Live plants in a 29 gallon tank....?

Question

I am planning to have a community 29 gallon tank with live plants. I have never had live plants before so any advice would be helpful. My tank has a "tube" light, and I was wondering what kind of light I need to buy to promote growth in the live plants. Also what kind of fertilizer should I use in this tank? I have a gravel substrate and I want to do a natural "driftwood" design with the live plants. What are your suggestions of live plants for this tank?? I would also like to have some bottom feeders that won't hurt the plants. I'm pretty sure snails and shrimp will eat the plants, but will cory cats or otos? Thanks so much!!

Answer 1

The first thing to look at is your light-- the tubes that come with the hoods are of no use to plants, both in intensity and spectrum.  I would strongly suggest upgrading to T5 bulbs, which are much more efficient, will penetrate the water better, and will be much better for growing plants if you get a spectrum between 5,500 and 6,700K.  Some kind of CO2 addition would also be a good idea, and can be accomplished with a pressurized canister, a DIY bottle of sugar and yeast, or a product like Flourish Excel.  For fertilizer, I use Flourish and Flourish Potassium, both of which seem to be working very well in my tanks.  If you haven't already filled the tank, I would put a layer of potting soil under about an inch of sand or gravel, preferably a natural color.  For planted tanks, thin, spindly driftwood creates a more natural appearnce than something thick and blocky like Mopani wood.

If you do get the T5 fixture, you could pretty much go with just about any aquatic plant you'd find.  However, do make sure they're aquatic-- many pet stores sell bog or even terrestrial plants in their plant tanks.  Mondo Grass, White Ribbon, Aqua Fern, Umbrella Sword, Bamboo, Japanese Rush, Green Hedge, Purple Waffle, and others will quickly die and rot under water.  If you just swap out your standard bulb for a good spectrum bulb, you'll need to look for lower light-tolerant plants like Java Fern, Java Moss, Amazon Sword, Water Sprite, lilies, Aponogetons, Hornwort, Anubias, Crypts, Bacopa, Pennywort and others would be good choices.

For bottom feeders, most snails should be avoided, but Malaysian Trumpet Snails (which often hitch hike in on plants) and Nerite Snails (you'd have to buy) would be plant-safe.  Cory Cats, Otos, Dwarf Chain Loaches, Kuhli Loaches, Zebra Loaches, and other substrate-dwelling fish would be good choices.

Answer 2

hiya. go here and ask it's a lot better than y!a.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums

you can also try

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forum...

i don't know how great that site is though because i don't ever go there. a lot of people are members of both forums. i only frequent plantedtank.net and i like it there so don't feel the need to go to the latter one

also you can brush up on plant types here

http://www.plantgeek.net

just too much info that you need to know than can be covered here. like if you try too much too soon you will run into problems. since you are a newbie it is best to learn and be really knowledgeable before starting or go in gradually so you can minimize mistakes and grow more comfortable along the way.

right now you can do some low-light, low-maintenance plants such as crypts, hornwort, anacharis...they are cheap, easy to care for, don't require high light or much any fertilizer. once you get going and expand your knowledge and equipment you can try other plants.

SOME snails will eat your plants. shrimp will not. neither will cories or otos. otos will graze the surface for algae but won't harm the plant.

as i suggested, best to join one of the other forums and ask individual questions along the way instead of on y!a

Answer 3

The 29 gallon is a tricky size for a planted tank because you will require a brighter light than the standard single flourescent strip and the 30 inch length is not the most common size for lighting.  I would go with a single 65watt power compact flourescent strip for lighting (it worked for me).

If you want to keep your plain gravel, buy a small box of laterite to mix in with it.  With 65 watts (slightly more than 2 watts per gallon), you can grow many common stem plants and also anubias, crypts, etc.  If you want to add some kind of grass-like foreground, you will need more light.

Cories and most otos are fine with plants.  Watch out if you want to add a pleco.  Some are herbivores (they only eat plants).