A Few Newbie Questions

[Rice]

Okay, heres my list of questions:

1) Will a 2 liter DIY CO2 generator be enough for a 10 gallon tank or do I need one more?

2) Is there a limit to how many plants a tank can have or can you just stuff them in until its impossible to put in more?

3) I know more light means more algae, but other than that, will too much light be bad for plants that require 2-3 WPG? Example would be like 5-6 WPG.

4) For the plant reproduction process, there is a type called "Runners", what is that? The plant is pictured here with http/aquaticplantdepot.stores.yahoo.net/cork.html

5) I haven't read any posts on seeding from plants. Does it take a long time for them to reproduce seeds?

6) I couldn't tell from the pinned Java Moss thread if my java moss is dead or not. It is a dark green color. How do you tell if its dead?

When answering questions, can you also put the question number on the side so I can tell which question your answering. Thanks

 

[voo]

1. 2L will be more than enough. i use a 1L system on my 15g.

2. Not sure on this. I guess if u have a lot of smaller plants it wont matter so much, but if you have a lot of bigger, taller plants then maybe you need to have fewer fish? I dunno what people think to this. Also if you have it really crowded make sure the lower leaves can still get light else they'll die.

3. Too much light shouldnt be bad, but 5-6 WPG in a 10g tank is not the same as 5-6WPG in a 50g tank. It's said that the WPG rule cannot be applied to tanks under 20g because of the surface area.

4. A runner is a shoot that grows from the plant and will then grow into a new plant.

5. Aquatic plants dont produce seeds that i know of. They dont flower, they have different ways of reproducing, like runners, growing new shoots from the roots etc.

6. Green is a good colour for moss, it'll be going brown if it's dying.

Hope this helps.

 

[Themuleous]

Ill go one better

1) Will a 2 liter DIY CO2 generator be enough for a 10 gallon tank or do I need one more?

Thatll be fine, if necessary just increase the amount of yeast you add (leave the sugar and bicarb the same) it'll then produce more CO2, but you will need to change the mix more often.

2) Is there a limit to how many plants a tank can have or can you just stuff them in until its impossible to put in more?

Not really, the only problem with having to many is that the taller ones can shade out the lower ones, but generally speaking the more plants you can add the better as it helps fight the algae.

3) I know more light means more algae, but other than that, will too much light be bad for plants that require 2-3 WPG? Example would be like 5-6 WPG.

With smaller tanks the WPG rule doesn't work as well, so you need relatively more light than with larger tanks. Would think 5-6WPG would be fine, I have 7WPG over my 24lt nano with no problems and the plants grow like crazy!

4) For the plant reproduction process, there is a type called "Runners", what is that?

Runners are just the plants way of reproducing, strawberries do the same thing. When the runners get big enough you can detach them and plant them somewhere else, woohoo free plants!

5) I haven't read any posts on seeding from plants. Does it take a long time for them to reproduce seeds?

I think this is probably due to the fact that most (if not all) plants produce runners or can be pruned to produce more plants, its easy to do and would be easier than waiting for the plant to flower and then pollinate it and then collect the seeds.

6) I couldn't tell from the pinned Java Moss thread if my java moss is dead or not. It is a dark green color. How do you tell if its dead?

Difficult to tell without a picture of yours but its probably still alive, I've known brown java moss to grow given the right conditions. Give it a try it might take a while to get going but chances are at least parts of it are still alive.

Hope that helps

Sam

 

[Themuleous]

They dont flower, they have different ways of reproducing, like runners, growing new shoots from the roots etc.

Just so you know, they do produce flowers, some of which are rather spectacular, well given that they live under water anyway! Some even flower underwater! A flowering plant IMHO is one of the highlights of planted tanks and is the ultimate sign that things are perfect for them. Much like getting discus to breed

Sam

 

[Egmel]

Isn't that a spathyphilum (sp?), I didn't think they were aquatic plants, the one in my bedroom certainly isn't though it does like its water!

 

[Themuleous]

No its an anubais of all things, but I know what you mean.

Sam

 

[Egmel]

No its an anubais of all things, but I know what you mean.

Oooh you live and learn, it's an aquatic 'Peace Lilly' (I realise they are probably not the same family but they look so similar!) Is it as voracious as its terrestrial counterpart?

 

[Themuleous]

no, all anubias species are generally quite low growing, but will grow in almost any light and are hardy to so a great low-light plant.

Sam

 

[jimbooo]

is that my pic, if not it looks like one from my cube.

nice to be reminded of the time when i had 3 tanks. down to one now (rio180).
boo hoo

 

[EliteFishy]

What happened to your other tanks jimboo?

 

[Themuleous]

It is indeed your picture Jimboo! Hope you dont mind! Was the first one that sprung into my head when I wanted to get a flowering plant, it does show the flower off quite well!

Yeh, what happened to the other tank?

Sam

 

[jimbooo]

50G got sold to K.O.D. from here.

12G is sitting in my dads living room

40G is in the new house (moved it yesterday, my backs killing me...)

the misses won i'm afriad, only one was allowed to move with me, too much other stuff to do with my time, cant look after 3 tanks anymore, way to much effort.

it was fun for a while though.

no worrys on the pic sam, nice to see it again

keep well