Planted Tank Noob Questions...

[Sly13Cat]

I'm totally new to planted tanks and relativity new to serious fish keeping (a few months). I have a 10 gallon with fluorescent lighting and I wanted to know some plants I can add. I like Cambomba caroliniana. There's one in the other 10 gallon and I wanted to know how to get more from one. How would I do that? I'm going to PetSmart today and wanted to know what plants are good for my tank.

[GMYukonon24s]

Welcome to the forum. When I think of Petsmart the plants they usually have you can get Hornwort and Ancharis(can't remember if thats right spelling) them are the two plants that I remember are fast growers from Petsmart. Watch out for some of the plants that are not for are purpose which is say there for underwater but there not.

[tenzero1]

Petsmart has a pretty limited selection where I am. Petco usually has a lot more to chose from if you have the option. Otherwise you can get great deals here in the swap n shop section. Better quality and quantity usually.

[acitydweller]

Welcome sly.

i would suggest looking at the journals here to get an idea of what plants would suit your fancy and the conditions in your tank. If you were to keep the fluorescent lamp, maybe consider getting one rated at 6500k which produces a spectrum that benefits plants.

I started (and still am) on my budget builds and use those circular shop lamps with the clamps from homedepot. i have 2 on my 5.5 gallon and 3 on my 20 gallon. They allow me to grow pretty much everything that i have acquired through forum members or locally.

Also if you were interested, consider growing some java moss. mosses can be both beautiful and beneficial to the health of your tank. they can be prunned/trimmed to shape as you see fit.

Big box places like petco/ petland discounts/etc... are ok for basic tank equipment and basic livestock. Anything that was ever interesting in my tanks either came from forum members, or from local fish shops... I understand access to places can be limited depending on where you are, so look online and ask around. you never know what you might find.

The world is your oyster! GL

[kevinmichael77]

Your best bet in my experience is getting plants from the members on here in the power seller and swap section. I've gotten great plants on here for pretty cheap. Maybe try some stem plants, java fern or anubias perhaps. Your lighting probably limits you a bit in what you can grow but those seem to be pretty hardy plants and still give a good look. Your a bit limited in space too for anything real bushy. I'm new to this as well but that's my two cents. What are the details of your system? Filtration, substrate, fertilization etc...

[baldy1970]

Petsmart here in mo have quite A few plants in packages plenty good selection just make sure they done say semi-aquatic on them.

[Zefrik]

If it is the basic light that comes with most aquarium kits it might be able to grow some plants. I would try Java Fern, Anubias, and some crypt wendetii. They usually have these in the tubes at petco and petsmart.

[CatB]

do you know how many watts your light is rated for? it would help to know that to know what plants you could grow with it.
cabomba i think is generally regarded as a high-light plant, as are most stems- you might not be able to grow it with a standard aquarium light.
if your cabomba in your other ten gallon is growing, though, once it's split into multiple stems, you should be able to pull it up and split the two apart, then replant one of the pieces in your new tank. i'd search for stem replanting on here, there's probably plenty of people with handy tips...

[Robert H]

Plants are basically the same no matter where you buy them from. If you have the right conditions to grow plants, a tiny half inch stem will grow into a nice big plant.

Lighting is the most critical thing. One fluorescent light on a ten gallon tank, is most likely not strong enough to grow most plants no matter where you buy the plants from. The lighting fixture that comes with the tank in particular is not going to do much for you.

If you can take a close look at the bulb and get all the numbers from it, that will tell you what kind of bulb it is and what the wattage is.

Cabomba and other stem plants in general require more intensive light than plants that grow from either a crown, rhizome, or tuber. Sword plants grow from a crown, but grow too big for a ten gallon tank. Various Cryptocorynes do well under lower light levels and would fit in a ten gallon tank. Java ferns grow from a rhizome as do Anubias. These are some of the easiest plants to grow and can tolerate low light levels.