Plant recommendations please

[AdamR]

I am looking for recommendations on what plants to look for at the auction in March. 

I have a (waterless) 20g long so it is only 12.5" tall, with double T5 (18w each), if I have CO2 it will probably be a diy with a ladder which I hope to pickup at the auction.

I know very little about planted aquariums, I am doing some reading at the moment.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

AdamR

[irene]

Things that grow well for me at low lighting:

hygro difformis, pennywort,vals, java moss, java fern, crypts.

'easy' plants that did not do well at lower light levels:

watersprite, egeria densa, other types of hygro.

It seemed to me that the addition of CO2 even at lower light levels allows a much broader range of plants to be grown.

Just my personal experience.

Irene

[kennyman]

In a small tank you could try some bacopa and ludwigia for background and a couple of cryptocorynes in the midzone with a java fern for variation in leaf texture.

Watch out for that vallis. It quickly grows 4-6 feet long once it gets established. It gets crazy trying to keep such large plants in a small space. Even in my 55 I have to pull Vallis every few weeks. Once it hits the other side of the tank it blocks too much light. That is 20" up and 4 feet along the surface! Makes great compost

You have plenty of light with that setup for most anything except very low growing groundcovers and intensely red plants. I picked up a copy of Peter Hiscock's "Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants" when I stared a planted aquarium. It is a good book for learing the basics and has a nice simple library of common aquarium plants. Easily worth the $25 at a local store.

[fischkopp]

A 20g long is a nice size to start a planted tank! The fact that you will be using T5 lighting on an only 12" tall tank provides you already high-light conditions! CO2 is mandatory in my opinion. I have great success with a similar setup featuring a 15g tank.

From my experience stay away from any plant that grows big - they will take over the tank very fast and shade all the other plants - not good. So try not to use any Aponogeton, common amazonas swords and straight vals.

You can use carpeting plants, hair grass is very nice if it gets full light. Crypts are rated low light most of the time, but due to their size they are idea for any "short" tank. But you will also need some fast growing stem plants, just to take up the nutrients before algae gets a chance. You can try any, even red ones, but be aware that you will have to prune every other week. I really like pearl weed too and is doesnt seem too grow as fast as stem plants. Also spiral vals are nice, and they usually dont gro more then 2ft.

And avoid any floating plants - they just waste your light ...

Have fun