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Community tank with cories, tetras, the works

The only other decorations I'm looking into are some fossils I found upstate. I have a big chunk about 18"x3"x2" and some little pieces that will be in the background and on the floor.(Don't care if they get algae, already have a thred on releasing chemicals, I'll test them first)

I want some plants for the tank. I have no idea what, but nothing too rare (can't find it!) or too common (come on). It doesn't have to be too easy to care for, but it should be able to take a few hits as I'm just a beginner. I want some short plants for the front and some tall plants to come out of the gaps between rocks. I'd also like to steal the hanging garden idea and put some med. sized plants in the background.

Any ideas?

What are the lights and any CO2 on the tank?

I suggest rotala indica....does good in 2wpg, grows in red @higher wattages. Not too common but should be fairly easy to find.

^_^ [hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

Lighting = nothing special. Run of the mill flourescent fixture you'd get at a chain store. Where do I get CO2? If I can find it, I guess I'll buy some.

DJTJ,

I would like to recommend the dwarf lotus and the dwarf anabus that I have in the front of my tank. I am not sure of the scientific names, but I have posted a close up of them for you to look at.

Good luck with the hanging gardens. Hope it works out for you as well.

manborg attached this image:

I would up your lighting for sure, especially if its a 30 gallon tank.

And as far as CO2, I didn't get anything fancy that they tried to push on me at the store. I bought the cheapest CO2 distributor they had and I just add it manually every day. My plants are loving it and its not costing me an arm and a leg!

Without upping the lighting you're not going to have success with anything other than java fern and other very low lights. And they are likely to grow very slowly.
Do a google search for DIY CO2, or look online for storebought "DIY" CO2 kits. I know both big als and that fish place carry them, as do most chain stores. 30 gallons is pushing it a bit on DIY type CO2 set ups but you will see an advantage...if you have the lighting for it that is .

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

It doesn't have to be too easy to care for,

Sorry it does, if your set up won't support most plant life. Otherwise you'll just be throwing the money spent on plants away.

With the standard lighting there's not much that will survive, but it's still possible to have a nice tank. Low light tanks with lots of hardscape (rocks and wood) can look very good if done properly.

Anubias (small ones like Nana or Nana var.Petite) in front of the rocks, Wendelov fern between the rocks and Cryptocorenes behind the rocks/fossils is a winner. Can't go wrong, will give you a very natural a good looking display.

Make sure the rocks are all the same type and color. Take care in arranging them, put them in step back and look see if it looks good, re-arrange as neccessary, you might have to try a few layouts until you hit on the one that looks best. Make it look natural, it shouldn't look "arranged". Then plant, postion the plants so as the plant and rock each show the other off.

When using rocks it usually looks good if the front first couple of inches of foreground is totally clear. Looks very natural, gives the impression of a riverbank, as this is often how it's arranged in nature.

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