[pdoutaz]

After about 4 years of the same tank - I've decided to do a complete re-plant of my 120G - with a budget of $60-$80 and the following parameters - what plants and suggested placements would you use if it was your tank??

Standard 120 gallon - 24" tall
Coralife 260W lighting
temp - 78
Ph 6.8-7.0
No Co2- I don't use fertilizers
2x Aqauaclear 110 filters, and a Rena XP4

Tank is overpopulated - multiple species including about 14-18 various loachs total (size from 2" to 7"), 3 4" syno's, 2 Lg angels, 1 4 1/2" pearl gourami
I will likely be ordering from April or AquaFlora

Any and All suggestions appreciated - from what I see of this group so far - there seems to be an amazing amount of collective knowledge

 

[Blackbar]

With a deep tank like that you'll likely want to stick to lower light plants. Vallisneria, anubias, java fern, crypts. These should grow reasonably well, but slowly, without CO2 and ferts. Add some driftwood and rocks to keep it interesting...

 

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Our favourite water plant is Tonina belem. Grows great for us with Florabase, Metricide & GE 9327k 55w PC bulbs. It grows tall & fast under good conditions so in the back.

 

[wsl]

I'm not sure if I'd call that overpopulated in a 120g tank...

May I ask what your substrate is?

 

[cpool]

Vallisneria, anubias, java fern, crypts. Agreed, I would also add any hygrophilia species (I really like the Hygro pantanal wavy) and most of the Echinodorus plants. They grow fairly well with 2 watts per gallon, although they might need a root tab from time to time if you don't fertilize.

 

[CRS Fan]

Just for clarification's sake, what bulb type (CF, T5HO, etc) is your fixture? This can make a big difference and provide more insight for plant suggestions. Substrate type can also be a big factor.

Best Regards,

Stuart

 

[pdoutaz]

Many THANKS for all the replies - will start researching the suggestions as I really don't know plants yet.
In answer to the questions - dug out the box - lighting is CF - 4 x 65W - 6700K, substrate is a blend of fine gravel, topped with play sand

 

[pdoutaz]

Many THANKS for all the replies(keep them coming) - will start researching the suggestions as I really don't know plants yet.
In answer to the questions - dug out the box - lighting is CF - 4 x 65W - 6700K, substrate is a blend of fine gravel, topped with play sand - about 2" deep

 

[Morainy]

You have great materials to work with, that's for sure! If you think that your tank is overstocked, then my suggestion would be to trade some of your fish for plants and/or substrate. If you can't find enough substrate to do your entire tank or you really like the look of the substrate you have, you can even pick up a pail of Sera Floredepot and put it into the areas of your tank that you want to plant, then cover it with your existing gravel. You can even do this when your tank has water in it, if you put the Sera Floredepot into your tank one baggie-ful at a time.

There are many members here who sell plant clippings from time to time and they are usually a very affordable way to get a planted tank going. I'd recommend checking the requirements of the plants first before selecting them. The person growing them would likely know, or you can do some research online.

Have fun!

 

[Scholz]

I'd sotck some floating plants ( water lettuce ) and 6 differnet types of anubias and a LARGE sword.....

 

[Morainy]

I have a lot of water lettuce right now and would be happy to give you some!

 

[pdoutaz]

I have a lot of water lettuce right now and would be happy to give you some!

Many thanks for the offer, but as I am in Nanaimo, kind of limits my ability to take advantage of such generous offers

 

[pacific]

You mentioned that you have several species of loaches - are any of them clown loaches?

I'm not sure about other loach species (kuhlis are OK), but I have had no luck keeping any sort of plants with good sized clown loaches. They dig up the smaller plants, and will snip leaves off at the base on bigger plants. I had a huge amazon sword survive when they were smaller, by surrounding its base with pieces of slate, but once the clown loaches got to 4 inches or so, they made short work of it.