# Newbie with plants



## Jenafren (Jun 1, 2012)

Hello! I am new to the forum! i have had fish for ten years now and its kinda sad but i have never had live plants and i know nothing about them so i was wondering if anyone could help me with ideas for the tank to make it all natural instead of fake plants and any special lighting? and advice would be great thanks! and i have a 50 gallon pentagon corner tank


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## Jenafren (Jun 1, 2012)

i just read a bunch of the stickys and they helped


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

also use the 'advanced search' to find old threads that can help. Faster than waiting for an answer. Ask about what you still don't understand.


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## Jenafren (Jun 1, 2012)

i still dont really get what kind od substrate i should get and what lighting


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

substrate, lighting, plants, CO2 or no Co2 and ferts need to match. 

If you have really bright lights, a plant-feeding substrate, and CO2 you can have fast growing plants. But have the light w/o the food and you get algae, have the plant food w/o enough light and you can poison the fish. 

For low-light, you can tie java fern to decor and have any substrate you like and still have nice plants w/o ferts or Co2. I recommend this route to beginners because you can slowly add plants w/o spending a lot up front. 

Research is key, Read an aquarium plant book and read forums like this one and plantedtank.net. Do your homework before you get anything since you need to pick it all together. Be wary of non-aquatic plants sold in stores as they slowly die if not allowed to stick out of the water. 

There isn't any upper limit on how much time or money you can sink into plants. But you can also do it on the cheap. Are you the type that waters a house plant once a week, or are you the sort who spends hours a day weeding and pruning? I like a few low-light plants in a tank to make the fish happy. I know people with magazine worthy "aquatic gardens" that only add a few fish to feed the plants. Watch out for this sort, they will tell you that you need CO2 and ferts and plant substrate and high light. And that is true if you want certain plants. But also look at pics of nice low-light, low-tech tanks before you go that route.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

emc7 said:


> Watch out for this sort, they will tell you that you need CO2 and ferts and plant substrate and high light. And that is true if you want certain plants. But also look at pics of nice low-light, low-tech tanks before you go that route.


bwahaha nice. I usually only shoot people on this path when the make the fatal flaw of purchasing a high output light for there aquarium assuming thats what it needs. Light is the deciding factor. Im one of those people who is constantly tinkering with my planted tanks and love every aspect of it. However this path is not for everyone. With a bit of research you can find whats right for you. Keep in mind a densely planted low light tank is still going to require research and work.


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## Jenafren (Jun 1, 2012)

I just want it to where there is enough plants for my 5 ghost cat fish to hide but not so much plants where all the bottom feeders i have cant move around a lot. I think i would want one that would grow to the top of the tank and then like 5 more varied lengths to make it look full but still have lots of room or like grass plants i saw those in a aquarium and it looked really cool but i think i will do a lot more reading up on it now thanks


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