What low maintenance plant to quickly populate a 350g tank??

[HenryC]

My 350 gallon tank is almost ready. I still havent decided what fish will go in, but most likely a giant school of a cheap tetra like monks, along with a few bigger dudes like acaras.

I want to heavily plant it first though, because I dont want to put too much filtration or a sump. Ideally I just want a line of 4-6 sponge filters all along the back and let the plants take care of water auality.

What would be a cheap, low maintenance plant that i could use to quickly propagate a nice back wall of greenery? I'm thinking stem plants would be the best. Perhaps elodea? Some kind of hygrophila? Pogo octopus? Something that has explosive growth so it can suck up nitrates and minimize water changes/filtration required.

Edited February 5, 2022 by HenryC

[Guppysnail]

Aponogeton hands down. I bought aponogeton ulvaceus and longiplumulosus and I literally drop them in the tank (I don’t plant in substrate they just sit on top) no leaves and they sprout in a day or two then grow INCHES a day. I have never had a faster grower it makes hornwort look slow. In a few weeks it was to the top of a 40B on the back wall with the leaves floating forward to touch the front glass. It is gorgeous and I only need to pluck the flower bulbs before they open so it doesn’t go dormant (it is a bulb plant). I use no fertz no root tabs and no co2  elodea densa is awesome and grows faster for me than hornwort with same conditions and zero effort  I also had the same results with broadleaf ludwiga  I will find a pic of that for you  

first photo is ulvaceus second longiplumulosus grows the same but a thinner leaf

Edited February 5, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Guppysnail]

Broad leaf ludwiga

[Odd Duck]

On 2/5/2022 at 4:58 AM, HenryC said:

My 350 gallon tank is almost ready. I still havent decided what fish will go in, but most likely a giant school of a cheap tetra like monks, along with a few bigger dudes like acaras.

I want to heavily plant it first though, because I dont want to put too much filtration or a sump. Ideally I just want a line of 4-6 sponge filters all along the back and let the plants take care of water auality.

What would be a cheap, low maintenance plant that i could use to quickly propagate a nice back wall of greenery? I'm thinking stem plants would be the best. Perhaps elodea? Some kind of hygrophila? Pogo octopus? Something that has explosive growth so it can suck up nitrates and minimize water changes/filtration required.

The acaras might be the monkey wrench in your planted tank plans.  I believe they are their own landscapers.  I don’t think acaras are as bad as some cichlids, but they’re bad enough to be highly likely to tear up anything that isn’t extremely sturdy.

@dasaltemelosguyhas blue acaras and he resorted to using lucky bamboo all along the back of the tank, but it looks fantastic and hugely helped his nitrate levels.  I spotted his tank, got inspired, stole his idea with his permission, and added my own twist by putting plants into pots with pebbles piled around them to secure them better.  For mine, check the 75 gallon Jack Dempsey tank link in my signature.  For his, check out this thread, his part starts here:

It’s worth reading the whole thread and his later thread: 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Odd Duck

[KittenFishMom]

By far, the cheapest, low maintenance plant, with explosive growth that I know of is algae. I have a ton ! Want some? I'll pay for the shipping. 😁

[JoeQ]

@KittenFishMom

 

Can i get in on that deal! All I can grow is stupid hair algea which my ottos won't touch! 🤣

Edited February 5, 2022 by JoeQ

[KittenFishMom]

On 2/5/2022 at 3:16 PM, JoeQ said:

@KittenFishMom

 

Can i get in on that deal! All I can grow is stupid hair algea which my ottos won't touch! 🤣

flagfish eat black beard algae... Maybe if you dye the hair algae black... 

[JoeQ]

On 2/5/2022 at 3:25 PM, KittenFishMom said:

flagfish eat black beard algae... Maybe if you dye the hair algae black... 

Id love to get a flagfish which I understand will eat thread/hair algea but my livestock options are limited to half dead or diseased petsmart fish...

[KittenFishMom]

On 2/5/2022 at 3:33 PM, JoeQ said:

Id love to get a flagfish which I understand will eat thread/hair algea but my livestock options are limited to half dead or diseased petsmart fish...

I found one flagfish in a cory tank at a BBS. It thinks it is a cory, but that is good because they like to be in schools. I bought him when I bought their last 2 corys. I didn't want him to be alone.  Some places will order flagfish for you. They are fin nippers, but no one told this one. When the male betta says "move along" the flagfish swims away, because he thinks he is a non-aggressive cory. (I'll move him to a different tank when he gets older.)

P.S. When I ask the sales person to tell me about flagfish, she said "oh they are just regular fish". It was a different sales person at the same store that insisted I buy only 1 cory when I wanted to get several. It was the first time I bought fish, so I didn't have the confidence to argue.

Edited February 5, 2022 by KittenFishMom
removed stores name

[JoeQ]

On 2/5/2022 at 3:45 PM, KittenFishMom said:

I found one flagfish in a cory tank at Country Max. It thinks it is a cory, but that is good because they like to be in schools. I bought him when I bought their last 2 corys. I didn't want him to be alone.  Some places will order flagfish for you. They are fin nippers, but no one told this one. When the male betta says "move along" the flagfish swims away, because he thinks he is a non-aggressive cory. (I'll move him to a different tank when he gets older.)

