new to plants

Hi all, im new to plants in the aquarium (the uk has a tradition of UG
filters, so plants are a no no)

But, ive just set up a new (bloody snail free) tank, 30 gallons, fitted
a big clip on filter and am looking to get some plants.

I have had a look around the news groups and it seems that everyone is
using co2 (ive been away from fish keeping or a few years, it was in its
infancy when i last saw it) and i just wondered is it essential to have
this set up in a tank. (i mostly keep cichlids and would like to keep
the outlay to plants and lights for this tank if its possible)

I currently have a gravel bed, a plant growing lighting tube (it was
reccomended by the lfs,) cant remember the name, a filter and so on.

will this do to grow a few plants in a community tank or am i going to
have to fork out top dollar to get a healthy looking tank?

Cheers for any help you can give Craig

(also, i know from fish keeping that im sure this will balloon into a
mass spending spree where i end up with an aquatic rain forest in the
end, but id like to keep it small to start, lol... my god, thats how i
ended up with a bloody oscar in a 4' tank by itself )



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