firefiend

So I'm getting ready to start my first Walstad style planted tank. It's a 10 gallon. I know very little about plants so I was hoping to get some input from people with more experience. Here is a rough layout of the tank and what kind of plants I'm looking for.

What kind of plants would you all suggest?

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dannymak

Hello there,


I'm going to be following this thread with interest as I'm in the same boat as you -just starting out with a 15g.

I know that java ferns are a great grower I currently have on in a goldfish tank and I do absolutley nothing to it with great results. From 5 single stems I now have a big bunch and its contsantly shedding new sprouts. If your new to plants it may be a good mid ground (5" tall mine) because its so easy to keep and I think looks great when its healthy.

mudboots

The are abouta bajillion or so plant options, but since you mention this is your first npt, go with the easier species that require little maintenece or care. Check out the plant finder link to get an idea of what types of plants require which types of care before you buy anything or ask for RAOK packages (free stuff plus the cost of shipping). Also, try to coordinate it so that you have ALL of your plants (about 5 times the amount you think you need) at set up time. This will help prevent the algae blooms and other mishaps in new tanks.

For that size tank java ferns are great mid-grounders, or even backgrounds in a 10 gallon, because they don't grow so fast that you can't keep up with them. For something a little different, you might want to go with needleleaf java fern.

For something aerial as you noted on your design, you might try some tiger hygro. The red will look nice against the greens of the java without overpowering it and they are easy to maintain whatever height. The on the other side go with maybe a sunset (hygro. also I think). It is light green with "sun" burst highlights and is really nice. It's leaves are a bit broader than the tiger, so you'll also get a texture difference. Another relatively easy plant are rotala sps.

For forground plants, my favorite slow grower is Marsilea; go with minuta because it's leaves stay smaller than drummundii. My favorite not-so-slow grower is Echinodorus tenellus. It is a green, grass-like foreground that will sparkle with pink to red highlights. Careful though, given a good home it will require a bit of maintenence to keep it from spreading beyond you planned boundaries. Also, depending on where you live, you may luck-out and find some Eleocharis parvula. It takes a little while getting acclimated, but makes a nice foreground plant as well. You could buy it I guess, but finding plants is a lot cheaper, plus you get to look at it and know you got it yourself.

For mosses, they are all easy IMHO. Fissidens are nice, but since you've got wood and rock, go with a couple different mosses to keep from having a monotonous texture. I've mostly got mosses collected in the wild and I have no idea what they are, but they do the job. I've have two clumps of fissidens, and they are really nice.

Anyway, take my advice with a grain, rather a Tablespoon, of salt. I'm a beginner myself, which is why I'm mostly familiar with the easier to grow species. But I've come to really like them, especially because I like not having to mess with super-high lighting, fertz, CO2, UV sterilizers, and whatever else seems to be common.

Most important thing is to take your time and be very, very patient. If everything that can go wrong does go wrong, you're tight on track.