55g Plant stocking help wanted
 

I am going out tomorrow to pick up some plants for my first planted tank. It's a standard 55g tank with sand substrate. My water parameters are: pH 7.8-8.0, GH 150ppm and KH about 300ppm. Single 48" T8 bulb will be right around the 6500K range.

Fish will most likely be:
Cherry Barb- 8
BN Pleco- 1
Turquoise Rainbow- 8
Platy- 8
Peppered Cory- 3

1077 and Byron recommended Vallisneria,Water Sprite, Pennywort, and Sword Plants.

I had researched some and thought these might do well for me with low light and easy care:
Watersprite
Anacharis
Java Fern
Golden Nana
Java Moss
Lace Java Fern
Philippine Java Fern

Thoughts?

I belive all of those plant will work fine in your tank. Please post pictures when you can I love to see peoples tanks.

Agree. The Anubias and Java Fern varieties attach to wood or rock, and are low light so in shade or under floating plants they will be good. These are very slow growing, whereas those suggested previously are fast growing. Fast growing plants are always beneficial, so just don't go all slow-growing.;-)

Will the Java Fern be ok in the sand as long as I don't bury the rhizome?

It should. It is usually best to attach it to a piece of wood or rock, it will then send the true roots down into the substrate. Sometimes it does OK just in the substrate, but there is a risk the rhizome will rot if it is buried.

I'll watch them to see how they do. I have the Anubias on the drift wood now. The only rocks in the tank now are two pieces of petrified wood. I could see about attaching the plants to them.