# First Planted Tank. Are these plants ok?



## zeone03 (Oct 25, 2006)

I'm getting ready to start my first planted tank. Just waiting on the eco-complete and ferts I ordered Fri. I will have 56w of lighting (2 Coralife Freshwater T5 lights), 3 inch eco-complete substrate. I'm going with the Seachem products for ferts and diy cos. Will these plants be ok.

dwarf hairgrass
moneywort
rotala indica
ludwigia needleleaf
ludwigia repens
didiplis
anubias nana
java fern

Thanks
Jason


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## cjim (Nov 6, 2006)

how many gallons


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

> how many gallons


Very important question.


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## zeone03 (Oct 25, 2006)

woops sorry I forgot that part. It's a 20 gallon.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

I had Ludwigia repens in my 20 for a while, but it grew very quickly and overwhelmed the tank. It also has large leaves for a stem plant in a small tank and looks a bit off. The Rotala indica should grow great and color up nicely. You might want to consider lace leaf java fern as that stays smaller than the regular java fern. The anubias nana should also be ok, but I don't have any personal experience with the other plants.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

All the plants you have listed will do well, except for the dwarf hairgrass and Didiplis diandra. These two will do ok, but require higher light than what you have to do there very best. Didiplis is a very delicate plant, so make sure that you get very healthy plants from the get go.


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## zeone03 (Oct 25, 2006)

treanac - what would you suggest for a carpet plant?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Zeone,

The hairgrass is somewhat of a problematic plant for beginners because it easily catches algae and it's impossible to clean from them.

I'd suggest Marsilea for a foreground plant. It grows slower than the other obvious option - Glossostigma.

One thing that you can do right now with your stem plants is to make bunches of the same kind of plants. Wrap the very bottom with some thread. Then attach the bottom of every bunch to a suction cup and stick it on the glass. That way when your substrate comes the plants are not going to be all crooked.

Also you may actually leave some of the stem plants like that. Attached to the glass by a suction cup. Just conceal the suction cup behing other plants, wood or rocks. When the plants get too tall instead of cutting the tops off take the whole bunch out of the tank. Snip the bottom part and attach the bunch to the suction cup again. Instant and always beautiful trim! 

A note about the EcoComplete. Do not try to check the pH of the water and judge the amount of CO2 using the popular table. EcoComplete comes in a bag containing a pH buffer and your pH will be stable around 7.2 for a few months. Just pump enough CO2 and don't worry about the pH. If the plants grow that's all you care about.

--Nikolay


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## zeone03 (Oct 25, 2006)

thanks for the info niko. I actually haven't ordered the plants yet. According to UPS I should have my eco-complete and ferts wed so I'll probably order them early next week due to the holiday.

When I order them should I put ferts in the tank a day or two before I get them so there is some in the when I get the plants or just wait until I plant them?


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Zeone,

I wouldn't worry about fertilizers for several weeks. But it's a good idea to have a good amount of CO2 in the tank before you put the plants in.

When you get the plants. Fill a bowl with water and wash the plants in it. No need to dechlorinate the water but don't let the plants float there for hours.

While in the bowl inspect the leaves under good light. If you see ANY algae discard the leaves or even the entire plant. Better start right then try to fix problems later.

Here's the best reading you will find on how to to start a tank as explained by Luis Navarro:
http://www.deepforestaquatics.com/aqua/LuisChat.txt

And in case you wonder who Luis is here are some of his tanks, excuse my bad pictures:
Index of /aqua/luis

--Nikolay


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## zeone03 (Oct 25, 2006)

Thanks for the info niko. I looking for a good site online to order plants. Has anyone ordered from AquariumGarden.com before. If so what was your experience? They seem to have good prices. Can anyone suggest a good site?


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

> Can anyone suggest a good site?


Check out our sponsors. Also go through the 'for sale' forum, a lot of good plants can be had dirt cheap through fellow hobbyists.


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