OldFishLady and other planted tank people --e conomical, Reliable Plant Sources?

[BettaQi]

Hi all!

Now that Craigslist has brought me 3 additional tanks, I realize that buying plants at PetSmart is going to be unrealistic.

I've been looking on eBay and Aquabid for the following:

Hornwort

Java moss

Java fern

I had read somewhere about a reddish low light Ludwig, but I can't find the link again.

I am a little nervous!

This week cleaning and setting up substrate. In addition to water changing the temporary housing.

No heaters necessary until winter.

I need filters for the 10, 5 and 2.5 that I bought yesterday.

Wll start cycling the Fluval Spec V after cleaning the 2.5 Craigslist.

[registereduser]

I really like the AquaTech filters that WalMart sells. They are QUIET. They have a permanent sponge inside to trap and keep BB and I have not had to change the filter catridge yet and it has been 8 months. They come in 4 sizes:

http://www.aqua-tech.biz/sites/aquat...nu_id=34&id=56

[Aus]

I'm in Australia, so my resources won't be much help to you. But I can share that I have had very positive experiences with 'local' planted tanks forums where the members post plant cuttings and excess plants to each other. For around $40 in one 'pack' I received over $150 worth of plants - so many that it filled a 10 gallon NPT and most of a 3 foot tank, with a bucketful of java fern left over and lots of moss too. It was economical, and I got great advice from the sellers, too. I think it's very worth a shot, people do like to share!

I'd send you a bucketful of java fern, but customs might not like that. :D

[Oldfishlady]

Its been a really long time since I have had to buy any plants since I propagate my own. But I have seen some really nice deals on plant packages on Aquabid.

Other great places to look for plants-Local aquarium clubs-google your state/location and see if you have one.

Depending on what kind of planted tank you are going for-The plants can change water change and care needs.

Two of the plants you have listed are nice plants, however, they are slow growers and low feeder. The hornwort on the other hand can be a fast grower and big eater-but sometimes they can be picky and cause more of a mess.
None of those plants on your list are rooted plants except for the Ludwgia-Hornwort is best used as a floater or it can be draped on objects in the tank. It tends to get hair algae floating since it is so close to the light source. Both the java fern and moss need to be tied to something.
The Ludwigia is a very nice stem plant and mine has kept the red-gold color, however, it tends to get leggy and drop lower leaves in low to mod lighting-It can be picky sometimes-but this is with about every plant.

Other nice plants that tolerate low-mod light-
*Bronze crypt-easy to grow rosette and will give a nice splash of color and when happy will take over the tank and spread like crazy.
*Naja grass-this is a staple stem plant in my NPT-it can be used floating or rooted
*Rotala-nice stem plant that is reddish/gold in color to give a nice contrast to all the green
*Sags and vals-both rosette plants are nice to give some height and different shapes with the corkscrew type that stay a bit shorter. Depending on what type you get can vary in height from 2in to 6ft. My jungle vals get well over 5ft when I pinch their tops.
*Cabomba-nice stem plant that you can get in green, red, purple, however, sometimes they won't keep the red/purple in too low of light-This plant will give that nice bushy look. I have some that grow 3ft long-I pinch them and re-plant the stem on a weekly basis...
*Hygrophilia-several different types of stem plants-Difformis or water wisteria is a nice easy plant. Corymbosa the wide leaf and the stem will take on a woody look. Siamensis-the thin leaf-it looks a lot like a willow tree in my tanks and will take on a woody look to the stem too. All easy to propagate-pinch the top and re-plant and the H. difformis I will strip the leaves and let them float for a week and soon they have roots and ready to plant.
*Water lettuce is one of my favorite floaters-I love the look of the roots hanging down in the water column and one the favorite places surface dwelling fish like Betta and guppies-especially guppy fry love to hang out and feed in.
*Frogbit and duckweed are nice floaters too, however, they can take over and sometimes clog the intake of the HOB filters-Once you have this plant-it can be hard to get rid of it...lol...
*Red water lily-Nymphaea stellata-this is a cool bulb-I love the look of the red heart shaped leaves floating on the surface and the male Betta love to nest under it and the female will often hop on top of the leaf to hide or rest.

What kind of substrate do you plan

And most important-lights-proper color temp bulb are the driving force behind successful planted tank. You can add all the ferts in the world and without the right lights the plants can use it.
Proper lights don't have to be expensive either unless you want them to be. I get all my light bulbs I use on all my planted tanks in the lighting dept-not the aquarium dept. Much cheaper since they need to be changed out every 12 months-and I am looking for is Florescent daylight bulbs 6500k-watts vary based on length and while watts is still used as a general guideline for wpg- its not as important as the K or kelvin-the color temp.

[BettaQi]

I am afraid to get an Aquabid account in case I "accidentally" click on some nice fishes!