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Looking for advice on native species tank

1266 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by  lauraleellbp
I'm starting my first 10 gallon planted tank. I bought an Aqueon Deluxe Full Hood with a single 15 watt T8 full spectrum lamp (1.5 WPG). I'm using eco-complete planted aquarium substrate. I'm not sure if I should get any additives like excel or different plant foods and elements. I don't really want to have a C02 diffuser so I was planning on using bottled "liquid" C02. I want to breed guppies in there to feed to my turtles and Jack Dempsey. I will be a lot more satisfied with this hobby if I use native plants. Going out and searching for them would add to the fun and satisfaction of keeping the tank. I live in NY so I put together a list of aquarium plants that grow in my area.
Elodea canadensis (American Waterweed)
Ceratophyllum demersum (Coontail)
Eleocharis acicularis (dwarf hairgrass)
Elodea nuttallii (western waterweed)
Ludwigia palustris (water purslane)
Najas flexilis (nodding waternymph)
Nuphar lutea (Yellow water lily)
Brasenia schreberi (Water-shield)
Polygonum amphibium (longroot smartweed)
Lemna minor (Duckweed)
Equisetum fluviatile (Water Horsetail)
Dulichium arundinaceum (threeway sedge)
Typha latifolia (Cattail)
Ranunculus aquatilis (white water-crowfoot)
Which of these plants will go best together and will grow well in the conditions supplied by my setup? Is 1.5 WPG too low?
Any other advice or problems with my idea is very welcome. If you have tried something like this before, or know of any other species I can find in NY, please share your experience. Thanks!
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I think if you research those species (which you'll probably need to do on other websites as I doubt you'll find much on this forum), you'll learn that the vast majority of those plants not only are not truly aquatic but rather emergent plants and also will grow much too large and require way too much light for an indoor 10gal tank.

However, if you could set up a plastic swimming pool in your back yard, I bet you could get a nice little "bog" setup going and take advantage of natural sunlight.

Duckweed is the only plant on your list that's commonly kept in aquariums... and many consider it a nuisance plant as it's so very hard to get RID of once you get it (I remember one member about blowing a gasket trying to eradicate it from one of his tanks only to find some growing out of the grout in his tiled shower LOL)
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