plants??

[Xanthochroid]

I'm new to this, my aunt gave me a 55 gallon tank, and it seems that fish get a little pricey for my college budget...so i was wondering if live plants are worth it.

how much can i expect to spend maintaining them and are there any good, simple sites that explain their needs for a beginner?? I've figured out that CO2 is noramlly limiting, but i'm not sure what the cheapest and safest solution is... what else do i need to know??

 

[Lotus]

Plants don't need to be hugely expensive. There are a lot of sites where hobbyists sell plants very cheaply, and there are many things you can DIY. The main expense if you want to have a big choice of plants is the cost of the lighting. If you go for a medium-light tank, you can get away with DIY CO2 and have a range of plants. Fertilizers can be bought bulk from places like www.gregwatson.com and will probably cost less than $15 for enough to last you a year or two, but you will need to do some research on how to use the ferts correctly. If you go for a fairly low-tech plant tank, I think the set-up cost will be about the same as if you buy a whole bunch of plastic plants, and of course, real plants make new plants, so you can always sell or trade what you have grown, and fill a tank from only a few plants. Live plants do take a little more care and maintenance than one planted with plastic plants.

This is a nice article on starting a planted tank: http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=17

 

[Xanthochroid]

thanks lotus! I love the look of real plants and the low light ones will be perfect for me to start with

 

[echoofformless]

There are a good amount of plants that not only have low light requirements, but are also not picky about water conditions. I generally stay with those even though I have some experience with plants. Sometimes it's just that much more fun to buy the hard-to-kill varieties, as you have more time to enjoy them rather than worrying about them.

I've had great luck with crypts, java ferns, java moss in my Asian tank. There are many other varieties of plants from other parts of the world that I have yet to experience, but are easy to care for. I'm using a 15w flourecent on my 10 gallon, and I've yet to give any co2. I just use some liquid food every week. Naturally I don't have lush growth, but the plants are still growing and flourishing.

Bottom line - As long as you have at least 1.5 watts per gallon and some really hardy, low-light plants you'll be keeping them just fine. So imagine what you could do with a little more than what I have!

Here is my tank: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31550

 

[MOsborne05]

I just ordered some low-light plants from www.aquariumplant.com, and they were fairly cheap. I got about 20 plants for $30, and then $20.00 for shipping. That's a lot cheaper than any plastic plants I've ever seen. The lfs don't have a very good selection of plants, and most of them aren't labeled. If you go to that website they have sections just for low-light, beginner, brackish etc.

 

[Fantail_Lover]

I was afrade plants would be too much of a hassel for my 12 gallon eclipse tank (which has Bio-wheel anyway). But I went to Denny's Pet World and picked up two medium sized ferns for about $1.99 apiece, not bad! You should test for levels of Nitrate in your tank before buying plants though because Nitrate is what you need for the plants to grow. If you feel like jump starting your plants buy a packet of trace-minerals (their pellets) that you bury under the gravel for fertilizer.

So far my tropical ferns seem to doing great.

Hope that works,
-Xan

 

[Xanthochroid]

thanks for all the input! i called all the fish stores nearby (they are an hour away) and they are all out of live plants right now... so it will be at least a week before i get to try my thumb at this =-) i thought about mail order, but i don't think the shipping is worth it

 

[Lotus]

I would check on both www.aquabid.com and www.plantedtank.net for deals. Planted tank's swap/shop forum usually has people almost giving away plants, especially some of the easier ones. Aquabid sometimes has some good offers, sometimes not so good. Shipping costs on either site are usually a lot less than the aquatic plant sites.

 

[Xanthochroid]

thanks for the tip lotus, i'll check them out

 

[Lotus]

I just saw a thread over at planted tank where some one gave away a bunch of plants, with free shipping. I don't think you can get cheaper than that!

 

[cybersymes]

hello hello...i've been watching this thread...
i see some java ferns in my future...
they sound like the perfect plant...

like a 'waterworld' hemp ...