# First time with real plants



## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

I have never used real plants but would like to give it a try. I've done a little bit of research but i would like to hear some of you guys' opinions. I have a 55 gallon tank that will house a 2-3" gold spilo. I don't want to use CO2 and I can't spend hundreds of dollars on lighting. I want some taller plants in the back to cover up the filters and stuff and some small, maybe grass like, plants in the front. Any suggestions?


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

www.plantgeek.com

Thats a pretty decent site, telling you what light requirements, difficulty to look after, how fast they grow etc.. Check it out and see if theres any plants that you like.

IMO, Sagittaria Subulata is a pretty good grassy foreground plant, i have it in my tank and it does well for me under low light, along with liquid carbon (flourish excel). Also Enchinodorus Tennellus (sp?) is a good foreground plant too.

Hygrophila is a good first choice for a plant also imo, they are hardy and look good at the back of any tank.

Im sure someone will pop in who has more detailed info and more experience with plants than i do.


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## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

What is a good non-expensive brand of light fixtures?


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

bigJohnson said:


> What is a good non-expensive brand of light fixtures?


Well it all depends really how much you are willing too spend. PLus i live in England so i dont know what different light brands they have over there. You wouldn't need much light over that 55g.

T5 lights are more powerful and bright, whereas T8's are less powerful, but cheaper. iMO you would be fine with t8's. Look for something around 40-55 watts. You can usually get cheap starter kits, try ebay.


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## roccov12345 (Sep 26, 2008)

drsfosterandsmith.com has the coralife 130 watt on sale for 67 bucks. Great bang for the buck and will give you the ability to get the results you want.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

People laugh at my set up but I use two dual shop lights with two 40 watt bulbs in each on my 125. Got the whole setup at walmart for $40. Try and do that at a LFS. I use the 40watt aquarium/plant bulbs from G&E. They work just fine. Its the bulbs that matter anyway not the fixture. Honestly if you already have a hood that came with the 55 just go out and get good bulbs. I run the 18watt G&E aquarium/plant bulbs on my 55 and the plants grow just fine. Being you dont want to go CO2 your not going to want a large amount of light anyway. I would start off inexpensive like I did. No need to buy a $300 hood. Its not needed.


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## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

Well it has 2 24" hoods that are only rated at 19 watts. Is 38 watts enough to grow anything worth growing? I sill haven't done enough research to figure out what plants i want to get. Any suggestions?


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

I would suggest different Hygro's, Crypts, and maybe some anubias also. Maybe these would work with you're setup. Get some root tabs also to put under them.

Browse through the plants forum.


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## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

do amazon swords require lots of lighting and CO2? I'm just so confused right now. I want my tank to mostly have plants that are native to amazon but I just have no idea where to start.

I also have a sand substrate if that matters.


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Yes, i assumed you knew, my bad.

Swords should do fine in there, i would dose with flourish excel too.


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## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

sorry if this sounds stupid but what are root tabs?


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

They are just basically like a tablet thingy that make the roots produce quicker, they just go under the plant. I dont know whether they are really neccessary, but i would get them if you get plants which dont have fully developed roots. Sand substrate is better for plants imo.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Murphy18 said:


> They are just basically like a tablet thingy that make the roots produce quicker, they just go under the plant. I dont know whether they are really neccessary, but i would get them if you get plants which dont have fully developed roots. Sand substrate is better for plants imo.


They are just fertilizer tablets that goes in the substrate, and basically act like fish crap to feed the plant... they have nothing to do with growing roots specifically. but none the less as a plant grows, so will the root mass to feed the plant itself...

Anyways heres a cheap lighting solution for ya if you are a DIY kinda person! Operation Overdrive worked great for me!


