# Small planted aquariums



## Joylynbug (Jul 31, 2017)

Hey people,
I am wondering what you people think about planting a 2.5 gallon aquarium. I myself have never done a planted tank before and I have researching hardy, low-light plants. I am hesitant to go ahead with doing a planted tank since I am so new with this and I am the kind of person who worries about the worst case scenario happening and it being a disaster. :serious: 
A couple of questions as well... 
-About how much more maintenance do live plants add to an aquarium?
-Would it be alright to attach plants that didn't need to be planted in substrate onto a fake rock decoration? 

Anyways I was just wondering thoughts on having a small planted tank, plus those two random questions above. 
Thanks!


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## khaotickross (May 28, 2017)

Joylynbug said:


> Hey people,
> I am wondering what you people think about planting a 2.5 gallon aquarium. I myself have never done a planted tank before and I have researching hardy, low-light plants. I am hesitant to go ahead with doing a planted tank since I am so new with this and I am the kind of person who worries about the worst case scenario happening and it being a disaster. :serious:
> A couple of questions as well...
> -About how much more maintenance do live plants add to an aquarium?
> ...


With most low light plants you Have much added maint. And you can attach plants to fake decor, I personally like using the bases from plastic plants as an anchor for my plants like java fern and anubias. Having a small tank can be fun but finding plants that don't take up too much room. 

And worse case is a few plants die. It happens to probably everyone,


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## Lekoguy (Dec 1, 2016)

Sure! - Why Not?

Here's a pic of my 2.5. gal.

Actually, I find there is less maintenance on a planted tank. The plants are natural filters. Yes, you can attach some plants (rhizome) to decor. Super glue or tying with cotton thread are the usual methods.

Here is a site which might give you some ideas:

Betta or small Aquarium plants

Ask all the questions you want and have fun.


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## Joylynbug (Jul 31, 2017)

khaotickross said:


> With most low light plants you Have much added maint. And you can attach plants to fake decor, I personally like using the bases from plastic plants as an anchor for my plants like java fern and anubias. Having a small tank can be fun but finding plants that don't take up too much room.
> 
> And worse case is a few plants die. It happens to probably everyone,


Ok... interesting. I have heard that most newly planted plants tend to have some die off. 



Lekoguy said:


> Sure! - Why Not?
> 
> Here's a pic of my 2.5. gal.
> 
> ...


I really like your tank!  
If I attach any plants to fake decor, I think I would do anubia nana plants. They seem like a good choice for that kind of thing. 
Thanks for the website link, I will definitely take a look at it! 

Just a couple of more questions that I can think of off the top of my head right now... 

-Do all plants that need to be planted in substrate need to be planted in sand? Or can some do fine planted in gravel?
-Do most all of plants placed in substrate need root tabs? I've read that some do need them and some others do find without them. Thoughts/Opinions? 

Thanks for everyone's advice!!


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## khaotickross (May 28, 2017)

So first I meant won't have much maint. And yeah some plants do have die off its all about what the plants are use to before you got them. 

As for the gravel I have a tank that's all gravel substrate and my sword crypts and stems have no issues rooting in them. Some plants also are heavy root feeders which is why you'd need root tabs with them. I've found it only helps having them in. Unless you just have moss. Even my stem plants do better around root tabs

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk


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## Joylynbug (Jul 31, 2017)

khaotickross said:


> So first I meant won't have much maint. And yeah some plants do have die off its all about what the plants are use to before you got them.
> 
> As for the gravel I have a tank that's all gravel substrate and my sword crypts and stems have no issues rooting in them. Some plants also are heavy root feeders which is why you'd need root tabs with them. I've found it only helps having them in. Unless you just have moss. Even my stem plants do better around root tabs
> 
> Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk


Ok. I would prefer to just stick with gravel substrate since I have plenty of it right now. 
Thank you for your help! I really appreciate it! :-D


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## khaotickross (May 28, 2017)

Heres my tank that is just gravel substrate just to kinda show you that gravel works.


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## Joylynbug (Jul 31, 2017)

khaotickross said:


> Heres my tank that is just gravel substrate just to kinda show you that gravel works.


I apologize for the late response... 

That is awesome! Thank you so much for that picture. It definitely helps me in picturing a planted tank with gravel substrate. :smile2:


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## khaotickross (May 28, 2017)

Joylynbug said:


> I apologize for the late response...
> 
> That is awesome! Thank you so much for that picture. It definitely helps me in picturing a planted tank with gravel substrate. :smile2:


Sorry as well for late reply. But I wanted to also let you know that the tank is low tech and the only kind of ferts I use is a couple root tabs under the bigger swords.

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## Joylynbug (Jul 31, 2017)

khaotickross said:


> Sorry as well for late reply. But I wanted to also let you know that the tank is low tech and the only kind of ferts I use is a couple root tabs under the bigger swords.
> 
> Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk


Ok, cool! Thanks for the info!


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