# How many plants to start a heavily planted tank



## toemoss (Aug 21, 2014)

I'm starting a 75 gallon tank with MGOCPM and black diamond cap. I plan to follow the walstad method and would like to plant heavily from the beginning. 

I'm trying to find a rule of thumb for the number of plants I should buy to get it going. Something like number of plants per square inch of substrate. If it depends on the type of plants, would something like 15 amazon swords or 30 java ferns make it heavily planted? And does it matter what size they are when I buy them, or should I plant based on their future growth?

Thanks in advance...


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## HokieFish (Feb 5, 2012)

I think you really answered your own question. It is going to depend on the plant and how they are packaged (containers, bare roots, clippings, pots, cultured tissue in gel packs...). It also depends on if they are mature plants or small plants. 
You probably won't really know until you start planting how much you're really going to need. 
Are you getting your plants from a local fish store or buying online? I understand you don't want to underestimate the amount if you're buying online due to shipping, but you can always fill in the gaps with stuff found locally.


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## toemoss (Aug 21, 2014)

Yeah.. I guess I can wing it and see how it looks. I was planning on ordering online so I wanted a baseline to start with.


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## 691175002 (Apr 28, 2009)

toemoss said:


> Yeah.. I guess I can wing it and see how it looks. I was planning on ordering online so I wanted a baseline to start with.


I ordered online and found it was difficult to figure out how much to buy. From experience I would order ~10-30$ in plants per 10g, depending on where you are ordering from and what you are ordering.

One thing that I didn't realize is that locally purchased plants take off a lot quicker than those purchased online. A lot of plants will take weeks to acclimate, or even discard all their leaves when moved into very different water conditions.

Everything I purchased locally was throwing out new leaves within a day, whereas even the fastest growers took a week to really get started if they had been shipped. If your goal is to fight off algae from the very beginning that can be important.


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## toemoss (Aug 21, 2014)

691175002 said:


> One thing that I didn't realize is that locally purchased plants take off a lot quicker than those purchased online


That's good to know.. I'll do some price comparisons and if they're reasonably priced locally, I may lean in that direction. I looked briefly in my LFS, but they didn't have much of a selection, and only about half a dozen plants in a tank with others scattered among the other fish tanks. I didn't bother to note the prices. The plants did look pretty healthy, and they were completed submerged which should help with the transition.

Thanks for the tip...

Bump:


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## HuntCast (Aug 25, 2013)

You can also use floaters like duckweed and frogbit to help suck up the excess nutrients.


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## toemoss (Aug 21, 2014)

I just found this guide which recommends planting so that only 10-15% of the substrate is visible.

That's a lot of plants!!


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

i have a 75g heavily planted and I can tell you it take a TON of plants to get it to look full. Its highly unlikely you will even come close to being heavily planted unless yours spending hundreds on plants.

Get what you can afford and what you like and what you tank is designed to grow. once you do you can propagate and trade locally for more plants. thats how I did my tank. 5 months in and I am doing really good imo. Keep an eye for local aquarium club for auctions, it a great way to get plants for far less than retail.


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## tylergvolk (Jun 17, 2012)

philipraposo1982 said:


> i have a 75g heavily planted and I can tell you it take a TON of plants to get it to look full. Its highly unlikely you will even come close to being heavily planted unless yours spending hundreds on plants.
> 
> Get what you can afford and what you like and what you tank is designed to grow. once you do you can propagate and trade locally for more plants. thats how I did my tank. 5 months in and I am doing really good imo. Keep an eye for local aquarium club for auctions, it a great way to get plants for far less than retail.


+1 good advice.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

I planted my 10 gal. with about 3 bunches of stem plants and 3 planted Water Sprite. They all grow very fast and eat up the ammonia, bypassing the Nitrogen Cycle.

I personally don't think that you need to plant 80-85% of the floor, but you also can't plant ight and "hope they grow in." I would suggest planting thick wherever you plant, and hopefully plant in a spot which catches the outflow from the filter or powerhead.


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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

philipraposo1982 said:


> i have a 75g heavily planted and I can tell you it take a TON of plants to get it to look full. Its highly unlikely you will even come close to being heavily planted unless yours spending hundreds on plants.


I did spend a couple of hundred on plants and I don't consider mine to be "heavily planted", though it'll closer there too by the end of the week hopefully:bounce:


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

good luck. It hard to believe I went from this


to this in just over 5 months. 


I estimated in total I spend about $250 CDN in plants and traded the rest with trimmings from my plants with local hobbyist. I rarely purchase plants from a store though, all through auctions or other hobbyist.


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## krlw (Jul 30, 2014)

@philipraposo1982, what did you use to raise your Finnex in that picture?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I believe that for a heavily planted tank,one could not place their hand flat on the substrate anywhere,without coming in contact with plants.
For me,,it was nearly a couple paychecks or ...the walking around money I had left after paying the bills.


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## AGUILAR3 (Jun 22, 2013)

I bought 10 pots(lfs) of various crypts that each contained 6-8 individual plantlets and another 40+ individual plants from members here and I think my 20 high looks empty. You'd be surprised on how many plants you really need to be considered heavily planted.


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

krlw said:


> @philipraposo1982, what did you use to raise your Finnex in that picture?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I used 3/8 mdf board and cut out blocks, filed down the edges on 45 degrees to create a nice bevelled look and finally sprayed em with matt black paint. 

it was super easy and only took me a couple hours to make from start to finish.


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## mflander (Jul 30, 2014)

I have a 56G Column that has a bottom dimension of 30" x 18". I bought what I thought was a ton of plants, and it looks empty . I would barely call it moderate planting, if that.


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