[ozzysangel]

So, I have been trying forever (about 3 years) to get a planted tank setup, well I cannot get any thing to grow at all I have checked recheck and triple check everything, lighting substrate plants and it all dies. I see all these beautiful planted tanks and have to say whats your secret? Maybe I should just go with fake even though the fish wont like it much

 

[Sasami]

What's the tank like? Lighting, substrate, water parameters, etc. What have you tried to grow so far? And how did you plant whatever plants you got? Did you use any supplements (Flourish Excel, fertilizers, etc.)?

There are some plants I could recommend that are nearly impossible to kill but I need to at least know what kind of lighting you have .

 

[ozzysangel]

The tank is a 30 gallon breeder tank, substrate is Eco-Complete and gravel, I use 3 watts florescent per gallon, Macro Nutrients (Nitrogen, Phospherous, Potassium),and CO2. Anubias Nana, Bacopa caroliniana, Green Cabomba , and Myriophyllum heterophyllum.

 

[Sasami]

How did you plant them? How much of the nutrients were you adding and why? I usually don't recommend adding stuff like that unless you can test for them and aim for specific concentrations . I'd stop for now and just go with CO2 only.

I'm really surprised the Anubias didn't do well, I'm thinking that could be related to how it was planted or where it was placed. Hmm. We'll figure it out!

 

[ozzysangel]

See, I am not exactly sure as I had someone come into my house and start it for me from the aquatic nursery that I get my plants from. The guy told me to only add a thin layer of plant fertilizer every 6 weeks, and he told me to bury the roots and rhizome into the gravel. I guess the guy gave me some pretty wrong advice? Being a new person to this really I dont know the ins and outs.

 

[Sasami]

Anubias doesn't like to have its "roots" buried, it does best when lightly weighed down (not buried) or tied to some rocks, driftwood, etc. So that explains one issue. I'd try it again, Anubias is normally extremely hardy. Oh, and Anubias is a lower light plant. So try to place it in a more shaded area.

What happened to the Bacopa caroliniana? Did the leaves change color or anything before it died?

My Cabomba has always done best when weighted/tied down, floating, or only loosely planted. It doesn't like the stem to be totally buried. It's a plant that doesn't always transplant well so it might have just never acclimated to begin with. I'd give this one another shot.

I haven't kept Myrio in ages so maybe look that one up on planted aquarium websites. Mine wasn't planted very deeply...just enough to keep it down. It was in a tank with just gravel. I don't think it needs anything special so maybe this is a case of an unhealthy plant or maybe a plant that was buried too deep?

Here are some easy plants that would work, see if any are available in your area: Water Wisteria, Water Sprite, Echinodorus (there are a bunch of species), Sagittaria, Hygrophila, and other Anubias you haven't tried. If you have any shady sections, java ferns could be planted there. Those guys are the definition of hardy, ha.

 

[wishbone]

How about the water, are they free from any strong chemical solution?

 

[ozzysangel]

Yes, they water is free from chemicals. I will try it again with the suggestions you have made. I just have to keep telling myself that my tank inst going to look like one of the beautiful ones on here for a while and not over night.