Hi there,
you say you have 2x 25 watt bulbs. I assume you are using either
compact flourescents, or long strip flourescents.
If the lighting is flourescent you are fine.
This gives you 2.5 watts per gallon of light,
which would be consider "medium" light. Most plants will
thrive in this lighting.
You may even consider using a c02 injector, as this will even
boost plant growth more.
There are many types of plants, depending on what you like,
and what you want, and also what type of fish you have.
There are also some tricks to plant a tank.
Start at the back, and using tall, bushy, or thick plants,
fill in the back to cover the aquarium. Use the plants to hide any
type of equipment, filter intakes, heaters, etc.
Then work your way foreward, getting increasingly smaller plants
as you go.
In a 20g tank Amazon Sword is not a very good choice, as this is
a plant that grows to around 30 inches in height, and could quickly become
you whole tank.
Try to aim at plants that mature to 14 inches or less.
A great website for information on all types of plants is:
http://www.tropica.com
---this is the worlds leading aquarium plant
nursery, and if anyone knows plants, its tropica.
Some good choices for your tank, that I have found to thrive, and are
easily trimmed to fit in a shorter tank that I could suggest would be:
Background Plants
Asian Ambulia (Limnophilia Aquatica)
Giant Hygrophilia
Wisteria (Hygrophilia Difformis)
Vallisneria Americana (beware this plant can become massively long)
Anubias of almost any type (a beautiful, waxy, thick leaved plant that
thrives in any light)
Java Fern
Midground Plants
Vallisneria Spiralis
Vallisneria Spiralis sp. Corkscrew
Cryptocorne Wendtii Green
Cryptocorne Balansae (could also be a foreground plant)
Banana Plant
Foreground Plants
Cryptocorne Balansae
Anubias Nana sp. "Petite"
Java Moss
Christmas Moss
Taiwan Moss
Marimo Balls
Hairgrass
MicroSword
Riccia Fluitans (If you use C02 injections, under 2,5 watts per gallon, this plant would become a carpet along the bottom, and unlike the more difficult
glosso plant, is much easier to grow and propagates with little help)
If you are interested in information on how to "Aquascape" you tank,
check out this website. Takashi Amano- creator of the very famous
"Amano Style" aquascaping, creates amazing tanks that look like peices
of nature plunked into an aquarium.
I know I could never live up to him, but it gives one inspiration:
http://www.vectrapoint.com/main/photo/gallery.html
Heres another great site with beautiful tank set ups:
http://www.aquariumhobbyist.com/disc...ank/index.html
And of course, heres my own "Amano Style" tanks:
75 Gallon with 1.7 watts per gallon, a wide variety of plants grow
exceptionally well. No C02.
10 Gallon In progress- 4.0 watts per gallon, awaiting c02
injection:
