[wapsilady]

Hey y'all!

I am new to Aquatic Plant Central and find myself obsessed with planted tanks! I have been keeping fish for about 4 years now and about 1 year ago I added some java fern, java moss, and anubias. It is sparsely planted and all plants are working well with the limited lighting in my 40 gallon aquarium. I used to have 4 large fancy goldfish in it that did quite well but I am looking to free up some space and will be downgrading into a 3 gallon aquarium that will house my betta, snails, and in the future some shrimp. I want to fill my tank with plants that will thrive and look beautiful. I will be purchasing my 3 gallon tomorrow and moving everything over to it then. The three gallon comes standard with LED's but I am willing to add additional lighting at a later date if this will not be adequate. Plants that will be transferring from my 40 gallon include:

Java Fern-Microsorum pteropus
3 aponogeton plants grown from bulbs purchased at PetSmart
1 lotus-Nymphaea pubescens(I believe) purchased as a bulb with the aponogeton, it is a beautiful reddish purple color
a green lilly that came from my mom's koi pond (If it actually survives to outgrow my tank I will be putting it back into the pond)
and I wish to add an anubias, water wysteria, a marimo moss ball, and possibly some anacharis to the mix.

I do not have any great stores around me to purchase aquatic plants from. I work at PetSmart so that is where I have gotten all of my plants so far-however my store does not have a lot of options other than the ones alreaday mentioned. We do sell Amazon swords as well and would love to add one but am not sure it would survive in my tank. The rest of the plants that we sell are not "true" aquatic plants and do not thrive continuously submerged (i.e. aqua fern, umbrella plant, gold or white ribbon)

I am ready and willing to use fertz on my tank but am still unsure what I should use? How do I decide what fertz to use and when for the plants that I have?

I really want to "pimp" out this tank despite it's small size (I hope I don't go into shock after selling my 40 gallon) I think some of the most beautiful planted tanks I have seen so far have bee very small is size.

I will also be using sand for the first time in this new tank...I like the way it looks better than gravel. Let me know what you think! I am excited to get more familiar with the forum as well!

~wapsilady

 

[Michael]

Hi wapsilady, and welcome,

Yes, the obsession begins!

We don't know much about LED lights yet, so it is hard to say if the ones on your three gallon will be enough. The good news is that a spiral compact fluorescent with 6500K is a great plant light for small tanks. You can get these at Walmart, made by GE.

Most of the plants you list will rapidly outgrow your 3 gallon. Long term you are likely to be able to keep only the Java fern, anubias, and moss ball. Wisteria might work if you keep it trimmed. But you could make a very nice design using just these plants.

Fortunately, there is a solution--don't sell that 40 gallon! It would make a great planted tank.

Sand is OK if kept in a thin layer, no more than an inch. It can compact and create anaerobic spots in the substrate if deeper. But an inch should be enough for a 3 gallon.

Good luck!

 

[wapsilady]

Fortunately, there is a solution--don't sell that 40 gallon! It would make a great planted tank.

Sand is OK if kept in a thin layer, no more than an inch. It can compact and create anaerobic spots in the substrate if deeper. But an inch should be enough for a 3 gallon.

Good luck!

I don't want to sell it! lol Realistically though I live in a very small apartment and will likely be moving multiple times within the next few years...and I just don't want to move the dang thing again...too much work. As soon as I am somewhere a little more permenant I will definitely be getting something larger than a 40 gallon.

As for the sand, I do have trumpet snails that I believe should help aerate the sand and keep the anaerobic spots from forming? I would like to hear your thoughts! An inch of sand sounds like plenty for me either way!

~wapsilady

 

[Michael]

The trumpet snails will definitely help.

 

[Tex Gal]

:welcome: You are quite adventurous! As Michael said, that is some plant list for a 3 gallon! Being in the U.S. you can take advantage of our For Sale forum. We have a great For Sale forum here. I pretty much buy all my plants (if I get new ones) from fellow hobbyist here. The plants are healthier, all submerged growth, usually more quantity and are cheaper. What a winning combination! Good luck with your tank!

 

[wapsilady]

:welcome: As Michael said, that is some plant list for a 3 gallon! Being in the U.S. you can take advantage of our For Sale forum. We have a great For Sale forum here. I pretty much buy all my plants (if I get new ones) from fellow hobbyist here. The plants are healthier, all submerged growth, usually more quantity and are cheaper. What a winning combination! Good luck with your tank!

Yeah...it was so adventurous that I left the store today with a 15 gallon instead of a 3 gallon LOL! I've already got the sand, water, filter and heater in, just biding my time to begin adding plants after the sand settles a little. Thank you for the great tip to buy plants from the For Sale forum...I will check it out now!

 

[alphaprime1]

New member also and close to you. NW IL downriver about 50 miles. You're right about the poor selection of plants and plant info in the area. Been a fish fan for 40 years and just recently gotten into plants in my tanks and while it's been trial and error I've learned alot justing reading over the postings on here. Good luck and my Anubias in the 55 just bloomed!