Easiest setup for beginner? Live plants or no live plants?

[memorywrangler]

A friend of mine is thinking of getting his first aquarium. Probably a 20 gallon.  He wants it to be very low maintenance.  
 

The biggest first decision seems to be whether to get live plants or not:   live plans means a more expensive light and the additional cost of the plants, but it also means fewer water changes  and potentially having to deal with algae problems.  
 

So which is easier for a beginner in the long run plants, or no plants?

Edited January 27, 2023 by memorywrangler

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Plants. Hands down. They help your tank be maintenance free. Now, I'm a low tech person, no ferts. I have LED lights and for a 20 you can get some inexpensive ones that even have timers and neat tricks. I'd highly recommend easy plants. Rhizone plants are my favorites. The big box stores sell the ones in tubes and I encourage new people to get them because they come pest free and they won't have to worry about "bugs" or "snails" coming in the tank (though snails can be a good thing but for a beginner those things can quickly get out of control). Tube plants can be expensive but they are well worth the investment and they can be propogated. Get Anubias, Java Ferns (plenty of different types in both species) and then glue them to rocks. decor or use string and suction cups to anchor them along the glass. They are slow growers but don't need fancy light or high light. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[jwcarlson]

It doesn't have to be an expensive light.  

I'm not sure I follow you on the allergy problems?

That said, I think live plants give you a bigger sweet spot to learn because they eat some of the bad stuff and you can, in a way, lean on them to do some of the maintenance for you, basically.  If you can find someone local who knows what plants do well in your water, that's great information.  I've found that some plants that do amazing for someone with similar setup to me will straight-up melt to nothing immediately in my discus tank.  

In any event, I think I'd vote in favor of having some plants.

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Oh and I'd like to add, if your friend buys the kit 20 (comes with hood and light) they can grow rhizones just fine, not the best lighting in the world (more advanced plants won't do well with them) -but when your friend wants better lighting later they can upgrade to a glass top and new light. 

Just add a timer and it's all set!

And there's nothing wrong with mixing in some fake plants until the rest of them grow in. Adds more color. Just have your friend make sure there are no rough spots on them to hurt the fish. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[lefty o]

plants. with easy plants like java ferns, and anubias you really dont need fancy lighting. plants do lots of positive things for a tank, so i go with plants!

[ccc24]

Planted tank. Hands down so much easier. I’d rather balance light+fert so the plants can outcompete the algae and my live-bearer babies have a place to hide. Planted tanks make all the other maintenance easier. 

[Patrick_G]

I’d maybe consider the blackwater style. It looks good with just wood and a few plants. They wouldn’t necessarily have to have really  dark water, but the style seems to lend itself to a low maintenance tank. 

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Patrick_G

[TOtrees]

I respect the opinions above, but disagree with the characterization there’s only 1 correct decision or answer. 

You asked (for your friend), which is easier, plants or no plants. I agree that plants provide benefits, but I think it’s easier for a beginner to learn how to do regular water changes than to care for plants. 

I love me a planted tank. Every last one of my tanks has at least some, sometimes many. But if I’m coaching the newbie on their first steps, I recommend fake decorations, and maybe, if you feel like it, 1-2 really robust plants just to get the hang of keeping them. After 4-6 months, if they want more, replace some of the decorations with more live plants. 

My 2c. 

[Patrick_G]

@memorywrangler, point them to some of the YouTube aquascapers like MD Fishtanks. That might give them an idea of what is possible and how much work is involved. 

 

[JettsPapa]

On 1/26/2023 at 9:41 PM, memorywrangler said:

A friend of mine is thinking of getting his first aquarium. Probably a 20 gallon.  He wants it to be very low maintenance.  
 

The biggest first decision seems to be whether to get live plants or not:   live plans means a more expensive light and the additional cost of the plants, but it also means fewer water changes  and potentially having to deal with algae problems.  
 

So which is easier for a beginner in the long run plants, or no plants?

• I agree with the other replies that there are many commonly available aquarium plants that don't require expensive lights.  I have the inexpensive Aquaneat LED lights on most of my tanks.
• You mentioned algae problems with live plants.  I'm not clear on whether you meant algae would be more of a problem with live plants or less, but it's definitely less.  Live plants consume nutrients that would otherwise go to algae.

[Lennie]

I agree with the comments above as well. Everyone explained it very well.

One of my LEDs is a pretty cheap one (sold under the plant LED name, but very low tech I must say), and I've been succesfully growing lots of floating plants, heavy root feeders, and rhizome plants(except java fern, but I think it is my water with super high kH).

The only negative side I've been experiencing is, there is a much wider gap between the leaves in some root plants. They all try to reach to top as fast as possible, then start getting denser, but at that point it is usually a trimming time or else, they block surface agitation a lot.

But in a 20L, considering height will be even lower, I see even this not being an issue at all, if it seems visually unpleasing normally.

 

Keeping it understock is a great point to keep it low maintenance I should say, in addition to lots of plants, especially floating plants in my experience.

