# Any plants that grows in plain sand without any fertilizers and root tabs?!!



## Susobhan (Jan 30, 2018)

Hello everyone,
I've an aquarium with 1 to 2inch layer of plain sand (2-5mm grain) as a substrate and an undergravel filter system installed. Lighting is 1wpg compact fluorescent lamp. What are the plants I can grow in this tank without any fertilizers and co2? 
I've heard that I can grow Cryptocoryne Wendtii and Amazon sword in that along with Anubias, Java Moss and Java Ferns.
Does anyone have any experience on this?


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Welcome!
i'd recommend low light easy to grow plants. 
Java fern
Java moss *but it will look scraggly* 
Anubias sp.
Ludwigia Repens
Crypt wendtii idk about to much under your conditions, with your lighting id say it wouldn't do to good. 
amazon frogbit
duckweed

all i can think of right now...


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Welcome to APC! Low light plants should do fine with the plain sand substrate. However, using an undergravel filter can cause problems. The biggest problem is that roots will grow into the filter, so that if you ever try to pull up a plant it will pull up the filter too. If you use the filter as a reverse flow undergravel filter it will work a lot better. To do that you need to use a pump to run the tank water down under the filter plates and let the water flow upwards through the gravel. I have used that type of filter a few times, with no problems. You do need sufficient sand over all of the filter to avoid little spurts of sand as the water flows up. A 2 inch layer is plenty, but a 1 inch layer can be too little.

You can grow dwarf Sagittaria and have it do well - I did almost exactly the same thing a few years ago. Vallisneria grows well in those conditions, also.


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## asad_200113 (Aug 24, 2017)

You could also try some sword plants. Ozelot and Amazon may do well. 


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## Susobhan (Jan 30, 2018)

Thanks guys! I really appreciate all of your help!


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

Both Anabus and Java Fern grow like wild for me in my breeder tanks without any substrate at all. Crypts will slowly die off without a good root fertilizer in my experience. But there are at least 50 diffrent varieties of Crypts so I cannot speak for all of them. 

My sword plants need loads of Iron to flourish, but yes I had grown them is fine sand without fertilizer. But when I added root tabs the first time I did not believe the difference they made.


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## heathenspirit.brandon (Feb 1, 2018)

Swords are all heavy root feeders. You will need tabs. The others mentioned will do well in low lighting, especially the crypts but you will most likely need a column feet.


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## honeybee1999 (Jan 25, 2018)

Bacopa caroliniana and Brazilian pennywort are growing in my 10 gallon with inert sand and no root tabs around them. I would think any stem plant that is a water column feeder rather than a root feeder would work. 

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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

honeybee1999 said:


> Bacopa caroliniana and Brazilian pennywort are growing in my 10 gallon with inert sand and no root tabs around them. I would think any stem plant that is a water column feeder rather than a root feeder would work.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


think just about all stem plants that grow submersed take in nutrients weather its fully or partly, through their leaves, same for their roots.


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## Susobhan (Jan 30, 2018)

Guys! Finally! My aquarium is ready! UGF is installed with coarse sand as substrate. Lighting is 5w LED with DIY setup. I've put the amazon swords and rotala in cups with potting soil and sand cap. Anubias Nana- and Java fern is tied on rocks. Moss is attached on a DIY coconut shell cave. After 2 weeks they are looking good. Fishes are Micky mouse platy, red platy and red swordtail till now. What you think?!! And thanks for all of your support buddies!!!


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

how big is that tank just wonderin?


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

hoppycalif said:


> Welcome to APC! Low light plants should do fine with the plain sand substrate. However, using an undergravel filter can cause problems. The biggest problem is that roots will grow into the filter, so that if you ever try to pull up a plant it will pull up the filter too. If you use the filter as a reverse flow undergravel filter it will work a lot better. To do that you need to use a pump to run the tank water down under the filter plates and let the water flow upwards through the gravel. I have used that type of filter a few times, with no problems. You do need sufficient sand over all of the filter to avoid little spurts of sand as the water flows up. A 2 inch layer is plenty, but a 1 inch layer can be too little.
> 
> You can grow dwarf Sagittaria and have it do well - I did almost exactly the same thing a few years ago. Vallisneria grows well in those conditions, also.


I will agree about the reverse flow UG filtration. However it is touchy to get it properly tuned. I had used it years ago on several of my tall rental tanks with live plants.

The secret seemed to be using the correct under gravel plate as well as the right flow through the plate. The plates I found that worked the best were designed to be used with a power head, And were not flat but had more of a corrugated finish. They used to sell adjustable mini pumps with separate connectors for input and output. These worked great with a Sponge on the input and the output going into the ug filter tube. Then adjust the flow so for roughly the volume of the tank each hour.

If the flow is to high the plants will not like it, if it is too low there is no real filtering happening. But you can also use the root tabs by simply dropping them into the tube coming up from the bottom. As they slowly dissolve in the flow of the water they are evenly divided into the substrate.

The UG's did reduce the ability to do short term cleaning but major cleaning would hit harder at the point that the soil reached saturation. Everything could run smooth for 18 months or 30 months but then change real fast in a week or two suddenly.


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## Susobhan (Jan 30, 2018)

Dutchmutch: It's 30cm cube.


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## J.A. Marlow (Feb 7, 2018)

A late reply, but Bucephalandra would also work well in there. It has a rhizome with similar care and requirements as the Anubias has. For a nano aquarium, look up the 'mini' versions. There are all sorts of leaf shapes and shades of green, blue-ish, and purple-ish to choose from. They are proving pretty hardy in my own nano aquarium.


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