# thinking of adding real plants to my new tank



## roshan (Jul 19, 2010)

HI there,

I am close to getting my tank running, it is a 90 gallon, i want real plants but i dont want to use the ADA soil or co2 tanks or all that pro stuff, just want a simple system. I know there are plants that will grow in the gravel as long as i have fert stick in the gravel or add fert to the water, my question is what are the easiest plants to grow?. The tank will be a community setup, also what would be the right lighting set up, currently i have a t6 with four tubes. I am looking for plants that grow tall and ones that grow densely. 

Thanks for the input


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Floating plants like frogbit are great - nitrate sponges AND they grow like weeds. I also have bacopa & hygrophila difformis and they grow like mad for me too - no ferts, no fuss, no looking after... they look fairly nice too.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

I used Seachem. Flourite for substrate in my first planted tank. Cheaper than the other stuff plus it has something to offer plants. My plants grew great in it. Fert sticks work, but if not used properly could cause problems from what I have heard. Never used ferts of any kind myself
You might consider dosing Excel or Metricide as well, great substitute for co2. I used DIY co2 and they really went crazy after that lol My set-up was pretty simple...flourite,T5 lighting and a tad bit of DIY co2 , everything else was provided by the fish and waste....... it was a jungle, before I thinned it out.
Watersprite and Hygo were two easy to grow plants and they will grow to the surface. They can both be grown pretty dense.
I'm by far an expert just a little of my past experience chiming in.

the Watersprite it the thick stuff in the middle. Always needs trimmed and always grew smaller plants off of it, to pluck and plant. the fish like swimming in it too








thats just 3 plants in the back. The tank was 36" long


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## trout (Mar 21, 2012)

For a tall and dense plant for a 90g without C02, my recommendation would be Giant Vals. If you decide to use excel/metricide as a c02 supplement, it can melt vals unless dosed very lightly. but they can over time adjust to it.

Grows like a weed in my gravel substrate low tech.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

+1 on the vals for tall plants. Valisneria Americana grew like mad for in in a low-tech tank (no CO2, no dosing, no root tabs, no nothing).

For dense plants, java fern and java moss don't need much light at all. Neither do anubias.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

Have a huge java fern in my 90g. I don't dose anything, no CO2 either. Can cut you a chunk if you want. I also am thinking of adding some Vals to my tank for some height.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

It's not a problem at all to have real plants in a tank that has gravel or sand instead of Eco-Complete, etc. All of my tanks have plants and all but one currently have plain sand or gravel. If you're worried, you can just put some root tabs under the gravel. Just poke them in with your finger near the plants.

Many aquarium plants are very easy to grow. I don't have a green thumb and most plants don't survive long in our house, or if they do survive, they don't grow. But in the aquarium, everything grows like a weed! 

Here are my recommendations for a gravel-based tank that is low or medium light:

-Anubias and/or javas, tied to a piece of driftwood or rock, and not planted in the gravel. There are many varieties of anubias, some are very large. If Mykiss has any of the really big ones from his UBC tanks, you can just put one into your tank and it will already look like a professional setup. Check Mykiss's post at Canadian Aquatics. These plants are slow growing, so with a 90 gallon tank don't take a dwarf species like anubias nana.

-Most hygrophilas, for example wisteria (hygrophila difformis). This plant will grow whether you plant it or float it, and it grows into a nice bushy jungle very quickly. It's great for a tank that is new, because it grows so fast and it will make you feel like the best aquatic gardener ever. You can get this at a local pet store, usually, or from a hobbyist who needs to thin it out.
-Hygrophila corymbosa siamensis 53B is a pretty stem plant that is reliable and easy. There's nothing really unique about this plant -- just a stem with attractive, long leaves on it -- but it never seems to go leggy or thin at the bottom, the way that some fast-growing stem plants can do. Just looks nice and foresty. Aquaflora carries this, you can get it from Mykiss. 

-Amazon sword. Amazon swords can grow quickly and one or two would look amazing in your 90 gallon. They need some nutrients in the substrate but will be fine with a couple of root tabs in the area. They are truly a no-work plant. I have one that you can have if you're ever in Vancouver. Just send me a pm. 

-Elodea. Well, I think it's elodea, anyway. It's a long, stem plant that grows tall and narrow rather than wide, like the siamensis. I just discovered this plant recently although apparently it's quite common. It will look best if planted in a group, lots of stems together. The only thing is, it grows really, really quickly. My son used some of this in his science experiment, and one of the strands grew from 3 inches to 18 inches in one week under a plain CFL twisty bulb. A plant that grows so fast could deplete your water of nutrients, so if you use this plant I would recommend getting a bottle of Seachem Flourish Comprehensive and a bottle of Seachem Trace (or any similar products from other manufacturers) and adding a dribble to your tank once a week, following the directions on the bottle. Easy plants like these don't mind if you aren't very consistent in giving them ferts, but they do need something from time to time if they grow like weeds, especially in a new tank where there aren't many fish.

I wouldn't recommend any very bushy stem plants with very fine needles, like cabomba or limnophila. Many people love these plants, but I find that they can lose their needles in the middle stem and need to be cut down and replanted a lot. A bushy plant that is not bushy just looks sad. 

I also wouldn't recommend grassy-looking plants to start with. Dwarf hair grass is a beautiful ground cover but for me, it turns brown almost immediately even with Eco-Complete. It needs high light. As well, I've had some long,fine grassy-looking plants that grow easily but they often go brown at the bottom, and then I end up with masses of green stuff floating at the top of my tank (a short tank), while the grass in the viewing area looks like its been drinking Agent Orange. That plant needs maintenance. But I don't know the name of it. Thin, grassy plants also tend to float out of gravel quite easily. 

Red lotus is awesome. 

Good luck!


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## roshan (Jul 19, 2010)

Awesome information! Thanks everybody!


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