P.S. When I ask the sales person to tell me about flagfish, she said "oh they are just regular fish". It was a different sales person at the same store that insisted I buy only 1 cory when I wanted to get several. It was the first time I bought fish, so I didn't have the confidence to argue.

That is another problem, my centerpiece fish is an angelfish so I'm hesitant about mollys or other fin nippers. A reticulated SAE would be ideal but good luck finding one!

[Torrey]

On 2/5/2022 at 1:16 PM, JoeQ said:

@KittenFishMom

 

Can i get in on that deal! All I can grow is stupid hair algea which my ottos won't touch! 🤣

You need nerites, my friend!

On 2/5/2022 at 1:33 PM, JoeQ said:

Id love to get a flagfish which I understand will eat thread/hair algea but my livestock options are limited to half dead or diseased petsmart fish...

If you are in the US, follow Cory's live streams. You can also look back through the archives for various suggestions on how to get fish from places other than BBS (big box stores, not to be confused with bbs = baby brine shrimp).

The most important thing in ordering fish online, is confirm the policy for shipping (reputable breeders and shippers only ship out M/T/W to guarantee a live arrival, and will require you take a picture of the unopened box within a set parameter after delivery. I take my documentation picture with in 10 to 15 minutes... the length of time to walk from my apartment to the office where live packages are delivered).

While we can't name shippers in here, in the forum (not worth creating potential legal issues for the Co-op), there are definitely ways to check the reputation of various fish sources and it's easiest to start by finding out who gets recommended on the live streams. 😉

[JoeQ]

On 2/5/2022 at 3:58 PM, Torrey said:

You need nerites, my friend!

If you are in the US, follow Cory's live streams. You can also look back through the archives for various suggestions on how to get fish from places other than BBS (big box stores, not to be confused with bbs = baby brine shrimp).

The most important thing in ordering fish online, is confirm the policy for shipping (reputable breeders and shippers only ship out M/T/W to guarantee a live arrival, and will require you take a picture of the unopened box within a set parameter after delivery. I take my documentation picture with in 10 to 15 minutes... the length of time to walk from my apartment to the office where live packages are delivered).

While we can't name shippers in here, in the forum (not worth creating potential legal issues for the Co-op), there are definitely ways to check the reputation of various fish sources and it's easiest to start by finding out who gets recommended on the live streams. 😉

I have a pretty robust algea/cleanup crew of in 2 nerite snails, 2 hillstream loaches, 3 ottos, and 5 julie corys (in quarantine) that I need to figure out an easy way to move.... Maybe the corys will help... Maybe not, we shall find out. As for ordering fish online ill address that in a pm. I also apologize to the OP for stepping on his thread!

[Torrey]

On 2/5/2022 at 3:58 AM, HenryC said:

My 350 gallon tank is almost ready. I still havent decided what fish will go in, but most likely a giant school of a cheap tetra like monks, along with a few bigger dudes like acaras.

I want to heavily plant it first though, because I dont want to put too much filtration or a sump. Ideally I just want a line of 4-6 sponge filters all along the back and let the plants take care of water auality.

I like that you want to plant heavily, first.

I'll share with you what was shared with me, and use what resonates.

Buy as many different types of plants as you can, and reach out to your local Aquarium Club and let them know you need local raised plants for a 350 gallon. Because everyone in here is going to share what worked for them, in their tank, in their water.

As your tank seasons, plants that were awesome at the beginning, may start to stall and new plants take off. Some plants will like your water better than others, and different plants may like your ferts better than others. 

I do recommend giving your plants a minimum of 2 to 3 months of solid root growth before adding the acaras. Be prepared for them to do some rearranging until they set up house in a way that keeps them happy.

To save money on ferts, I would recommend not filling the tank completely. Fill slowly, and only add enough water to be an inch or two above the plants. Take advantage of not having any livestock, and dose heavy on the ferts. This is especially helpful when sponge filters are used, and you can stack sponge filters as the water level rises. This makes the transition from emersed plant growth to immersed plant growth easier on the plant.

If you have enough varieties of plants, you will be able to easily identify what likes your parameters best, to keep your system as balanced as possible and keep it simple as you requested.

Species that do great at the beginning *for me*

Repens, milfoil, parrot feather, pogos, val, dwarf hair grass, water hyacinth, water lettuce, water sprite

Species that do great at 2  to 6 months:

Hornswort, floating plants (pretty much everything except water hyacinth), most stems

Plants that continue to look great at 1 year and up:

Frogbit, bulb plants, sturdy stems, and if hornwort is still thriving it will be impossible to kill. Same for elodea, sprite, mermaid weed, pearlweed

Basically, if you keep it alive for a year, it just gets easier. 

As long as you allow mulm to be mixed into the substrate, by the one year mark fish and plants should have established a balance where beneficial bacteria break down waste to feed plants and keep the cycle going. 

Just monitor all growth for indicators of a deficiency, and address the deficiency before it becomes a huge issue.

Again, this was my experience. It may not be your experience.