I Am So Over It!!!!!!!!

[Lady Hobbs]

I have decided this morning that I am over trying to have planted tanks! I am tired of worrying about the right substrate, the right ferts, am I giving too much or too little. Tired of algae wiping everything out. Trying to come up with money to upgrade lights, worrying about CO2 dropping the pH too much at night and worrying about what plants will do well in my hard water and high pH. yadda, yadda, yadda

One wrong move, such as medicating with the wrong stuff or making one little mistake can wipe out months of work. I spend more time worrying about my darned plants than I do my fish!

I love my little 20 gallon that is planted with all low light plants. I will also do my 29 gallon in the same manner. But my 55 is coming apart today, sand will be going in and I am putting my brains back into my fish and off these bloody plants. I "might" put a couple swords in the tank but of course it won't be the ones I just killed two days ago.

Do I sound happy?

[NickFish]

ummmmm...........yes?

[tropfish]

haha, i thought that with the angels gone your troubles would be over. I started my planted tank small, 10g so i only needed two 10w flourescent bulbs, and i'm set. I have more intrest in the fish anyway, so i just stick with them.

[squirt_12]

o hobbs...you have just been having too many problems with your tanks. I would throw ina couple of the sword and see how they do.

I am the total opposite with my planted tank. I do nothing for the plants. Stick them into the gravel and put CO2 and then i leave them. No ferts...low light...like 2w/g.

[Rue]

Poor Hobbs! I don't know why your planted tanks weren't doing better for you!

[YaYgoldFish]

Im kinda like Squirt here, I have 20 watts in in my 25g tank and just added some stick ferts and a few times added hagen plant gro, and one of my plants is like 5 times longer than when I bought it, even after trimming a few times, all the other plants are growing and stuff...Except for any new tanks im getting, I wanna use minimal plants in them, they are hard work. Leaves everywhere,trouble feeding(food gets stuck in them), hard vaccuming the sand, etc.

[NickFish]

I just stick with easy plants like swords, java moss, java ferns, anacharis, anubias and 1 or 2 corkscrew vals. Co2 and the occasional fertilizer and my plants thrive with little help.
I do agree that the fish are way more important than the plants. Maybe just get 2 swords or some java ferns just to add a little foliage. That would be way easier.
Don't give up!

[southernbelle]

I am having the opposite problem in my 55 gallon. My plants are flourishing more than my fish and they shouldn't be because I am medicating this tank and the medications contain salt which shoudl technically kill my plants. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[Incredulous_Ed]

What's next? Reefs?
Jk!

[OscarFan]

I believe I said those words when my Oscar ripped ten dollars in plants out of the ground.

[Lady Hobbs]

The deed is done and the tank is now sand, rocks and a few plants.

[Ellen4God]

The deed is done and the tank is now sand, rocks and a few plants.

Do you feel like you can rest in peace now?

[Lady Hobbs]

I feel like I can start thinking of other things now. :)

[Ellen4God]

lol Well, that's good!!

[Lady Hobbs]

I'm not throwing in the towel yet.......just with that tank and for right now. I will stick with plants that do fine on low lights and not get into the high techie stuff for now. Too many other things I need right now to spend a fortune on one planted tank.

[Rue]

You were brave for trying...I'm more of a chicken...*bwakbwak* Which is why I bailed on a planted tank back in the spring...lol...I was all gungho until I got to the CO2 part...:help:

[gm72]

My algae is coming back. I'm just about done with this nonsense, especially hearing all of the members who don't do squat with their planted tanks and enjoy incredible results. Darnit.

[nanaglen2001]

Holla Hobbs

What a shame you are in such a bad mood concerning plants. Just a tip from me:

Just put the plants into the substrate (of course only the roots or the lower part of the stem without leafes) and leave them allone. Thats the way I handle my plants.

Either they grow then its fine, or the wont grow, then I know what I wont buy in future.

CO2, I found out its not really necessary, only if you want a streight PLANTED tank with only a few fish or shrimps.

One of the most hardiest plants I ever came up with is some, I guess, Cryptocoryne. The only problem is, the leafes of the plant can become pretty big (I found leafes which where about 48 inches long).

But its resistant to medium sized Cichlids, even when they dig like mad.

It would be great if someone could identify this plant for me. As I said I think its some Cryptocoryne, but I am not sure at all.

[Dave66]

Holla Hobbs

What a shame you are in such a bad mood concerning plants. Just a tip from me:

Just put the plants into the substrate (of course only the roots or the lower part of the stem without leafes) and leave them allone. Thats the way I handle my plants.

Either they grow then its fine, or the wont grow, then I know what I wont buy in future.

CO2, I found out its not really necessary, only if you want a streight PLANTED tank with only a few fish or shrimps.

One of the most hardiest plants I ever came up with is some, I guess, Cryptocoryne. The only problem is, the leafes of the plant can become pretty big (I found leafes which where about 48 inches long).

But its resistant to medium sized Cichlids, even when they dig like mad.

It would be great if someone could identify this plant for me. As I said I think its some Cryptocoryne, but I am not sure at all.

That's Crypt balansae, nanglen. Only when its very, very happy does it grow like that, so you're doing a good job with it. It usually tops out at 18 to 20 inches in the average tank.
If it was a rooted plant, that's what it is. If it was a bulb or corn, its an Aponogeton (A. boivinianus) which grows like mad and has long hammered leaves that look a lot like that Cryptocoryne.

Dave

[nanaglen2001]

@ Dave

Thanks for the prompt answer. Those plants have roots no bulb.

This plant I treat as I said in my post. Just into the substrate and then forget about it:c3:

And just because of your answer I could look up this plant. Great I got the perfect water for it :D

[Lady Hobbs]

My algae is coming back. I'm just about done with this nonsense, especially hearing all of the members who don't do squat with their planted tanks and enjoy incredible results. Darnit.

gm, I think our mistake is reading too much. These others here stick their plants in the gravel and forget it. They live or they die. And that's what I'm about to do myself with just lower light plants and no CO2. In my sand tank, I dumped some gravel where swords will be but whatever else I get had better like sand because that's what they're getting. (I ordered 14 vals.)

[Fishalicious]

I agree Hobbs... I have many tanks with no CO2 or High Lights and the plants are growing out of the tank without any effort from my side.

People read up too much and end up adding loads of crap to the tank which just unstablizes it all and end up with their plants looking worse....

If you try something or a new fertilizer etc. remember you have to keep it up for about a month to see if it gives the results you like before chucking it in after 2 weeks and trying something else again - that's just wasting money.

I say plant - throw in a plant fertilizer once a week with the water change and leave alone - give the plants a while to settle :19:

[Lady Hobbs]

In my sand tank, I have added gravel to the back corners where the swords will go since they do better in gravel than sand. Jam some Plant Tabs at the roots and forget it. Other than that, I will be putting in vals and have some other low light plants. If it works, it works. It it doesn't.....ol' well.

What confuses me is the low light and high light plants that are both in the same tank. I have crypts, moss, ferns and aniubus but then right next to them I have ludwigia that needs higher light. I actually probably have too much light for the low-light and not enough for the high-light plants.

My crypts, for instance, have done nothing. I know they start slow but holy cow, I haven't gotten even one new leaf in months. Could also be that I might have them too deep.

Here there are behind my nice water stained tank. They just are doing nothing but then, not dying either.

[nanaglen2001]

Those plants on the pic look really healthy and nice. So dont worry too much. Dont ask me how long those Cryptos of mine needed to start growing, they still arnt the fastest ones, but slowely but surely they grow.

Some plants are like some humans...some are faster than the others.

[SkarloeysMom]

Hobbs, look on the bright side, you have some plants that may not be growing much but they sure ain't dieing and they look good! Keep trying just maybe not as hard.

I killed my last round of plants and gave up again for a while. I may have to try again though with some different plants. Maybe I'll hit on one that works someday.

[A1cntrler]

I truly do not fully understand live plants as well. I have a 46 bow front that I have planted. Never had plants before, so I went to the LFS for help (really good one a HUGE fish section here) and they helped me out with ferts and light. I plopped them in and have to keep cutting them back. I take the exact same plants (cuttings) and give them to my brother with his 55, he has the same light, is using the same ferts and substrate, and the plants don't budge even a little bit in his tank. They don't die, but they don't grow either. The only variable that is different is the type of fish (all tropicals) and he has an Emperor 400 HOB AND a Fluval 305 on the tank, where I only have the Fluval 305.. His temp might be a few degrees higher too, but not by much He sounds about like you! I keep telling him to stick it out. He just built a CO2 system last week to see if that will help his plants out any, so we will see....

[nanaglen2001]

A few moments ago I found another example of a forgotten plant:19:

I got it about 8 months ago from a friend, and then it was a 3 leafes something. I put it into the sand and that was it.

In that tank I also threw in some Hornwart, which grows very very very nicely. Lets say it grows like nothing good and keeps the light away from the other plants which are also in that tank.

Today I ripped out about 5 litres of that Hornwart stuff and...tadaa...saw how nicely that forgotten plant which has to cope with light grew.

Forgive me the look of my tank, but Hornwart is a very good debris collector:14:

[Lady Hobbs]

Well, I'm back at it. Have ordered some vals and more swords. sheesh

[SkarloeysMom]

You go Hobbs! :19: I hope you have great success with the new plants! I almost bought a Java fern today but I chickened out.

[Algenco]

I just bought some more plants and it's all your fault!!
Your getting new plants and I couldn't stand it and just had to get some too:18:

[CAX474]

Plants Plants Plants!! what can I say, I have always had plants and I have never had a prblem with them. Plants need lenth of light as in 10-12hrs I dont use ferts ect and I have Sords, Violet, Ludwigia, Elodea, Javer Fern, Javer Moss and Bannana Lillies. they are thriving and keep me on my toes every week trinmming and replanting new cuttings ect. I dont touch my PH its at 7.4 from the tap and the water is aged only temp is at 26C 78F. so my advice chuck them in and leave them to nature and you might be supprized.