Help with 480gal... Big carnivores

[OnceLoyal]

Hope all is well with everyone. I am looking to sparsely add plants to a 96x34x34.
Looking at annubis, swords, java moss, annachris (spelling?)..... I am pretty new to the planted tank world. I have tried in the past a few times and gave up. I am setting up my tank again and would really like to incorporate plants. No co2. Just good lighting. Decent amount of low profile driftwood and rocks.
What is the easiest darn plants to start with?? The tank will start with 50 or so guppies and other small critters like ghost shrimp or whatever. After the tank is acclimated I will be adding the big boys. Well, I should say baby big boys. Arowana, Armatus and a couple others.
I need something that will root well. The java I know I can attach to drift wood and rocks.
Substrate is sand, and now would be a good time to add a bottom layer if needed!
I have a lot of research and learning to do on plants so any help would be appreciated. I have read a lot of stickies and they are very informative.
Please help!!!
Going kind of amazon style

 

[Fat Homer]

Personally i've never had much luck with anacharis or elodea in my tank with sand, but maybe it will work for you???

Anubias and Java Moss you can easily tie down to the wood or rocks to keep them secure which will help when the monsters move in...

Amazon swords i've heard work in sand if given root tabs to help them grow but i've never tried it...

Another low - medium light plant that i really like is Bucephalandra, comes in a wide variety of colors and is best tied to wood or rocks to gain nutrients from the water column...

 

[fisheatfish]

Wow...wish I had room for such a tank. You’re going about it the right way...research and asking questions. Sounds like you already know quite a bit...time to just dive in. For the swords and anachris and perhaps vals, I’d do a layer of dirt underneath the layer of sand. I use dirt, clay, dolomite, muriate of potash and osmocote. Never kept armatus but I know my arros used to dive into the substrate for feeders and stir things up a bit so I trained them to eat pellets. Anubias is almost bullet proof...quite a few to choose from in terms of size. Java moss may not to everyone’s liking cuz it can be a magnet for debris in the tank. Below is the same driftwood with java moss and anubias petite:



Consider java fern too...another bulletproof plant that’s low maintenance.

 

[OnceLoyal]

Wow...wish I had room for such a tank. You’re going about it the right way...research and asking questions. Sounds like you already know quite a bit...time to just dive in. For the swords and anachris and perhaps vals, I’d do a layer of dirt underneath the layer of sand. I use dirt, clay, dolomite, muriate of potash and osmocote. Never kept armatus but I know my arros used to dive into the substrate for feeders and stir things up a bit so I trained them to eat pellets. Anubias is almost bullet proof...quite a few to choose from in terms of size. Java moss may not to everyone’s liking cuz it can be a magnet for debris in the tank. Below is the same driftwood with java moss and anubias petite:
View attachment 1299044
View attachment 1299045

Consider java fern too...another bulletproof plant that’s low maintenance.

Beautiful bro. Thanks for the input! Nice looking tanks.

 

[OnceLoyal]

Personally i've never had much luck with anacharis or elodea in my tank with sand, but maybe it will work for you???

Anubias and Java Moss you can easily tie down to the wood or rocks to keep them secure which will help when the monsters move in...

Amazon swords i've heard work in sand if given root tabs to help them grow but i've never tried it...

Another low - medium light plant that i really like is Bucephalandra, comes in a wide variety of colors and is best tied to wood or rocks to gain nutrients from the water column...

Thanks

 

[fisheatfish]

Beautiful bro. Thanks for the input! Nice looking tanks.

Thank you. Pics are from the same tank. That is the same manzanita tree. I started off with java moss then changed it up to anubias.

 

[fisheatfish]

Here’s a branch I recently tied up. I prefer to wrap it with black thread...tends to anchor better than supergluing it:


Under the right conditions, java moss can grow out nice and lush:

 

[OnceLoyal]

What's the grass like plants on the bottom? Real?

 

[fisheatfish]

What's the grass like plants on the bottom? Real?

Dwarf sagittaria. Medium light plant...easy to grow. They send runners out and once rooted they hold together nicely. Here’s a clump I pulled out and is just floating in a tank I’m cycling and you can see how it carpets. Not nearly as demanding as dwarf hairgrass.

 

[OnceLoyal]

Dwarf sagittaria. Medium light plant...easy to grow. They send runners out and once rooted they hold together nicely. Here’s a clump I pulled out and is just floating in a tank I’m cycling and you can see how it carpets. Not nearly as demanding as dwarf hairgrass.
View attachment 1299066
View attachment 1299065

That's what I am talking about! Awesome!