Need some advice

[GreenIntentions]

Hello everyone! heard great things about this place so i thought i would give it a shot.

So here is what i have Its a 55gal standard dimmesions with a HOB filter and gravel substrate. No co2.. yet but i have a dual 48" t5 HO fixture.

What are some forgiving plants to start out with here? aside from swords and javafern. i will be using a comprehensive fert too.

[HD Blazingwolf]

a good list is here
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=56042

also comprehensive ferts are good but they are't quite comprehensive

make sure u have fish to feed or te comprehensive will be a slight waste. fish should help produce the rest of the ferts you need
comprehensive ferts usually contain the trace elements needed by plants, not the major ones like nitrates, phosphates, and potassium

[GreenIntentions]

Opps forgot to metion i have 9 fish in there. all congo tetras and wow great list! Is my lighting considered for low light plants? would i be safe getting some high light plants or are those harder to keep alive?

also what are some good ferts to have on hand? ive heard seachems flourish root tabs and the liquid fert are the all in one go to product? im totally new and know almost nothing here. ive had fish tanks but not really planted tanks.

Ps all i know is plants need bal;ance of co2 nuts and light if there is a imbalance somewhere you will start to see algae. o yeah and 6.5-6.7 is good k rating for the plants to readily absorb,.

[HD Blazingwolf]

ur into a medium to high light range
aquarium fertilizer.com has dry ferts. those are easy to get ahold of and last A LOT LONGER than liquid bottled ferts. check out the fertilizers STICKY and dosing regime's
it'll go into detail how to dose ferts in an easy manner.

plants absorb a lot of spectrums. 6500k is a bulb color rating but is generally acceptable for what your trying to do

plants that can withstand higher light generally require more work to keep them happy
as a generally rule. all plants require more effort, the more light you give them

its like a car. you push the pedal down, it goes faster, but it needs more gas and air to do so

same with light, ferts, and co2

[GreenIntentions]

Originally Posted by HD Blazingwolf

ur into a medium to high light range
aquarium fertilizer.com has dry ferts. those are easy to get ahold of and last A LOT LONGER than liquid bottled ferts. check out the fertilizers STICKY and dosing regime's
it'll go into detail how to dose ferts in an easy manner.

plants absorb a lot of spectrums. 6500k is a bulb color rating but is generally acceptable for what your trying to do

plants that can withstand higher light generally require more work to keep them happy
as a generally rule. all plants require more effort, the more light you give them

its like a car. you push the pedal down, it goes faster, but it needs more gas and air to do so

same with light, ferts, and co2

Great analogy and ill amke sure to check there, thank you for such fast replys and help! i can gurantee once i get palnts in there ill be franticly crawling the forums on how to control algae haha.