Best low maintenance for tropical.

[Cory1990]

Originally Posted by emc7 light intensity is inversely proportion to distance. So if the light sat on the tank and has 2 40W bulbs, it would count as 80W / 55 gallons. Still low-light. The higher it hangs, the less light reaches down into the tank. Plants will do best high in your tank. If you don't care what it looks like, you can float hornwort. Or you can tie java fern to decor. I would not even try a plant that isn't "low-light".

Thanks for the tips. I just checked how many watts they are both 40w and yet are about 3inchs from the water in a homemade canopy. The inside is painted with a high gloss white it puts off a lot of light for the tank. At night I am using strips of LEDs that I got of eBay that are sort of purple just enough to light the tank up.

Also the canopy does not leak any light from it.

So would I still need low light plants? I was also wondering what type of rocks do you put in the aquarium? I've ditched all of my decorations and gave it to my sister for her tank. I'd like to get my tank looking as natural as possible.

[emc7]

Yes, stick with low-light. You might get away with a few low-medium plants that float or on a shelf 4" below the water line, but the bottom of such a deep tank will be low-light only. Forget any ideas about carpet grasses unless you plan to invest in more lights.

[Cory1990]

How much light would I need for them? Or would I need to ditch my lighting and get something else?

[Fuzz]

the other rating on lights is light "temperature"(rated in Kelvin). 6500K is ideal for most plants...or if you're a painter or artist, you know that the color that you see is the color that is reflected(and the rest is absorbed)...so green light in your bulb's spectrum does no good for your plants. red(pink bulbs) that have a big red spectrum are more ideal for the green plants

[Cory1990]

Thanks for the info. I've decided on going for some low light plants. I'm going to start with the moss that was stated before. I'll give that a shot first before I try other stuff. I can't get my girlfriend to let me spend a ton more on my tanks she hassles me about it :/. But I did buy her a kitten tonight so maybe I'll get her to let me buy a new light for my tank.

The kitten was a bribe tonight to let me buy some old barnwood for my new 55g tank stand/ canopy so once that build is started I'll post some pictures to show you guys. I'm not the best at choosing stuff for In my aquarium but I do know how to build all types of stuff so at least on the outside it will be real pretty!

And of course with some help from the forum will help me choose what to be putting into it. I'm doing it as natural as possible I'm also going to run 2 filters on this tank to help cut back on cleanings. So on my 55g I'm going to be running 120g worth of filtration. Witch I've read is going to help me manage the sand I'm putting in. So hopefully I can get my stand made so I can put in some plants soon. Then I'm going to cycle it for about a month before I add fish.

[emc7]

You can buy special bulbs, but "daylight" bulbs from the home improvement store are fine for low light. You can have a nice tank of java fern, anubias, etc. without too much effort.

Cheap plants is a good reason to find you nearest aquarium society. There are at least 2 in your state. The Milwaukee aquarium society has a HAP program, which means members get points for reproducing plants and selling them at meetings. If you live too far to go to a meeting, it is still worth connecting with "locals" as they will likely have something that likes your water and the shorter the trip, the better and cheaper plants are shipped.

[emilychung]

I get some beutiful lowwatt bulbs and put them on the aquarium wall. Look so great.And that can help plants growing fast.

[lohachata]

cory...i will check and see if my buddy is still selling plants...he had been sick for a spell and i haven't talked to him lately ; but if he is ok i will hook you up with him...
plants that i have great luck with using regular shop lights on my 40--55--75--90--125 and 135 gallon tanks......

anubias...all varieties..
cryptocoryne.....several species
java fern
mosses of course..
hornwort and anacharis
aponogetons.....great plants for deeper tanks....madagascarensis..crispus..undulatus..
and ulvaceus.....i have a special place i get them from...they are really fast growing.. 2' in 2 months....ulvaceus are the most beautiful and graceful plant you have ever seen...

[Cory1990]

That would be awesome, I wanted something that will fill my tank up a little bit, I mean the rocks look great but I always want something better lol. To bad Petco here has no low light plants or the java moss I wanted to start with