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I want to plant my new 40 gallon long tank. How many low-light plants can I put in it with no CO2? I have an All Glass dual strip light with two 32W tubes in it. Thank you.

Short answer: a lot.

I love low light plants, especially anubias and crypts. You can have an awesome tank with that set-up. They don't grow very fast, so you need to control nutrients in the water column to prevent algae from taking over.

The only draw back to low-light plants is price. Anubias can be relatively expensive, so it will cost a lot to "fill out" a tank as big as a 40L with them.

In any case, depending on the look you want, it's probably best to add everything you want in one shot. How dense do you want your tank to look?

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Fill 'er up As many as you like.

Don't worry about C02 it's not neccessary.

Actually with a non co2 tank more plants help. Having more plants helps take out the extra nutrients. Quantity kinda makes up for the lack of fast growth that Co2 would provide.

More is always better.

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So if I were to purchase a 30-40 gallon low-light plant package, would it be enough, or not? I think the package I'm looking at is 30 plants. (They choose according to your set-up) I'd like to have a densely planted tank. Will my lighting be sufficient? Will cories get tangled up in the plants? I have 8 little guys in the tank. Thanks for your quick responses.

I agree with crypts and anubias for low light. Anubias can be expensive, but maybe you could use one as a centerpiece.

Another thing I like about crypts is they have daughter plants which can be separated and replanted. With three small crypts I eventually filled out the front of an entire tank.

One of the first plants I purchased and have had great luck with is anacharis. It can be used as a floater, but I have it planted in bunches. I have to give it trims at least once a week.

I don't know if it's considered low light but I also like dwarf sag, which is more of a ground cover. Again I've gotten lots of 'babies' from it and am getting the grass effect I originally bought it for.

I only bought a plant package once. Depending on the site you order from they're often a good deal cost-wise. What I didn't like is that it seemed to be a lot of many different plants, whereas I wanted only a few types in larger numbers. It really depends what you're looking for.

I'll leave lighting info for the experts here, which I definitely don't qualify as

Here's a pic of my tank with the anacharis & dwarf sag:

Theresa_M attached this image:


edit: I forgot about the cories...in this tank I have a group of pygmy cories, who are normally very active but when they want quiet time they rest in the corner behind the anacharis. Shouldn't be any problems with cories & plants

Last edited by Theresa_M at 16-May-2005 10:34[/font]

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Caviar - which low light package are you looking at? If you provide a link we can help out a little more.

EDIT: And your cories will certainly not be harmed by the plants - they may actually be happier with them. Plants provide natural cover and comfort zones for smaller shoaling fish like cories.

Last edited by NowherMan6 at 16-May-2005 09:53

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The site I've been looking at is www.aquaticscapes.com They seem to be cheaper than others. They fill package orders based on your set-up, lighting etc. I had ordered a couple plants from them before when I tried planting in a 10gal. They were very nice, clean, healthy plants and not skimpy, so I thought I'd try them again. Nice pic, Theresa. That's what I want, nice and full looking. The package I'm considering is $39.99, I think, for 30 plants.

That's an interesting concept that have there - you just tell them your lighting and CO2 and the look you want, and they put it together for you.

However, you may want to look through different listings of low light plants to see what actually looks good to you, so that you can tailor the order a bit more. Plus, generally speaking, larger groups of the same plant tend to look better than many small groups of different plants. Check out this site, then go to "advanced search", then under "light conditions in the aquarium" select "low". You can also fill out other options. Scroll through the plants listed and see what stands out. Keep in mind some plants need more maintenence than others, so have an idea of how much work you want to do on your tank before ordering

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Back in the saddle!

Their prices do seem good and I like the fact that they tailor the packages to your tank needs. I always buy from [link=Aquatic Plant Depot]http://www.aquaticplantdepot.com/" style="COLOR: #FFCC99[/link]. Their prices and shipping costs are similar but they don't have that flexibility with their packages.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Well, I won't be scrubbing the kitchen floor this afternoon! Thanks for all the great advice and links. I'll be busy for the rest of the day making decisions, decisions on what I'm going to do. I'll send pics as the "construction" progresses.

Caviar

Plenty is certainly the way to go. Do some research first. You will want the plants suitable for your tank, water, temp, ph, hardness, they must be compatable with each other, size, and shape.

Finally select a minium number and not just buy a lot of species plants, Select carefully and wisely.

At the moment I am selecting some plants for my 40Lt tank and I have spent many hrs planing and doing the research work.

Keith

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Thanks to all of you for your helpful responses. I didn't realize this would be such a project! I'm getting carpal tunnel from all the browsing and reading.