I want a plant

[emeraldmaster]

Have you guys got any sugestions on a plant that is easy to care for and does not mind the high light levels of my tank?

I leave the tank light on from 5am to 10pm, that is when i leave for school and return home at night. I haven't the slightest idea what type of light it is, it came with the tank and i found it on the side of the road.

The tank is a 29 gallon tall tank with a gravel bottom, i hate gravle but it is all that i have besides red clay. it also has live rock.

Here is a pic of the tank...



The white rocks are the live rock and unfortuanitly make the water slightly hard. So i do once weekly water changes to keep the pH away from the 8 marker.

I was thinking about taking a moss ball and taking it apart. Then laying the strands on the bottom. This is because i heard that it can form a natural carpet. Then getting 3 more to just hang out in there. I am going to make a plant box to hang in the back, thinking of lucky bamboo for there. The some sort of large floating plant to place on the top of the water.

If this is not a good plan, please tell me a good one to do instead. I would like to not pay too much money, even so much as collecting plants from our ponds. So cheap plants are good plants. But i don't mind spending money. Thank you!

[emeraldmaster]

BTW... i've seen this green algea looking stuff in our lake. It seems to not do anything bad, is it okay to use? We have some dangerouse algea in Oklahoma but that is the Red Algea, not this stuff...

[aokashi]

lol, Try the alge at your own risk.

as for plants, if ur light is as high as you claim, you should be able to grow any plant that doesnt require CO2....

moss ball are expnsive. but moss ball carpets have been done and dont need much maintainance

[emeraldmaster]

thank you. i just learned 5 minutes ago that i will be given a 20 gallon tank fir free, i think that i will move the tropicle fish in there and try to plant both... still a thought!

[aokashi]

well I always recommend to plant a bit first and use the clippings of one tank for another. it's much cheaper that way

[JackisLost]

by high light levels, you really meant long light duration, right?

[aokashi]

I do 18 hours of light occassionally. oP might want to invest in a $5 timer

[emeraldmaster]

yep light stays on for a long time. so, get a timer. and i have never planted a tank before so i cant use the clippings, but i will for the other tank.

[Gryphon]

I don't think the long photoperiod will do much damage to plants except let algae take over on the slow growers (anubias, etc). The type of light you have is more important. Is it an incandescent light or a fluorescent one? If it is fluorescent, do you know the color spectrum on it (the K rating)?

As for plants, I'd suggest fast growing stem plants, such as water wisteria or green cabomba.

[emeraldmaster]

i havent the slightest idea what type of bulb it is, it is one of those tube like bulbs that is about three foot long. it is very hot, can keep the tank at 70*F all by it self. that is all that i know about it.