What is needed to keep plants?

MARIOPARTY53

I know subtrates, and fertilzers

What else? I meen things i need yo know, Etc

I have a 60 gallon
Gravel in the tank
Freshwater
ph is 7.2
And there is 2 tiger barbs in the tank

okiemavis

Other than ferts, you need lighting. Actually lighting is going to be the priciest part. What type of plants are you looking to grow?

iamntbatman

Are you still thinking about keeping Discus in the tank? If so here's a list of species, taken from Animal-World, that can survive in the higher temperatures Discus need to thrive:

Discus generally like the comfort of tall plants, so the jungle vals should be especially important.

MARIOPARTY53

yeah I still plan for discusthanks for the idea of those plants :)

And Is there a certian light I need?

iamntbatman

Well, what kind of lights do you have already? I would say medium lighting should be good because the Discus don't really appreciate bright lighting. With the tall jungle vals, the light levels lower in the tank aren't going to be very high, so you should get plants for the lower levels that require low lighting conditions, like Java Fern and Anubias.

Looking at the picture of your tank in the freshwater photos section, it looks like you have the plastic canopies with the separate strip lighting? I have some of those on my tanks, but the light is pretty weak.

I think two of the 24" versions of these would be good:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...8&pcatid=11418

In the description, it says they come with 50/50 bulbs. You would want to ask to have those swapped out with regular daylight bulbs for freshwater use.

okiemavis

Sounds like a good lighting plan to me. Batman's right- swords & rotala will probably do the best in higher temperatures (Discus should be around 86 degrees).

Another option for lighting is the coralife aqualight which comes in a "freshwater edition" which means it already has the right bulbs:
http://www.marineandreef.com/Freshwa...p/res53014.htm

Or, if you already have a lighting fixture, you could do a retrofit to the light to make it stronger.

MARIOPARTY53

that covers it thanks

iamntbatman

Just to point something out: the lights okiemavis showed you are a bit more expensive than the ones I linked you to, but that brand is definitely one of the better brands when it comes to aquarium lighting, so it might be worth the extra cost in the long run. Also, they already come with the correct bulbs, and since those bulbs can be expensive that's a big advantage.