My First planted tank

Ok, after tons of research.... and lots of great tips from several people here is what I did! bottom layer is flourite (un-rinsed to keep the nutrient rich mud) and put a thin layer of brown gravel on top.... got some free plants from Planted75, got the tank from spyral, I dont have a good lighting system yet, will soon from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] .... So what you guys think????? I know, pretty thin, but its a work in progress! (all plants are real except the little guy by the flower pot)


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yaaaaa boyyyyy! that looks tiiiiight. good start man

Nice! Glad to see it is going to good use.

Thanks spyral! hell yeah.... it already has taught me allot!!!! gonna try the whole plant thing until I feel its pretty well stocked, then get some of those discus and dwarfs (both would be new to me too), so it is really helping me! you are the man buddy!
Oh, and I was gonna get some of those frontosa mpimbwe, but after seeing your 180gal, and how happy they were I could never put them in a 55gal again.. lol... I cant get another big tank, wife will divorce me! lol

so now I got some White Ribbons (dracaena sanderiana) and Amazon swords (Echinodorus amazonicus) are the new additions to the existing Broad Leaf Ludwigia, and Dwarf Sagittaria.... The underwater garden is looking good! let me know what you think?!


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Dude, the tank looks awesome!

ludwiga arent very happy... think its too cold!! need a heater!

Looks great so far! And yes, most plants grown better in heated water, and when you get your fish you'll need a heater anyways

Sand! It looks amazing! I can't believe you've already got it up and going! I just bought some amazon swords too!

and Im done!!!! just need some lights and fish..... heater in there.... plants happier!

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These are not true aquatic plants...they will die after a couple of months.
Otherwise your tank looks good!
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White Ribbons (dracaena sanderiana)..... WTF! stupid pet store liars!!!!! now I am pissed! im gonna go back, and punch that stupid kid in the stomach.... I thought they were gorgeous..... shoot! Im pulling em today! Shoooooooot.... im sooo pissed!

That totally blows man
just have the store take them all back
and make them give you a sweet deal on some new plants

Sorry sand Hope you find some better plants!

Same thing I gave to sidekicking , been growing underwater for 6 months.. they look good, but they arenot true aquatics

I was in the same boat last year. I bough some Top Fin "Aqua Fern Plants" from Petsmart, then found out they weren’t even aquatic plants.

If your looking to do a planted tank right, check out [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] They will hook you up phat with one of their plant packages.

Well they are out of my freakin tank!!!! dont want 'em...... unless there truely an aquraium plant..... wich, I went back to the store, went wolverine baserker on the manager, she hooked it up..... actually I like the new ones even better..... gotta Tropica fern (Microsorium pteropus), Aquar ferns (trichomanes javanicum), and a sweeeet anubias plant! (anubia nana)..... love them all!!!!! will post a picture of the tank when I get em in and the murky water settles down again, so i get my crystal clear water.


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Sorry to tell you that the middle plant is not aquatic ether.
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Oh man sand is going to be pissed again...when he finds out about his new plant
watch out petco ppl or petsmart lol

LOLL poor bastard

I had that one in the middle to, stay alive for a hell of a long time.

GET ANOTHER ANUBIAS SAND! THEY LOOK BITCHINNN

aqua fern plant..... trichomanes javacicum, will work fully submerged. well....actually, there are about 50% say no... 50% say yes.... but there are images of big ones under water.... made sure of it before I got that one... it was free, and if dont grow and die, dont care... I got all three plants free.. hehe.... but honest... it was hella dry when I took it out.... it started pearling when I put it in my tank! its sooooo happy now!

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YOU AND YOUR UGLY FERN ARE GOIN DOWN!

