I was told on anothewr board that because i have a 350gph filter it will be hard for me to keep co2 in my tank ? -- what does this mean ! ?? and is this a huge problem? i havnt opened the filter yet!
and what are some plants that i can keep that i dont have to feed with fertilizers or liquid anything?
also i have a 6500k bulb and think the watts are around 30? its a ZooMed Ultra Sun bulb. I heard something about wpg and cant figure out what mine is. i dont know my wattage, thats all i know. and its 40br tank
thanks


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## Gunnie (Jan 20, 2005)

Here's another great article to help you out. As Simpte has shown with his beautiful tanks, you can have a really beautiful tank without all the bells and whistles.

Setting up your first planted tank


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

i just found out that my bulb is 25watts, and in a 40br tank that should be 1.6wpg. this means i dont need any co2 thing right ?
so i am alright with what i have or not ?
im still looking for plants that dont need much maintenance or fertilizer, any help ?


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## Huugs (Apr 25, 2005)

No your wpg is not 1.6 its more like 0.6wpg. You take the number of watts your lighting is and divide that by the number of gallons your tank holds.

The fact tha you have a filter that moves alot of water means that you will have a lot of surface agitation which means the CO2 in the water will find it much easier to get out of the water than if you had a lower flowrate filter.

For a low tech aquarium you probably wont need a CO2 injector or anything but you could try Flourish Excel which gives the plants a way of getting Carbon. It seems to be working well for me. 

If you want to grow plants I think that 1wpg is usually considered the lowest so you could look into getting a 2nd light strip so that you end up with 2 bulbs over the tank.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

sorry to hijack this thread but my question has to do with what huugs stated. if you have a glass top made for the tank, could you just put two light strips on it? i cant seem to find an 18inch lightstrip that will hold two bulbs.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

They do make dual striplights but, IMO they are too expensive for N.O. flourescent than just buying a second one.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

Simpte said:


> They do make dual striplights but, IMO they are too expensive for N.O. flourescent than just buying a second one.


i didnt quite catch that simpte. do you mean that we could just use the glass top and two light strips?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Sure. Some of my tanks are even open top (light fixture has legs). The GPh of a filter means nothing in terms of CO2 displacement. Its the type of filter that will outgas Co2. HOB filters outgas a lot even when the waterline is above the output. Bio-wheel filters (also a HOB filter) or any wet/dry filter will outgas CO2. Canisters are the best way to go for the majority of planted tanks. Larger tanks (175 gallons or more) use a sump the has CO2 injected into the return.


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

ok cool, thanks simpte, i was worried when i couldnt find one!


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

so back to my question.. looks like i have .6wpg, now are there any plants that i can keep with that wpg ?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Java moss
Anubias
Aponogeton
Crypts
Anacharis
I'd stick to those.


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## bsmith (May 6, 2005)

thanks a lot, now how long once my tank is cycled can i put these plants in the tank? or can i put them in while the tank is cycling ? !


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## MyraVan (Jan 19, 2005)

Yup, you can put the plants in right away. No need or reason to wait.

BTW despite Simpte's high-tech bias he presented the options very well!


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

i think you can put them in while the tank is cycling, dont go out and buy plants until someone confirms this though!! im still learning too :-D


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

PLants will prevent ammonia and nitrite spikes during the cycling phase. Put them in right away as Myra stated.


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## euRasian32 (May 19, 2005)

I've got some aponogetens for sale. PM me if you're interested.

Simpte: thanks again for the goodies! arrived alive. Do you have snails? i may have gotten one in that package, or maybe with some wysteria that i got from a LFS... i dunno


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Unfortunately, I recieved a few from my last plant club swap. albino pond snails. I though I had gotten rid of them. Sorry about that. I hate snails (except MTS and ramshorn).


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## euRasian32 (May 19, 2005)

Ironically, I want some. I saw one of those lil buggers combing the sand so it's quite alright.


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