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Plant recommendations for beginner

Danielle324

Danielle324

New Member
Joined
15 Apr 2021
Messages
18
Location
Norwich
Hi everyone

After moving twice last year and having to close down both my tanks, I am now able to get back into the hobby. One of my previous tanks broke during the move so I have treated myself to a new 80cm 110l tank for my new lounge.

I have added a couple of pictures of the hardscape so far, I am reasonably happy but open to any suggestions to improve it! I’m planning to have a planted island on the left, with an open area to the right with maybe just some moss on the rocks. Background is now black.

Does anyone have any easy plants they can recommend? I’m thinking anubias and Java fern on the wood, moss on the mini tree to the left, and then would like some tall stem plants towards the back and something low at the front. Plus some floating plants. I will not be using co2, substrate is play sand and the light is the one which came with the tank (Aquatropic 110 LED). Any fertiliser recommendations would be welcome as well.

This is a list of the plants I am considering
Salvinia Auriculati
Spiky Moss
Anubias nana & barteri
Bucephalandra kedagang
Microsorum pteropus
Eleocharis muntevidensis
Limnophila sessiliflora
Staurogyne repens
Eleocharis parvula

Thanks in advance
Danielle
 

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When looking at the play sand on your pics, I wonder. Similar sands in my country contain a lot of limestone and clay. Either can be a source of problems.
Limestone will make your water harder and more alkaline - that's not beneficial for most plants, it'll narrow your range of choices.
Clay can be a source of bloom in the beginning, while later it will transform your substrate to inconvenient mud. Such a mud will not let small particles of detritus to fall within, which is an aesthetic problem as well as biological. It may turn out difficult to maintain cycling of various substances in desirable way; in simple terms, you're at risk of developing smelly and actually poisonous substrate.
I may be wrong; making judgments just from a photography is not very reliable.
 
Thanks for the reply Maq. I have done a lot of research on the sand, having never used it before, and had a lot of recommendations for this particular play sand. It does look very dark and clumpy in the picture, mainly because I had just spent what felt like hours washing it and it was still wet. As long as it’s not too deep it should be fine and I’m planning on adding some MTS which will help stir the sand, according to my research anyway!
 
Hi all,
PARAGUAY said:
I always start off aquariums with hygrophila "easy "species
Click to expand...
I like Hygrophila corymbosa, it is <"difficult to kill">. I also like <"Ceratopteris "thalictroides" and Ceratophyllum demersum">, they are sub-surface floaters and potentially quick growers. I'd add some <"tank janitors"> as well after a couple of weeks.
Danielle324 said:
This is a list of the plants I am considering
Salvinia Auriculati
Spiky Moss
Anubias nana & barteri
Bucephalandra kedagang
Microsorum pteropus
Eleocharis muntevidensis
Limnophila sessiliflora
Staurogyne repens
Eleocharis parvula
Click to expand...
I'd probably only start from scratch with the Salvinia & Limnophila. Staurogyne repens & Eleocharis spp. may be all right, but I've never tried them and I don't have any practical experience.

I like the tank to have <"grown in and established for a bit"> before I add ferns, mosses or Aroids (like Cryptocoryne spp., Anubias barteri and Bucephalandra spp.), I just think it makes them a bit <"more likely to succeed">.

cheers Darrel
 
Myrtle said:
Hi, I've found Staurogyne struggling a bit long term in my low tech tanks, it tends to lose the lower leaves and look a bit sad. That might be due to my specific parameters though as it's in a fry tank with just a sponge filter, so little flow.
Click to expand...
Thanks Myrtle, I will cross that off my list.
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,

I like Hygrophila corymbosa, it is <"difficult to kill">. I also like <"Ceratopteris "thalictroides" and Ceratophyllum demersum">, they are sub-surface floaters and potentially quick growers. I'd add some <"tank janitors"> as well after a couple of weeks.

I'd probably only start from scratch with the Salvinia & Limnophila. Staurogyne repens & Eleocharis spp. may be all right, but I've never tried them and I don't have any practical experience.

I like the tank to have <"grown in and established for a bit"> before I add ferns, mosses or Aroids (like Cryptocoryne spp., Anubias barteri and Bucephalandra spp.), I just think it makes them a bit <"more likely to succeed">.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...
Thanks Darrel, I’ll give them a try and hold off on the other plants until the tank is more established. I’ll also give that fertiliser a try.
 
Hi all,
Danielle324 said:
I’ll give them a try and hold off on the other plants until the tank is more established
Click to expand...
I would just for the slower growing, more expensive plants. If <"they don't prosper"> or become algae covered you've expended a reasonable wodge on them. I'm a sand user as well, which means that you don't tend to have initial ammonia spike, but you do need to feed the plants from early on.

I don't tend to buy (m)any plants and I only grow a very limited palette of <"easy plants">, so I usually just move <"spares"> from tank to tank and they are already used to being immersed etc.

If I get a new plant it is usually either a swap or I've seen something I don't recognise in an LFS etc. and purchase it, so I'm never need to worry about postage and minimum order size etc.

<"Scaped Nature"> might be an option?

cheers Darrel
 
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  • Hygrophila polysperma
  • Java moss
  • bolbitis heudelotii
  • cryptocoryne
  • bucephalandra
  • echinodorus bahaerii
  • hetheranthera zostefolia
  • lobelia cardinalis
  • staurogyne repens (i get some trouble in my co2 tank with it, easier in low tech)
  • vallisneria
  • bacopa caroliana
  • hydrocotyle species
  • ludwigia sp super red/ repens (easy to grow, hard to keep the red along the stem)
  • duckweed
  • pelia
  • ceratopteris cornuta
  • egera densa
  • microsorum pteropus
  • red tiger lotus


i won't include rotala rotundifolia, as @dw1305 said often, she is sensitive to iron deficiency if i'm right
 
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