Lars... you just jelous of my tank.... dont deny it! lol..... ok... here is the most up to date shot.... crystal clear water... has a c02 ladder... all plants in there are reall, and FULLY AQUATIC! wooooop wooooop... (well unless your the 50% of people that believe my aqua fern isnt)

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looks good

looks fab! . . . . can I be so bold as to make one small suggestion? In another thread folks were talking about a black back grounds, you've got a great start there but I notice that my eye gets pulled/distracted by the hardware/wiring. I used a matte contact paper(black) over a sheet of 1/8" masonite . . . rolled out slowly so you don't get air bubbles.

again, looks great!

sandnuka wrote:aqua fern plant..... trichomanes javacicum, will work fully submerged. well....actually, there are about 50% say no... 50% say yes.... but there are images of big ones under water.... made sure of it before I got that one... it was free, and if dont grow and die, dont care... I got all three plants free.. hehe.... but honest... it was hella dry when I took it out.... it started pearling when I put it in my tank! its sooooo happy now!

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Trichomanes Javacicum will rot and pollute your tank if fully submerged for a long period of time, trust me on this. The best thing you can do now is to make it a house plant. Most Topfin plants are not true aquatic plants and will eventually rot and pollute your tank. Get the hook up at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] everywhere else is a joke.

OH god! you guys are killing me....well, with all the comments of hate on my fern, I took the three OUT! and got three more from a pet store I know and trust..... bridges in snohomish. I dont know the names of them, I forgot... lol.... but 100% positive all are fully aquatic plants. whatcha ya'll think.

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sandnuka wrote:OH god! you guys are killing me....well, with all the comments of hate on my fern, I took the three OUT! and got three more from a pet store I know and trust..... bridges in snohomish. I dont know the names of them, I forgot... lol.... but 100% positive all are fully aquatic plants. whatcha ya'll think.

I was just as angry when I wasted my money on several Topfin "aqua plants". I must have threw $30 worth of plants in the garbage. I'm glad you removed the Topfin “aqua fern“, it was only a matter of time before it died.

in the last three pics, the last one isnt an aquatic plant........ JK, the first one is a crypt of some sort and the middle one is an ozelot sword, i got two of them in my tank and they are at least 12" wide and tall.

My stupid light cant get here fast enough! some of my plants are not looking too healthy... jumped the gun big time by not having that light first...... It does arrive tuesday, im looking at the tracking # at ups, its in denver colorado, on it way! lol

they should grow back nicely

Finally lights arrived.... and my grass is the only thing that has died.... sure it will grow back.... lights are 108watts H5, one pink one, and one white one.... Finally tank is complete! all need now is my discus and dwarfs in there. that will be next week, (i think).

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looks good brotha

so, even with the low watt lights I got some growth on my broad leaf ludwiga... over an inch on some!!! Wooop Wooop... circled new growth

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Looks great sand! I noticed my plants were looking good with new lighting too. If you don't have any, I recommend Seachem Flourish. Works great at replenishing lost and much needed nutrients. They also have Seachem Flourish Excel which helps in adding CO2 as well.

sorry to tell ya sand, but those arent true aquatic. ):

CrashSmAshley wrote:They also have Seachem Flourish Excel which helps in adding CO2 as well.

See behind the ludwiga... I have a Co2 ladder... so good on that ash... but thanks, I will try the seachem flourish though.

Lars - I checked, then dbl checked.... also listened to everyones opinion.... everything is aquatic!!! WOOOP WOOOp.... I even took out anything that was debateable! HA HA! So no one can tell me I have a non-aquatic plant again! HA HA. unless of course they dont have a clue what there talking about... then i really dont care, cause they would look dumb. HA HA!

Just wanted to keep everyone updated on the planted tank progress...... I didnt even notice how much growth Ive had until I looked at the picture and compared it with the early tank shots.... Well, there has been some new additions obviously, but honestly Ive had to prune down the ludwiga several times because its growin so fast... I am tryin to get it to bush out instead of grow upwards.

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If you notice how much more ludwiga there is... cause basically I cut it in half, and planted to tops against the side.... Now I will just let it go ahead and grow vertical.