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will it look funny or not if i mix real plants with fake plants??? or will it make the fake ones look really fake unless they are really identical to the real plant???

just curious. because i might want to put in some real plants then slowly work up to a full planted tank.

is it also ok if you mix plants from different continents along as they fit in your aquarium conditions???

Last edited by kj fishy-finn at 07-Jul-2005 17:38

Last edited by kj fishy-finn at 07-Jul-2005 22:24

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Hi,
I've never mixed plastic and live. I'm sure that we have
folks who have/do.. I would think that the difference would
become obvious, especially over time.

As far as mixing plants from different continents, "we" do
it all the time unless one is working on a specific
biotope and wants to stick to plants from a specific
continent.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I don't even know what continents my plants all come from. I have started a tank with plastic plants to give the fish cover then added live plants without removing the plastic. If they are in the back especially with a bushy or fast growing plant around them then you don't really notice. They just work as extra hiding places for the fish. I would think a plastic plant in somewhere easily seen such as in the front of all the live plants would look bad. It might work to fill in a hole temporarily if you don't have enough plants to really fill the tank or maybe under the filter if you have one strong enough that it smashes down your live plants. I guess the only way to really know is to stick one in there and see how it looks.

The best way to do plants IME is to plant it all at once instead of building up little by little - but I guess this is referring to a medium to high light tank. It probably wouldn't matter as much in a low light tank because nutrient balance isn't as hard.

As far as to how it would look - I have seen some pretty real looking fake plants that were silk, not plastic. These might blend in ok, but I'm sure you could still tell the difference.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

kj fishy-finn

will it look funny or not if i mix real plants with fake plants??? or will it make the fake ones look really fake unless they are really identical to the real plant???

What I would like to say I dont think my commets would be appreciated by many.

In my opinion it would look very funny. Either stick to one or the other. The old saying Fresh Is Best. Live plants are certainly more expensive and can be a big pain if the wrong selection is made.

FP has many members who can assist you to overcome all these problems before they start, in selecting the correct plants, lighting, and how to maintain them.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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I've mixed them, for a tall tank that couldn't support more than java fern, java moss, and anubias. It's actually worked quite well. No tank with fake plants is going to look entirely real, so IME what happens is the live plants improve upon that fake look.
As with any tank, though, my advice is to fill it. Leave swimming room, of course! - but a 2' tank with three plastic plants and a few live plants is going to look as terrible as the same tank with six live or six fake. When you really start to fill them in they'll look fantastic, fake or real. Add some nice bogwood or some well-chosen rocks, and you're improving upon what would probably be a nice tank even with just mid-quality realistic fakes.
And, of course, you can always test out which live species work well in your tank and slowly build up to all live, or improve your lighting down the road. There's not much point starting out with heavy planting of the typical low-light plants, after all; anubias and java fern won't do much to ease your cycle! Give them time to grow in, maybe try out some crypts or different mosses, some bolbitis or apons. Before you know it you'll be moving the plastic plants out to make room for the real ones.

-Molly
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Oh the tank in my mom's living room is half fake and half real. People that come over always ask if they are real or fake. When we say both they can't really tell which ones. It's planted in wendtii crypts and apongeton with tall fake plants in the back corners. It has about 1.5wpg of light. I'm sure anyone who has kept real plants will easily tell the difference and for those who strive for heavily planted tanks.. well there's a reason they do. A tank full of live plants instead of fake is what looks good to them. It's all opinion. That's why I suggest you toss some in and see what you like.
I don't really have the money to go out and buy all the plants for my tank at once. I end up adding as I go. Sometimes I start with some extra light I had laying around and low light plants then work my way up to 3-4wpg. There are some weeks or even months my tanks look really bad but I know I will balance it out again. Patience always pays off. My tanks just evolve slowly without any real plan. Where's the fun in knowing how it will look in the end?

thanks for your comments. i was wondering how it looks, because i would not want to add all plants to my fake planted tank but work my way up to it possibly so that i can get a feel for it and learn how to do it right. then i can also experiment and see what looks good and works in my tank.

Last edited by kj fishy-finn at 08-Jul-2005 16:37

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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