# BEGINNNER-looking to buy BEGINNER plants



## mitko1994 (Dec 12, 2012)

Hello everyone, I'm looking to put some plants into my 90 gallon tank, so far I have 3 lava rocks and some plastic plants which i don't really like because they seem to build algae and look pretty bad.I have 2 catfish and 2 sevrums which don't seem to care much if there are plants or not as long as they have the rocks.I'm looking to get some plants which can grow on their own without the need of CO2 and high-tech things like that, and it would be nice if they can grow pretty fast too.(Maybe javas,anubias,wisteria)I live in North York ,Toronto and water pH is b/w7.2-7.4.I don't want to spend a lot of money buying plants from pet-stores because they are pretty expensive.If you know a place that sells plants cheaper or you sell them let me know.

Thanks


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## andrewdingemans (Dec 7, 2012)

When I started, I bought some Anubias and it's a VERY easy plant. Every once in a while I just needed to break off any dead or unhealthy looking leaves. As soon as I moved it into my larger tank with CO2, I see new leaves every 3-5 days. Once you get a hang of live plants, it will be like a disease and you will see plants and MUST have them


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

The type of light you have will determine what kind of plants you should get.

What kind of light do you have?


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

Lighting details would make it possible to recommend a much wider range of plants. It's a standard 90 gallon, 48 x 18 x 24?


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## mitko1994 (Dec 12, 2012)

thanks for the responses, I have a 90 gallon bowfront and i believe the dimensions are the same as mentioned except its 18 inches wide at the centre and 12 on the side.I currently have a regular 40 watt philips light bulb as my light sourse .Also has any ever tried the plant bulbs you just stick in your aquarium and wait for the plants to grow.I saw some reviews and I'm willing to give them a try,however walmart didn't have them the last time i checked and this is the only place people are saying they are sold.

Thanks


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

regular 40 watt bulb, does this mean an old fashioned 40 watt incandescent bulb, or a 40 watt equivalent, CFL, or is this a straight florescent tube, if so, t12, t8, t5, t5ho, how long is it? what is the height of the tank?

Based on the info so far, you might be able to do low light plants, need more details still


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

pyrrolin said:


> regular 40 watt bulb, does this mean an old fashioned 40 watt incandescent bulb, or a 40 watt equivalent, CFL, or is this a straight florescent tube, if so, t12, t8, t5, t5ho, how long is it? what is the height of the tank?
> 
> Based on the info so far, you might be able to do low light plants, need more details still


Ha! And maybe you thought doing a planted tank would be simple.

I'm a newbie myself, but I've gotten into plants. You should probably consider your tank "low light". Assuming you don't want to get into the expense of CO2, your aquarium is also "low tech".

Anubias is indeed a great plant for such a setup. I have a very nice broad plants, which mad a great centerpiece. Amazon swords are also a great choice. they grow nicely and are very hardy and undemanding. For a smaller plant (foreground), you might consider the even popular dwarf sagitarius.

Another good choice can be various types of vallisneria. The largest variety (Spiralis) grows very large and will reach the top of your tank.

The cheapest way to get plants is to check the buy/sell section here. My last transaction got me about 475 worth of plants (at the LS prices) for 10 bucks. Post a wanted add and see what comes up!


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

good for low light, and low chance of fish eating and easy for self proliferation

1) Java Fern (you attach the roots to rocks or/and driftwood with a sowing line. 

2) Java Moss (same as above, but the whole plant, and its a moss, so it looks nice). Maintenance is higher though.

3) Hygrophilia, any kind. Grows easily. You can put it in substrate or let it float, but looks nicer in substrate. You can trim it when it gets longer, and put the trimed part in substrate and it will grow new root.

4) Bacopa. Same as hygrophilia, except it can even be emerged, whilst the roots submerged, if you wanted to!!! Growth in water will be much slower than hygrophilia though in low light

5) Anubias Barteri, any kind, but Nana and Barteri types i like alot. Low maintenance, but... they are extremely slow growers, but they look the nicest. Threat it like Java Fern, as in attach it to driftwood or rocks. It may need maintenance cleaning the leaves if you dont have any helpers (shrimps / snails)

6) Hornwort. Grows fast. Either let it float, or have a little part of it under a rock / driftwood to hold it. Can be messy though when it sheds, but still an "easy" plant that help alot with nitrates.

7) Floater plants such as Amazon Frogbit!!!

Good luck


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## mitko1994 (Dec 12, 2012)

Thank you for your responses guys that helped!I will start looking for these plants.My friend also offered me some java moss and some microsorum plants.His aquarium is the same type as mine and these plants seem to be growing very well so I will give them a try.Now the next question that comes to mind is which plants tend to clog the filter and which ones are "filter friendly" or maybe it can be avoided/reduced based on the arrangement of the plants in the tank.

Thanks


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

mitko1994 said:


> Now the next question that comes to mind is which plants tend to clog the filter and which ones are "filter friendly" or maybe it can be avoided/reduced based on the arrangement of the plants in the tank.


I just use a sponge pre-filter for all my filters (bunch of aqua clears and an eheim). Just pick up the no name reticulated foam (same as what's used inside aquaclear filters) from Big Al's. The Kennedy BA has it at the display below the front counter. Put a slit in it with a blade, and stick it over the inlet tube of your filter. That will stop big particles from going through your filter. You can get the foam in various sized pores. Also creates surface for bacteria.

Al.


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## Playing God (Dec 13, 2012)

mitko1994 said:


> Thank you for your responses guys that helped!I will start looking for these plants.My friend also offered me some java moss and some microsorum plants.His aquarium is the same type as mine and these plants seem to be growing very well so I will give them a try.Now the next question that comes to mind is which plants tend to clog the filter and which ones are "filter friendly" or maybe it can be avoided/reduced based on the arrangement of the plants in the tank.
> 
> Thanks


I found java moss to be more stringy than desired in my low-light tank. If you're looking for a plant to create a "lawn" like effect covering your aquarium floor, taiwan moss does that wonderfully (I can post "how-to" if interested).
Also is a great place for fry and baby shrimps to hang out safely in a mixed tank.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Any plant can clog a filter intake. All it takes is a dead or broken off leaf or bit of stem. But I find it is usually just organic crap that clogs up the most, and you just have to be prepared to clean the intake regularly. 

That said, larger leaves are often the ones that first get caught against or inside the intake, and they then catch everything that comes along. Once anything gets stuck, everything that comes in after that will build up on whatever got there first. I have a number of floating java ferns, that arrived with rotted rhizomes. Most will eventually produce baby ferns, but I often find them, or pieces of them, stuck in the intake, as the base of a clog. I try to take the bottom tube off without disturbing the clog too much, and rinse it off outside the tank, so it doesn't all end up in the filter, where it will simply clog up the sponge that much faster.


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