wanna start planted tank

[pullins125]

i currenty have a 46 gallon bowfront tank with a corallife light that would be perfect for a planted tank. i wanna use that tank to do dwarf cichlids but ill tried plants before and they only get unrooted. how can i keep the plants in the ground? would sand or small gravel be best? and i dont have any of the fish i wanna add so would it be best to add plants wait like 2 monthes for the roots to expand or would that not matter? and what plats would you sugest or how tried with no success

[justintrask]

IME, I wouldn't do an all cichlid tank with plants. They always find a way to dig them up. But letting the plants grow out for a few months first way work, as I've never tried that

[platyco]

I use sand with small gravel on top. The rough sandy stuff, not the pebbles. I have a few inches of it, poke the plants down and have not had any problems.

Sword and ribbon plants are always good.

[JustOneMore20]

Small gravel holds plants better than sand usually. The key is to have a thick layer....like 2.5-3 inches and use some planting tools to push the plant deep in the substrate.

If you go with some Dwarf Cichlids, you shouldn't have issues with the plants being uprooted. I have Apistos and a Bolivian ram in my planted tanks and they don't uproot my plants. In a 46g bow, heavily planted, I'd only do 2 pair of Dwarves though....and maybe a school of something to have some activity on top.

You could let the plants grow in for a month or so. Another option is co2 injection and high light if you have the money. That makes the plants grow faster. If you have medium or lower lighting, you won't need co2 though.

[pullins125]

the corallife ight i have is plenty enough light i think. 96 watts. it was used to grow corals too. i was thinking bout 3 trios of dwarf cichlids maybe sets of 5 and the a large school of cardinal tetras. if anybody has a pic of their planted tank i would enjoy to see it. i need ideas. i thinking swords with small gravel pebbles and probably some other plants. if i got a 46 bowfront how many pd of gravel pebbles?

[justintrask]

i ususally go with 2.5lbs per gallon

[justintrask]

[JustOneMore20]

For a 46g bow front I wouldn't suggest doing 3 trios of Dwarf Cichlids. They are small, but need their space for territory and some would end up being killed for sure. Stick to 2 pairs or 2 trios at the most. I would hate for you to end up with alot of dead fish.

Mix some sword plants with others like stem plants. Alot of Sword plants get too large eventually. It takes them time to grow though, of course. Stem plants like Rotala rotundifolia, Bacopa caroliniana, Ludwigia arcuata, Wisteria, and Cabomba to name a few would be good for that lighting. Mix some Vallisneria and maybe some Aponogeton in there too. That tank and lighting has alot of potential.

Make sure the bulb is a daylight bulb (around 6500-10,000 Kelvin) and not a saltwater bulb.

I haven't bought regular gravel for a tank in a while, but 2.5lbs per gallon seems like alot to me. That would be 115lb for a 46g. I would try like 80ish pounds and see how much depth that gives you....then add more if you need to.

[pullins125]

it is 96 watts and has two lights but i only ever use one bc it strong and since no plants no need for all that light. well i gonna try to set it up in the next month thanks for your help. more pics would be great for ideas. nice tank trask. love the red plant in middle what plant is that????