Ive wasted lots of money doing the whole trial and error with plants. in the end theres only a few things I can keep alive. And actually have them grow.
Various java ferns
Cryptocorynes
Anubias
Water wysteria always grew well for me. They would grow rampant but would die after i tried to prune them
I bought that seachem gravel that's supposed to be awesome, which was horrible to rinse and didnt seem help. Root tabs help the crypts grow alot. I reccomend root tabs for any heavy root feeders. I use a liquid fert a couple times a week and liquid carbon daily. Some people dont like the carbon but it works well for me.
My planted tank is low tech. you dont need to spend alot of money, just find the balance with your lighting and ferts. I have No co2 system and just a couple 18" florescent tubes, (or are they 15"?) I think less than 40 watts total. They are cheapo walmart under cabinet utility lights with 5000k bulbs. Plus 2 tiny led strips (only leds on in the pic) which are on a timer to be on when the flourescents are off. My photo period is 10 hours with both florescents on at the same time for about 6 hours. The tank gets some indirect filtered sunlight during the day too.
Anubias and java fern are not messy at all. They are low light plants. If you blast them too much you'll have an algae problem on the leaves. ive had black beard algae, its basically just black algae on thr leaves, if you cant clean it off it will keep the plants from getting light and theuy will die. Also the plants cant be buried in gravel or they will rot as mentioned before
Hornwart is messy. The needles shed, like to clog filter intakes. It is amazing sponge for nutrients though. Ive had good luck with it, other times it would just shed all its needles and die on me. I suspect its sensitive to either heat or thr ph/hardness of my water.
Hope this helps. If I can grow them, believe me you can too lol
