help starting out with live plants

[Myka]

A good substrate goes a long way. I like Eco-Complete, but Flourite is good too. Flourite comes in reddish or black, so the color choice is nice. Eco-Complete is black.

Simple plants like Java Fern (there are different types for variety), Java Moss, Cryptocorynes, and Anubias are all easy plants, and don't require CO2. I use the Hagen CO2 kit on my tank, and if you don't replace the mixture every 3 days for optimal performance you may as well not use it because you will get algaes (I have a good recipe if you need it later).

Keeping the tank algae free is a balance of lighting, fertilizers, CO2, and plant growth. Too much or too little or any of them will cause algaes. So if you decide you want to go low tech and not use CO2 or just use a Hagen CO2 then don't blast your tank with light and dump a bunch of ferts in!

I say start with some simple plants, some decent lights (two T8s or one T5), and go from there. Large weekly water changes (like 50-75%) really help in a low tech tank that doesn't use ferts.