Nervous About Plants

[J Saddletramp]

1st post!

I’ve been killing fish for 66+ years!

As a kid we grew Hornwort and Anacharis till the cows came home. Tanks propagated and pretty much ran themselves. Nothing fancy. 50’s-60’s tech, baby fish and plants galore.

Today I want to return to a “complete” tank with a thriving plant structure.

so, 55 gallon, Fluval 3.0 light, 2-3 inches Seachem Flourite Sand, Lake Michigan hard water…

please, advise on plants that will thrive in this “deepish” tanks with higher ph water?

No plans to add c02. Just want to use tabs and Easy Green.

thanks for any indulgence!

[Theplatymaster]

you could definetly do something like Vallisneria, get one pot and from what i hear it wil grow in quickly giving you a nice jungle, without having to buy 30 plants.

[J Saddletramp]

Thanks Platymaster, will definitely look at them. 

Also a 9w UV filter in the tank. I really like that thing. Tank is spotless of algae. Last three years was a Pleco grow out tank. No substrate, just a couple big chunks of wood. Ready to return to the 55 Tetra tank…

[JJenna]

Welcome to the group! Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus will grow tall and eventually need lots of trimming. It's pretty forgiving as far as parameters go. They are heavy feeders, and will need liquid ferts, root tabs, and iron for best results. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi! Welcome to the forum! I'm a low tech tank keeper and don't even use fertilizer. You want plants that are easy grow and harder to kill, I'd definitely use rhizone plants- if you don't already know these are plants you don't bury in substrate, you can attach them/glue them to rocks, wood or anchor them and they grow that way. There are several species of Anubias that will add shape and texture as well as my other favorites Java Fern (Windelov and Narrow leaf are the best!). They are very slow growers but are very easy in low/medium and high lighting situations. Tanks of the plants as far as I'm concerned. If you want a good stem I'd highly recommend Bacopa Caroliniana, easy to propagate, easy to grow. 

[JettsPapa]

I have a 65 gallon low tech (no CO2 or fancy expensive lights) tank, so it's approximately the same height as your tank.

• Anubias and vals, as mentioned above, do well in it.
• Mexican oak leaf also does well and gets tall.
• Same for water wisteria.
• I struggled with bacopa.  The bottom leaves always die and fall off, probably due to light intensity.  I've removed it all and moved it to shallower tank.
• There are many varieties of crypt out there.  While I haven't tried all of them, the ones I have tried have done well in the 65.  Most of them don't get very tall (with crypt spiralis being a notable exception), so you'd want to plant them more toward the front.
• Water sprite did well floating, as did pearl weed and hornwort.  Those are the only floaters I've tried in it, but I feel confident guppy grass and other common floaters would do well also.

[J Saddletramp]

Great input, thanks everyone. Depth is critical for light penetration I’m coming to understand. JettsPapa’s 65 depth shows it can be done!

Edited January 23, 2023 by J Saddletramp