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## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

Yea the fert tabs with sand are pretty much a given. YOU WILL NEED THEM.. The roots of the plant are the things that get the nutrients. With the sand water wont really flow over the roots. DO NOT get that 130W light fixture. If you do that then you will need Co2. A 130w light fixture will put you over 2 watts per gallon. As a rule of thumb anything over 1.5wpg needs co2. Just use the hood that you have its 38 watts. Go get some 6500K bulbs and some low light plants and you will be fine. Like what was mentioned before any crypt (they are the easiest to grow) or any other low light plant.


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## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

lo4life said:


> Yea the fert tabs with sand are pretty much a given. YOU WILL NEED THEM.. The roots of the plant are the things that get the nutrients. With the sand water wont really flow over the roots. DO NOT get that 130W light fixture. If you do that then you will need Co2. A 130w light fixture will put you over 2 watts per gallon. As a rule of thumb anything over 1.5wpg needs co2. Just use the hood that you have its 38 watts. Go get some 6500K bulbs and some low light plants and you will be fine. Like what was mentioned before any crypt (they are the easiest to grow) or any other low light plant.


38 watts is all i need? Any specific brand of bulbs that will work best?


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## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

Just as long as they are 6500K. Thats all that matters. You can get them online or honestly at a harware store. I wouldnt get them at a LFS because they are really marked up. Just make sure the ones you get are a 6500K.. What you do to get you wpg (watts per gallon) is divide the total watts of the bulbs and the size of your tank. Just use that formula and dont go over 1.5wpg. Its really all up to you. Crypts should grow in the amount of light you have now but dont expect them to grow really fast. Look at it this way..... (this is just my thinking) You can go out and buy a different hood if you want but if you dont like trimming plants, cleaning your filters more, adding ferts, etc then you basically have a nice hood. Or you can buy the bulbs and plants then see if you will stick with it.


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## ryanimpreza (Jul 19, 2006)

bigJohnson said:


> Yea the fert tabs with sand are pretty much a given. YOU WILL NEED THEM.. The roots of the plant are the things that get the nutrients. With the sand water wont really flow over the roots. DO NOT get that 130W light fixture. If you do that then you will need Co2. A 130w light fixture will put you over 2 watts per gallon. As a rule of thumb anything over 1.5wpg needs co2. Just use the hood that you have its 38 watts. Go get some 6500K bulbs and some low light plants and you will be fine. Like what was mentioned before any crypt (they are the easiest to grow) or any other low light plant.


38 watts is all i need? Any specific brand of bulbs that will work best?
[/quote]
I would say 65 watts would be better without co2 1.18 wpg. no maters on the brand just get 6500 or 6700 k, dont go over 10000k.


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## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

ryanimpreza said:


> Yea the fert tabs with sand are pretty much a given. YOU WILL NEED THEM.. The roots of the plant are the things that get the nutrients. With the sand water wont really flow over the roots. DO NOT get that 130W light fixture. If you do that then you will need Co2. A 130w light fixture will put you over 2 watts per gallon. As a rule of thumb anything over 1.5wpg needs co2. Just use the hood that you have its 38 watts. Go get some 6500K bulbs and some low light plants and you will be fine. Like what was mentioned before any crypt (they are the easiest to grow) or any other low light plant.


38 watts is all i need? Any specific brand of bulbs that will work best?
[/quote]
I would say 65 watts would be better without co2 1.18 wpg. no maters on the brand just get 6500 or 6700 k, dont go over 10000k.
[/quote]

Does that mean i need to replace my 2 24" fixtures with a 48"? If so, should i get a single or double bulb.

Sorry for all the questions. Im trying to do my research but im a real newb when it comes to plants.


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## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

For the 65 watts you will deff need a new hood. I would just get the 48 inch. Should be to much more expensive then a 24 inch.


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## bigJohnson (Jun 5, 2006)

There's a 48" dual bulb T5 ho lamp at my lfs for $90. Is that a good deal? It has one 54w bulb and a actinic bulb. by the way, what the f*ck is actinic?


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## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

Antic is a blue bulb. Take those lights out and replace them with 6500k bulbs. They usually have like 10000k bulbs in them from the manufacter. Just do some checking online and you can see if that is a good price.


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