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Looking to build a community tank. I already have a 20 gallon tank with cichlids. I'm thinking a betta and some tetras and whatever else I can put in.

So, do I really need live plants? I prefer to use sand and maybe those plastic plants since I dont like leaving the light on all day. I have this thing with leaving something on all day while I'm away. Oh and the tank will not receive direct sunlight.

Basically no, you don't need live plants, however all my tanks do have some live plants. I understand where you're coming from about leaving things on....*shrug* guess it's just the way some of us are raised...I still do a double take when I'm leaving the house and see the tank light on.
Not all plants need all that much light, and since flourescent lights are more energy efficiant than incandescent if you calculate the ammount of energy used over a 24 hour time period you may find that a tank with 1-2wpg may actually use less electricity than a clock radio.

To answer the original question, no you dont' need them, and with sand you may in fact be better off with fake ones.
HTH a bit ...and welcome to the FishProfiles family .

^_^

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To get the benefits of live plants without much light, perhaps something like java moss or java fern? Those are nifty plants that you can easily attach to driftwood, rocks or other decor, so the sand substrate wouldn't be an issue. Plus, they're hardy plants, and I know at least the java fern isn't eaten by fish... must taste bad or something.

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

you don't have to use live plants.
live plants are a headache if you don't like them. they need better soil, they need all kinds of minerals, you should keep track of them too, and to that you have to study.
they're also some more biomass in your tank, interacting with water quality in different ways (more studying).
if you don't want to mess with them, don't use them. your tank could be as healthy without them.

on the other hand, they're interesting to have, and they add beauty to the tank.

Hello everyone! Just joined this forum today.

I am also considering a 10-20 gallon tank, and since it will get approx 1 hour of direct sun per day, live plants should help to keep down the formation of algae.

But what about the substrate? I was under the impression that coarse sand is better than gravel for live plants.

Looking forward to chatting with all of you!

All best,
Joe