fake vs. real

slugfrompluto

I have read a lot of postings about real plants, but I am still wondering if it is worth going with real plants. I have never done a real plant tank. Right now i don't have either real or fake plants. I am on a budget, and i really would like to go with real plants. What is all involved into doing real plants. By the way i have a 40 gallon tank that I want to do this to.

lilgirlkat

I'm brand new to live plants, myself. Not only does my tank look better, the fish are happier, and it seems to maintain itself. If it were up to me, all my tanks would be planted, but I haven't put the effort into researching brackish water plants.

I say go for it. They're awesome. It gives the tank such a great look. :)

aspects

live plants actually provide chemical filtration to the tank, as well as decoration. absolutely the better choice.

what plants you use will ultimately be determined by how mcuh you want to put into it. if you just want throw and grow, go with low light applictions. the usual suspects consist of Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubias, some amazon swords, and Duckweed. im sure theres a ton more available for low light applications, but these are the ones you see most often.

slugfrompluto

Thanks for the input. I think i will go with the plants. I have rocks in there now, is that ok? or do i need something else.

FuzzAz

Plants can be a hobby in itself, bottom line is they require more cost and maintence. But if thats okay with you than go for it. I think they look way better. To keep the costs down look for plants with low light requirements and are considered hardy and easy to care for.

jerrypunch

I'm working on a new concept.....live plants and fake fish. We've always done it the other way, live fish and fake plants...why not the other way around?


jp

Lupin

Fake fish? Haha! Plastic ones?lol

Fake plants are so tacky. Yuck! Try low lighting plants for a start. Java Moss, Java ferns, Anubias and cryptocorynes.

onefish2fish

i have some silk fish, i spend lots of fertilizers but you wouldnt believe how much i save on food


to the original poster, a good thing about real plants is that once you start getting growth you can propogate alot of plants manually making more for yourself (some send out runners or multiply themselves) the next best thing would be silk plants however they come with a nice price tag but look very realistic. low light plants are prob. you best bet, look into plants requirements before purchasing to ensure you can meet their needs, be weary of chain stores as its been known for them to sell non-aquatic plants (as well as some LFS) just research before you make choices and you should be fine. your going to want about 2-3 watts per gallon with 6500k full spectrum bulbs. gravel is fine for substrate but your prob. going to want to substitute nutrients with root tabs (esp. with root demanding plants) and most likely dose liquid fertilizers. again research before you buy and welcome to the forum.

slugfrompluto

thanks for all the laughs and info. I went ahead and did the real plants and it looks amazing! Thank you again!! I'm glad to be apart of this forum. It's fun but waay too addicting.

willow

any pictures ? :)