what plants to start with?

strizzi16 said:

i can send you some fast growers.. just let me know

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That's really nice. I agreed that fast growers are essential when starting a new tank. I wish I had realized that b/f starting - I could have avoiding a lot of algae. Also, plant heavily from the beginning - no matter the cost. It will cost more in the long run if you don't, b/c algae will get a foothold.

Fast growing plants I consider easy (every tank is different):

water wisteria
anacharis
hornwort
moneywort (depends - sometimes slow)
the easy variety of foxtail (Myriophyllum)
cabomba


Slower growing plants I consider easy:

lilies
wendtii crypts
anubias
java moss
java ferns

rbarb1111 said:

I am setting up a ten gallon tank and have two 26w sprial bulbs with aluminum reflectors. What would be the best plants to start with and would this be consideredd low light?

Thanks

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Personally, if I were just starting off, I would replace those with two 12 watt spiral compact fluorescent compacts for a total of 24 watts, and consider setting up a low light, low maintenance tank without all the bells, toys, and whistles and the hassle and balancing act that comes with maintaining the stability of such a tank to avoid long term algae issues. Take it from some one who has tried both methods. The trade off may be slower plant growth, but I would sooner take slower plant growth over the possibility of algae issues because of instability. As far as selection of low light plants, there is more than just java ferns, java moss, apongentons, and crypts. There are enough low light plants to set up a tank that can used to scape a tank which can rival the beauty of hight tech plants with more demanding plants. Also, keep in mind that it is much easier to make the transition from a low light, low maintenance tank, to a high light, high tank, high maintenance tanks. While it can be done, most people who try to convert from high light, high maintenance tanks to low light, low maintenance tanks end up with a huge boatload of problems. Seems plants can more quickly acclimitize from low maintenance, low light to high maintenance, high light, than the other way around.

Edit*** if you are intent, on going with what you have and not making any changes, here is what I suggest.

(1) Invest in a good substrate. I recommend biting the bullet and paying for the best. ADA Aquasoil original or II. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry will tell you that you can grow plants in Eco-Complete, Fluorite, mixture of Pool Filter Sand and Fluorite, Schultz Aquatic Soil. While this it true, Aquasoil just gives better plant growth plain and simple and many members can speak to that. Soil Master Select is a cheaper better alternative if you cannot afford Aquasoil and is about the only thing that is comparable to Aquasoil from what most members say.

(2) You need to rig up DIY C02 Get yourself a drop checker with proper solution and bubble counter(to minimize/prevent snot build up). I find that I have to run an airstone 24/7 in my high tech 10 gallon, just to keep c02 levels at safe levels for the fish as per drop checker readings. Be prepared to change your c02 brew every 2 weeks minimum to keep c02 levels consistent or you will end up with huge algae issues. Using excel in addition is not bad but be careful as some plants like riccia, vals, egera, etc., melt with it.

(3) Jam pack your tank full of plants, especially some fast growing stem plants to avoid algae issues from the onset. As others suggested, make sure that you purchase healthy plants to avoid problems and cover 10-15% of your tank's surface with floating plants like egera densa or cardamine to further defend against algae.

(4) Use a good fertilization regime. I suggest a heavy hitter in your case like EI and be sure to do 50% water changes weekly and keep the tank well pruned, removing any dead plant matter with every water change.

(5) Stick with 8 hours photoperiod or lighting duration. You can always increase gradually later if this proves to be insufficient or better yet go split photoperiod if you need more lighting. Put lights on timer with 6 hours on, 2 hours off, and 6 hours on for a total of 12 hours. Trust me on this. Tanks take time to acquire balance and if you bump up the lighting too much and the tank is not balanced, you will get a huge algae bloom. This is what happened to me with my 40 gallon, which turned out to be a real dog's breakfast with all kinds of algae imaginable. I was forced to engage in a 3 month battle with algae and the algae still left its residual mark in the form of green spot algae after three months because of that simple mistake.

(6) You are bound to have some minimal algae sooner or later. And you will likely end up with diatom algae which is common with all new setups. So invest in a good algae cleaning crew like Amano Shrimp, otos, nerite snail to get at the green spot algae(if you have a tight fitting lid only), florida flagfish, Bristlenose Pleco, etc.,