# A Newbies Quest For A Beautiful Planted Tank



## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

hi all. i have decided to make my tanks beautiful planted tanks. i have no idea at the lighting requirements though. I have a 10 gallon, a 38 gallon, and a 75 gallon tank. what kind of plants are good for begginers? also, what wattage would each tank need? i would like to start off with low-light plants. 

PS-i have 2 15W bulbs in my 75 gallon. is this way too little light? i cant find anything over 20W in 18 inch flourscent bulbs...


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## wngt368 (Oct 4, 2008)

yes that is too low for your 75 gallon tanks. You would need about 1 to 1.5 wpg
as for the plants i found this


Java Fern - Microsorum pteropus
Windelov Java Fern, Windelov Fern - Microsorum pteropus 'Windelov'
Narrow Leaf Java Fern - Microsorum pteropus v. 'narrow leaf'
Java Moss - Vesicularia dubyana
Green Hygro - Hygrophila polysperma
*Sunset Hygro - Hygrophila polysperma 'Rosanervig'
Ceylon Hygro - Hygrophila polysperma 'Ceylon'
Rotala Rotundifolia - Rotala rotundifolia
Rotala Rotundifolia sp. Green - Rotala rotundifolia sp. 'Green'
Rotala Indica - Rotala indica
Hornwort - Ceratophylum demersum
Parrots Feather - Myriophyllum aquaticum
Moneywort, Water Hyssop - Bocapa monnieri
Brazilian Pennywort, Pennywort - Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Crypt Wendtii - Cryptocoryne wendtii
Crypt Balansae - Cryptocoryne Balansae
Pygmy Crypt - Cryptocoryne pygmaea
Guppy Grass - Najas guadalupensis
Anubias barteri - Anubias barteri v. barteri
Anubias barteri 'marble' - Anubias barteri 'marble'
Anubias barteri v. 'glabra' - Anubias barteri v. 'glabra'
Anubias nana - Anubias barteri v. 'nana'
Coffee leaf anubias - Anubias barteri v. 'coffeefolia'
Crypt retrospiralis - Cryptocoryne retrospiralis
Crypt spiralis - Cryptocoryne spiralis
Golden nana - Anubias barteri v. 'nana golden'
Narrow leaf nana - Anubias barteri v. 'nana narrow leaf'
Petite nana - Anubias barteri v. nana 'petite'
Philippine Java Fern - Microsorum pteropus 'Philippine'
Red Java fern - Microsorum pteropus "red"
Crypt Becketii - Cryptcoryne becketii
Pelia - Monosolenium tenerum
Waterwheel Plant - Aldrovanda vesiculosa
Bacopa - Bacopa caroliniana
African Water Fern - Bolbitis heudelotii
Hornwort - Ceratophyllum submersum
Crypt Aponogetifolia - Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia
Micro Crypt - Cryptocoryne petchii
Tropica Sword - Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica'
Downoi - Pogostemon helferi

*Do not ned high light to attain pink color. Dosing Iron can bring out this color. I have learned this from experience.


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## gamexeater (Jan 21, 2009)

30watts on 75 gallons probably won't grow anything, or will limit your choice of plants to a few very hardy ones.

Here's the link to the list of "low-light" plants from plantedtank.net. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/56042-excellent-list-low-light-plants.html
If you just skim that you'll get some idea of plants you might be able to use. Also if you have the time..jump to the 145th post on that thread. I found that to be a good contrast to the whole idea of a list of low light plants.

Here's a link to the plantedtank.net low tech forum: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/56042-excellent-list-low-light-plants.html
Lots of stuff to learn here from random reading.

I know that up to this point all i've been telling is to read/research more which i'm sure you have probably already done but in my honest opinion i think that the whole low light plants is a bit subjective. Yes, some plants do better than others under low light and some plants can't survive without high light but it really depends on many factors (such as lighting of course, fertilization, CO2, the actual type of plant, plant density, water parameters..etc).

Ok let's starting to actually answer your questions. In terms of good beginner plants, i personally started with water sprite, java moss, ludiwiga inclinta var cuba (bad choice lol, a lot of dying and rotting, but it's still alive in my 10g), green cabomba (suppose to be good beginner plant but it completely died on me), Hemianthus micranthemoides, java fern (Microsorum pteropus), sunset hygro (i have this growing in 0.77wpg in my 29g), and glossostigma (spelt wrong? >.<). That's pretty much the order i got my plants in and out of those i would recommend water sprite, sunset hygro, java moss and java fern because IME they are tough . I bought the water sprite half dying and i'm just trimming it weekly from my 10g and dumping the trimmings in my 29g where they proprogate and form little tiny water sprites...ya..it's a mess. Ok off topic a bit. Just take note that the wpg "rule" is a really vague general guideline as the depth of the tank and intensity and temperature (kelvins) of the light are not taken into account in this "rule". But uh...in terms of low lighting you are aiming for anywhere between 0-2ish wpg.

Uh..Wow that was very lengthy and messy, my apologizes for that. 
Here's an article that intros lighting in the first 2-3 paragraphs http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2007/12/understanding-full-spectrum-aquarium.html 
It gets a bit scientificy after the first 2 paragraphs...but at the end of the article there seems to be a few links that might be useful.

Alright this is getting too long, again my bad. Hope that isn't too much info in one post. Best of luck with converting your tanks to planted tanks.

-Daniel


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## newbiefishfanatic (Dec 11, 2008)

wow thanks so much for all that info! (really i mean it) i love when ppl take things like this seriously! 

still one question lingures...how do i get 150W bulbs? i cant find any in the 18" inch size over 20W. and if 30W isnot going to do anything, then how much will 40W do....nm i assume...

where can i get the proper lights?? and my tank being 75 gallons is divided by a plastic strip in the middle of it...


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

newbiefishfanatic said:


> still one question lingures...how do i get 150W bulbs? i cant find any in the 18" inch size over 20W. and if 30W isnot going to do anything, then how much will 40W do....nm i assume...


Since you are trying to get to 2 WPG (i.e. 150 watts in a 75 gallon tank), you will have to use multiple bulbs. There is no way to achieve that kind of wattage with a single fluorescent bulb. Neither 30 nor 40 watts will make enough of a difference in a tank your size.



newbiefishfanatic said:


> where can i get the proper lights?? and my tank being 75 gallons is divided by a plastic strip in the middle of it...


Don't worry about the plastic strip down the middle of the tank. It's part of the tank brace and is used to support the tank. If your current hood only has room for one fluorescent tube, it's time to look for a new hood/canopy. Of course, if you are handy, you could always DIY your own hood.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

If you want to do it on the cheap, you can use shop lights (T8 or T12) from the hardware store. They should be pretty cheap for the set up (look for shop lights). You can get 6500K bulbs for them too, which is a nice colour for planted tanks. They're not very very bright, but if you get some decent polished metallic reflectors, you can really bump up the efficiency.

If you've got a bit of money to spend, look into T5s. I really like the look of the slim fixtures, so I prefer them on my tanks. Coralife ones are decent and not too expensive either.

I have this one over our 75g planted tank (low tech): http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c5813/c293075/p16890108.html

Don't be fooled by the "fish only" claim on the site. This tank is definitely not fish only:


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