Low Tech Planted Tank Care Guide

Low tech planted tanks to me are considered those that consist of light between 10-100 par (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) non C02 and semi rich to non infused substrate. That being said there are several things to consider when choosing plants and caring for plants in your low tech system. Most importantly being temperature and substrate. Too hot of temperatures can result in melting of many plants and not having nutrient rich substrate will also hinder growth and health.

With this in mind lets dive into why your plants might be dying.

Working for Petco and being an avid hobbyist in the aquarium plant propagation, I have seen both good plants and bad plants, along with the various ways their grown and acclimated. Therefore, choosing the proper plant from the right place or individual is vital to its success in your aquarium.

Many aquarium plants are grown emersed to reduce cost. This is where the roots and part of the stem are underwater and the rest of the plant is grown out of the water to provide free Co2 exchange. Unfortunately, these plants struggle when transitioning into our home aquarium due to the lack of CO2. Most of the main stream department stores sell plants raised this way. Therefore, in the event your plant starts melting this may be the cause of it. The addition of C02 or high oxygenation through bubblers may help reduce this melting in the beginning and give it time to convert over to being fully submersed.

Another thing to consider when caring for plants is the temperature of your water. Some plants such as java moss and monte carlo struggle with high temperatures. Additionally high temperatures in planted tanks supplement algae growth which can disturb and smother plants. Just as fish transitioning them from a cool water to hot water can cause death or deterioration. Unfortunately, there isn’t a easy fix to this other than reducing the temperature. In the event you find a plant that is normally kept in cool water that you want to add to your warm water tank, it might behoove you to source a local aquarist that grows it in those warmer conditions or taking the time to slowly transition it to your warmer water by slowly elevating the temperature over months.

The following are plants that do well in warm water 78+

• Marimo Ball

• African Water Fern

• Java Fern's(All Variants)

• Brazilian Pennywort

• Hygrophila's

• Cryptocoryne's

• Anubias's

• Sword Plants

• Dwarf Lotus
  

Java Fern

When it comes to substrate I highly recommend when setting up a planted tank to use mineral enriched substrate by which you can refer to my substrate guide. However, this isn’t always what available or within budget. That being said if rooting plants are melting in your sand or gravel there’s ways to fix such an issue without completely removing your current substrate. When dealing with sand and semi fine to fine gravel you have the ability to use root tabs.

SAND

Lets start with sand, sand is a popular cheap option when setting up tanks. However, there are many plants that struggle pushing their roots through sand to grow and expand. Rather than list the plants that struggle in sand I will list the plants that do well in sand.

• #1 Amazon Swords

• #2 Cryptocoryne 

• #3 Hygrophila polysperma

• #4 Hornworth

• #5 Anacharis 

• #6 Ludwigia Repens

• #7 Madagascar Lace 

• #8 Camboba 

• #9 Rotala Indica

• #10 Dwarf Hairgrass (Carpet)

• #11 Myrio Filigree 

• #12 Lemon Bacopa 

• #13 Italian Val

• #14 Tiger Lotus

• #15 Jungle Val

• #16 Dwarf Sagittaria (Carpet)

Tiger Lotus

Now each of these plants thrive more in sand then lets say gravel, however, they need additional supplementation to support growth. Hence, placing root tabs below the plant will aid in growth and health. Being these plants are accustom to sand they are also normally found in regions of warmer water. Therefore, most make for great additions to those warm water tanks as well.

Dwarf Sagittaria

GRAVEL

Gravel is a tricky one because it comes in various circumferences. This circumference can widley effect the different plants that may be planted in it. However, like sand I will go over several options for your gravel tank but I will also speak to the struggle in the different circumferences with some of these plants.

• #1 Amazon Sword

• #2 Cryptocoryne Wendtii

• #3 Madagascar Lace

• #4 Red Tiger Lotus

• #5 Vallisneria

• #6 Dwarf Sagittaria

• #7 Anacharis 

Amazon Sword

As you can see many of the same plants can be used in gravel as sand. Now why gravel tend to be more limited is do to the inability to fertilize it. Due to the gaps between rocks. Root tabs generally can’t be used because the contents of them will leach into the water spreading ammonia which will affect the fish. This can be worked around with extremely small pebbles that present little to no gaps. However, be aware they still posses gaps and if you choose to use it you need to plant the root tabs as deep as you can to reduce any risk of leaching.

Plants that don’t care about substrate

There is a slue of plants that aren’t effected by the substrate you choose, rather they prefer to have their roots (rhizomes) exposed. Thus, these plants should be glued or tied down to a structure, such as wood, rock, or decorations.

• Anubias

• Bucephalandra

• Java Moss

• Java Fern

WIth the exception of java moss these plants don’t mind warm water either. Additionally, they are great for scaping and filling in empty space due to their ability to be planted anywhere.

Bucephalandra

Melting Plant Trouble Shooting

Outside of temperature and substrate are the other key factors, nutrients and lighting. As I already alluded to many plants need their roots to be fertilized, therefore, the root tabs can aid in that suplementation. The following are some of my favorite root tabs.

• ThriveCaps (https://a.co/d/bR2fZFD)

• Easy Root Tabs Aquarium Co-op (https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-root-tabs )

• 2 HR aquarist Jazz Root Tabs (https://a.co/d/1helSMf)

Now these are only a few of the many that are available. However, I believe that those in capsules are superior due to slower release.

Aquarium Co-op Root Tabs

Next to consider for supplementation/ nutrition is liquid fertilizer. These fertilizers can greatly aid in plant growth and color, however, once you start using them you will need to do more often water changes to reduce excess fertilizer build up in the water column. Additionally you will need to remove any carbon as it will strip that fertilizer out soon after its addition.

The following are my favorite beginner liquid fertilizers.

• Thrive Planted Aquarium Fertilizer (https://a.co/d/4JCgD6O)

• Aquarium Co-op Easy Green (https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-green-all-in-one-fertilizer)

• Tropica Specialized Fertilizer (https://a.co/d/hbzdUZU)

Thrive Plus

The last thing to consider when your trouble shooting plant decay or melting is lighting. Many people start out with the basic led’s that come with kits or find the cheapest options. This may work for tanks with low depth, however, as you get to deeper tanks achieving par at the bottom of the tank becomes difficult without the proper light. Please refer to my blog on finding the right light for your tank.