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Lennie

[billango]

I agree with what has been said. Suggest some easy plants for him. I've found floaters like water lettuce, frogbit, or red root floaters can really help keep the water cleaner. Just don't let him think duckweed is a good idea. Protect him if you can. 

[Gannon]

As long as you don't overstock the tank with plants it'll be really easy. My problem and the problem I see a lot more with beginners is having a tank that is too dense with plants that aren't the most compatible with nutrient uptake. A great example of this is fast growing plants like jungle val taking up so much of the nutrients making it harder to balance the right nutrients for slow growers like java fern to thrive. Start small and scale up from there is always my recommendation with plants. 

[Gumbo99]

One additional benefit is that, correct me if I am wrong, ammonia is generally less toxic in an acidic environment that blackwater would be associated with. Not that it should be counted on-regular maintenance is still necessary. But it would be a nice buffer to help a beginner in case any problems do arise or errors are made.

 

On 1/26/2023 at 9:58 PM, Patrick_G said:

I’d maybe consider the blackwater style. It looks good with just wood and a few plants. They wouldn’t necessarily have to have really  dark water, but the style seems to lend itself to a low maintenance tank. 

[Sweet Fish O Mine]

No plants is easier hands down, beginner or long time keeper. Less to fiddle with, less cost and less to go wrong. More important for ease of maintenance and success is light to moderate stocking levels. A non-planted tank can be healthy and look nice too. Simply having plants guarantees neither. 

[Schuyler]

I think it also depends on the type of fish your find wants and they type of water you have.

I would lean towards having plants but just doing a few easy ones like valisinaria, pogostemon octopus, or guppy grass.

I would say go for the 20 long either way. It's easier to get into and clean stuff.

I asked a very similar question recently and someone suggested testing the water, taking the friend to a fish store, showing him what would do well in that water, and letting him decide what he likes (with the idea that is just a plan and you're not buying fish right then). Then based on that you can figure out if plants would be good and which ones to get.

The idea being that if he has buy in and likes his fishtank then maintenance won't be as much of a chore and he'll be more likely to stick with it rather than trying for a month then putting the tank up for sale online like so many other people.

[Schuyler]

On 1/27/2023 at 8:28 AM, Gumbo99 said:

ammonia is generally less toxic in an acidic environment

Edit: I take back what I said... it looks like plants prefer ammonium as a nitrogen source. I checked Ecology of a planted tank and it says this about ammonium and pH:

"The percentage of ammonia in a solution with a given N concentration changes dramatically with pH. Typically, there is a 10 fold increase in ammonia for every 1 unit increase in pH as NH4+ converts to NH3"

Edited January 27, 2023 by Schuyler
Fact checked

[Katherine]

I think the better question might be does he want plants? 

Then use his low maintenance desire to help choose what plants. Anubias would be basically no extra maintenance from the plant.

[Tazalanche]

I've been keeping fish for about 3 decades, so from my own aspect of the hobby, I'm team planted tank. For a new fish keeper, I'm not... unless they insist upon it.

That being said, my first step would be to ask them what THEY want from the hobby. For someone brand new to the hobby, they need to learn the basics before getting into more advanced setups. Learning how to research the best fish (& plants) for their water source, the nitrogen cycle, and how to maintain an aquarium are significantly more important than buying lots of pretty things at the store, adding them to their aquarium & THEN figuring out how to get their purchases to work together, be happy & thrive. I feel telling a new hobbiest to get plants for less maintenance is also setting a bad precedent. Plants definitely help, but you're also trading less water maintenance for more plant maintenance. Lazy fishkeepers from the start tend to result in early burnout &/or unhealthy aquariums.

In a perfect world, my recommendation would be based off the fish and substrate they want. You can have some beautiful starter setups with no plants, only silk plants, or a mix of silk & real. If they're going to have a low height tank, like a 20L, I feel fast growing "easy" stem plants are a terrible idea, because those plants will need to be trimmed constantly.

If they are certain that they want plants, and the fish they want are compatible, I'd recommend something easy &/or slow growing like anubias or java fern in the middle on a rock or piece of driftwood, with an amazon sword at each end. With those plants, they just need any type of light source & it should grow.

Edited January 28, 2023 by Tazalanche

[Tanked]

On 1/26/2023 at 10:41 PM, memorywrangler said:

A friend of mine is thinking of getting his first aquarium. Probably a 20 gallon.  He wants it to be very low maintenance.  
 

The biggest first decision seems to be whether to get live plants or not:   live plans means a more expensive light and the additional cost of the plants, but it also means fewer water changes  and potentially having to deal with algae problems.  
 

So which is easier for a beginner in the long run plants, or no plants?

Your friend's biggest first consideration is keeping the fish happy.  Low maintenance + easier= fake or no plants.  A more rewarding experience for the fish and your friend comes from adding live plants. One caveat however is that not every easy plant will grow in every tank.  My first truly successful plant experience was with Anubia and Hornwort.  I have been growing low-med. light plants under "kit" lights and a variety of DIY lights.  An expensive light is not required.