Hey guys,

I wanted to see what everyone thought about this...

I have several bunches of anachris and a few amazon swords that I am wanting to add to my new 40 gallon. Right now, the tank has a single tube strip light with an extremely bright 25 watt bulb. It's even brighter than my 29 gallon, and the swords in it are growing very well. Do you think the swords would at least SURVIVE in my 40 gallon with the 25 watt? I'm not really concerned right now with them growing, I just don't want them to die.

What do you guys think? Do you know of any low light plants that might work with my tank?

Absolutely. I have some Amazon Swords in a 30 tall with low light and they do ok. I use ferts, but they did their best growing when I was using at least and up to 2 watts per gallon. Right now, they are getting less than a watt per gallon and they get fertilizer on less than a regular basis. They are growing slower, but that's fine by me. The Convict Cichlid in the tank perfers the dimmer tank. I also have a bit of Anacharis floating. I have two other tanks with similar scenarios. I backed the light and ferts off a bit to slow the growth, but I noticed Swords need iron and potassium in particular.

Plants grow slower in tanks. What I've done is grow them Outside in buckets and then put them in.

low light plants: 2W and below: cryptocoryne, java fern, java moss

Anubias? I have a few of these in my low light tanks, but I like the crypts best. There is such a variety of crypts and you can have a "bushy" looking plant and color even with low light.

Two plants I've managed to keep at low light: java moss and hygrophillia (spelling... ?).

I'll have to give those a try. I'm looking to stock my 40 with some plants.

i have herd that live plants are hard to maintain! is that true and................. how do you maintain them :music:

Live plants aren't too bad. They do better if you have some way of getting CO2 into your tank, whether it's injected, or DIY. Depending on which plants you get, ones that use nutrients from the water column, or those that get nutrients through their roots, you may have to have a good substrate. I've used Eco-complete substrate, but I've heard of others having great results out of flourite.

Live plants help to reduce algae, oxygenate the water, lower your nitrates, and make a healthier environment for your fish. It also is natural and really creates a beautiful environment. Live plants grow and can be propagated, or cut and plant it elsewhere to have a completely new plant.

Planted tanks are a lot of fun and are really rewarding if you take the time to research the needs of the tank.

Good luck and you'll have to let us know.

I'd try anachris. I had a lot of luck with it. It's easy to grow, grows fast, helps keep algae down, and really oxygenates the water. It's usually pretty cheap too.

I'm researching and getting ready to plant my 29 gallon. I want to try something new, and I don't have anywhere to put a new tank right now. So, I'll work on one of my current tanks!

Although, I would LOVE to have a new tank <_<

I'm going to get either some eco-complete or some fluorite and just start in one corner and gradually mix in the substrate and plant over time.

Sound like a decent plan?

I'm planning to go with low-light plants.

:D