# noob question :)



## streeker02 (Apr 11, 2014)

Hi all....zero experience with plants here 

Setting up a new to me 75 gallon tank. The light fixture that came with the tank is 48" and contains two tubes, the bulbs are Marineland "F40T10 natural daylight". I cannot see anywhere on the bulbs or fixture how many watts this is and not sure if it is enough to support plant life

Will I be able to grow low light plants with this? substrate in the tank is sand and the tank is 21" deep.

The plan is to house a small community and I would really like to have some natural plant in their environment  

Any advice is greatly appreciated

Jeff


----------



## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

streeker02 said:


> Hi all....zero experience with plants here
> 
> Setting up a new to me 75 gallon tank. The light fixture that came with the tank is 48" and contains two tubes, the bulbs are Marineland "F40T10 natural daylight". I cannot see anywhere on the bulbs or fixture how many watts this is and not sure if it is enough to support plant life
> 
> ...


In my opinion...substrate is much more important than light. I've successfully grown plants that shouldn't be grown in low light, in low light but with rich substrate. To answer your question though, yes you will be able to grow low light plants. I believe the fixture you have is T10 which will be fine for growing any kinda low light plants like some crypts, anubias, mosses, and many more. If you haven't already put fish in the tank, I'd think about adding something underneath the sand to give the plants some nutrients, unless you wanna add root tabs which can get pricey/annoying.

Goodluck


----------



## default (May 28, 2011)

I have to disagree a little with the previous post. 
I've grown low light plants in setups regardless of substrate, the number one thing you should do is just research what plants you want and their demands, crypts, Anubias, ferns, mosses, and some stem plants all work very well in your existing substrate.
I don't recommend worrying too much on your substrate if you're completely new to this section of the hobby, as completely switching out your substrate for a commercial product for a 75g will be even more pricey and going the less expensive route of dirted tanks will not be the easiest task for a beginner. I've grown many plants successfully in gravel and sand when I first started with plants and I still grow plants just in sand with bulbs that are nearly 4 years old! 
So even investing $20-$30 on a large pack of root tabs (number of suppliers sell them: angelfins.ca is a great source) you're still gonna have a easier time.

You will be completely fine with your setup as is and you're gonna have a great time with live plants, just do a lot of research before you go nuts buying plants, and when you're a little more experienced you can try dirted tanks, DIY co2, fertilizers, and the likes.
Best of luck!


----------



## streeker02 (Apr 11, 2014)

Thank you for the replies

The tank has been running for a week and water is testing good (I used some filter media from my other tank to kick start it) - no ammonia, no nitrite and minimal nitrates - would it be ok to plant it at this point?

Also any recommendation where some good quality low light plants can be bought at a decent price, big al's is awfully expensive it seems. I would rather give money to a small business or forum member if anyone has a recommendation.

Thanks again for the tips,

Jeff


----------



## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

default said:


> I have to disagree a little with the previous post.
> I've grown low light plants in setups regardless of substrate, the number one thing you should do is just research what plants you want and their demands, crypts, Anubias, ferns, mosses, and some stem plants all work very well in your existing substrate.
> I don't recommend worrying too much on your substrate if you're completely new to this section of the hobby, as completely switching out your substrate for a commercial product for a 75g will be even more pricey and going the less expensive route of dirted tanks will not be the easiest task for a beginner. I've grown many plants successfully in gravel and sand when I first started with plants and I still grow plants just in sand with bulbs that are nearly 4 years old!
> So even investing $20-$30 on a large pack of root tabs (number of suppliers sell them: angelfins.ca is a great source) you're still gonna have a easier time.
> ...


I knew someone would disagree, which is why I put "In my opinion...". Either way, I completely agree with you that you can have a successful planted tank without a good substrate but only as long as you supplement nutrients in other ways (root tabs or water ferts).

I prefer dirt simply because I'm a huge crypt fan, and in most cases the kind I tend to collect need a super rich nutrient soil & commercial products like ADA and such just don't fit my budget. 

All in all, OP your first planted tank will be a hell of a learning experience, so like Default said, I would do your research first and feel free to ask other members, you'd be surprised how nice people can be/forthcoming with information.



streeker02 said:


> Thank you for the replies
> 
> The tank has been running for a week and water is testing good (I used some filter media from my other tank to kick start it) - no ammonia, no nitrite and minimal nitrates - would it be ok to plant it at this point?
> 
> ...


Yes you're okay to plant your tank now, I put plants in my tank from day 1 with never any issues.

In terms of low light plants, there are always members on this forum selling plants of all kinds for good prices, the person who posted above "Default" always has good quality plants & has many of the low light plants you would prefer. Keep your eye on the buy/sell plant section & you'll see many have low-light plants for sale.


----------



## default (May 28, 2011)

TorontoPlantMan said:


> I knew someone would disagree, which is why I put "In my opinion...". Either way, I completely agree with you that you can have a successful planted tank without a good substrate but only as long as you supplement nutrients in other ways (root tabs or water ferts).


But this is all about personal opinion  it's just sometimes giving someone a personal opinion based on your personal needs can be less effective.
Now if the OP wanted to get lots of crypts your recommendation would of been good.


----------



## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Another opinion for you. You should be able to grow low light plants such as the ones listed.

If you want to get more advanced with your plants, there are so many options. Better substrates, better lights, better ferts, adding co2.

If this is your first planted tank, then you might want to take it slow. Comes down to how much you want to spend, time available, how much research you want to do and so on. My tanks range from low tech to med tech and all do just fine.

It mostly comes down to what you want and what you are willing to do to get it. My med tech tank is a bit of work, my lower tech tanks can be left alone for many weeks.


----------

