LuminousAphid
New Member
Hey guys,
I just wanted to start a thread on good plants for low-tech (No CO2, low-moderate light, light or no ferts) set-ups. I personally just don't have the money for a CO2 system right now, and I don't think I have enough experience to do dirt, so I am sort of training myself on a couple small, low-tech tanks to start out with. I have been experimenting with various plants ever since I set up my 20 gallon a couple months ago, and have had some success and some failure, which is to be expected. I am lucky enough to have a good source for both plants and personal knowledge (thanks Cory), but I'm sure some people on here don't, so I will share some of my experiences and invite you all to add your own suggestions for low-tech plants.
I know there are a lot of other factors besides the ones I have mentioned, and if you have plants that generally fit but might have specific needs (e.g. root tabs/soil), mention them as well. As long as a plant can be reasonably accommodated in a low-tech tank, mention it and let us know what your experience with it is. I'm just going to go in the order in which I picked up the types of plants:
Aponogeton bulbs
I got a bulb pack like the ones you find at the big box pet stores, but it was just aponogetons. They grew pretty well in my 10 gallon for a couple of weeks, but once they got big, deficiencies started to show in the older leaves. They are a good starter plant because they will grow, but as a long-term plant, needs more care than I would say qualifies as low-tech
Anubias - nana and barteri
There are a wide variety of these, from tiny variations to very large species, but these ones are on the small end. The ones I got don't show a great difference in size, and now that I split both of them into smaller plants, I can't really tell the difference. They like to be attached to rocks or wood, with the rhizome above the substrate (not buried), but as far as I know the actual roots can be buried. I really like the look of having the roots exposed, but I'm sure some people might not. They grow very slow, so are undemanding, but I have had problems with algae growing on the broad leaves. Amano shrimp do a good job of keeping them clean.
Water Lettuce
This plant is great for beginners like me, because it will absorb a lot of nitrogenous waste directly from the water, which means easy to grow and makes the water quality better. It can also shade lower plants, so it might not be a great choice if you have very low light, but I think it will grow fine in lower light. It reproduces with runners, little miniature plants that sprout off the main one, and soon you will have many individual plants as the runners break from each other. I have had issues with brown algae (diatoms) growing on the roots, oddly enough, but that may be a combination of too much light and extra silicates from new substrate.
I will update this further when I have more time, I have to go do a water change on the 20, nitrates are high!
I just wanted to start a thread on good plants for low-tech (No CO2, low-moderate light, light or no ferts) set-ups. I personally just don't have the money for a CO2 system right now, and I don't think I have enough experience to do dirt, so I am sort of training myself on a couple small, low-tech tanks to start out with. I have been experimenting with various plants ever since I set up my 20 gallon a couple months ago, and have had some success and some failure, which is to be expected. I am lucky enough to have a good source for both plants and personal knowledge (thanks Cory), but I'm sure some people on here don't, so I will share some of my experiences and invite you all to add your own suggestions for low-tech plants.
I know there are a lot of other factors besides the ones I have mentioned, and if you have plants that generally fit but might have specific needs (e.g. root tabs/soil), mention them as well. As long as a plant can be reasonably accommodated in a low-tech tank, mention it and let us know what your experience with it is. I'm just going to go in the order in which I picked up the types of plants:
Aponogeton bulbs
I got a bulb pack like the ones you find at the big box pet stores, but it was just aponogetons. They grew pretty well in my 10 gallon for a couple of weeks, but once they got big, deficiencies started to show in the older leaves. They are a good starter plant because they will grow, but as a long-term plant, needs more care than I would say qualifies as low-tech
Anubias - nana and barteri
There are a wide variety of these, from tiny variations to very large species, but these ones are on the small end. The ones I got don't show a great difference in size, and now that I split both of them into smaller plants, I can't really tell the difference. They like to be attached to rocks or wood, with the rhizome above the substrate (not buried), but as far as I know the actual roots can be buried. I really like the look of having the roots exposed, but I'm sure some people might not. They grow very slow, so are undemanding, but I have had problems with algae growing on the broad leaves. Amano shrimp do a good job of keeping them clean.
Water Lettuce
This plant is great for beginners like me, because it will absorb a lot of nitrogenous waste directly from the water, which means easy to grow and makes the water quality better. It can also shade lower plants, so it might not be a great choice if you have very low light, but I think it will grow fine in lower light. It reproduces with runners, little miniature plants that sprout off the main one, and soon you will have many individual plants as the runners break from each other. I have had issues with brown algae (diatoms) growing on the roots, oddly enough, but that may be a combination of too much light and extra silicates from new substrate.
I will update this further when I have more time, I have to go do a water change on the 20, nitrates are high!
