As Dave Spencer mentioned, it really depends on your plants. Most stem plants can grow without the wattage. Anacharis, anubias, amazon swords, hygrophilia and java fern can all grow with the lighting you have.
Am I On The Right Track?
- Thread starter ebrcknrdg
- Start date
Dave Spencer
Gort! Klaatu barada nikto.
If you have a small, slow growing mass of plants then fish waste may be sufficient to keep them relatively healthy. Provided the water column is sufficiently fertilised, you can plant in broken glass if you want to. Google Tropica and Seachem for a decent fertiliser just to make sure your plants won`t die on you.
Do you know what plants you have?
Dave.
P.S. EI is dead easy once you get your head around it and is well worth aspiring to.
Do you know what plants you have?
Dave.
P.S. EI is dead easy once you get your head around it and is well worth aspiring to.
OP
OP
ebrcknrdg
Fishaholic
Ok thanx, really appreciate all the info everyone has given me. I think ill stick with what ive got for now as i dont want to get in too deep as this is only the second tank ill have ever set up and ive only been "into" fish for a year.
Ive noted down those plants and if you have anymore you can recommend (preferably those with a bit of yellow or red in them?) that would be great!
OP
OP
ebrcknrdg
Fishaholic
Sorry im a bit uneducated on this. The water column?
I know i have elodea densa and some long grass looking plants they seem to do well in my smaller tank. (there are other plants in there but dont seem to have survived as well) I have ordered the 25 plants off ebay and dont know what i have till it comes. Bit daft of me really but i just wanted to get it up and running adding plants as i go. I know they will be from this list though
ELODEA DENSA
GREEN CABOMBA
BACOPA MONNERI (BABY TEARS)
BACOPA CAROLINA
HYGROPHILLA POLYSPERMA
MEXICAN OAK LEAF
LUDWIGIA
BORNEO FERN
VALLIS TORTA (TWISTED VALLIS)
WHEAT PLANT
WATER WISTERIA
MALAYAN SWORDS
BORNEO SWORDS
GREEN SPADE LEAF
CHERRY LEAF STRICTA
GIANT CORKSCREW VALLIS
VALLIS SPIRALLIS (STRAIGHT VALLIS)
BLUE STRICTA
UMBRELLA FERN
JAVA FERN
IVY LEAF CRYPTOCORYNE
INDIAN FERN
ALTERNANTHERA REINECKII ROSEAFOLIA RED
ALTERNANTHERA REINECKII LILACINA RED
LUDWIGIA GLANDULOSA PERENNIS RED
FOUNTAIN PLANT
HILL RADICAN SWORDS
AMAZON SWORDS
Dave Spencer
Gort! Klaatu barada nikto.
I use this sight a lot:
http
/www.tropica.com/default.asp
Click on advanced search in the top right, and just select low light from all the various search options. On the right will be a list of appropriate plants.
The water column is referring to where the plants extract nutrients from, as opposed to the substrate. As long as the water column is sufficiently fertilised, even heavy root feeders like Cryptocorynes should be OK. It will save you having to buy a fancy substrate for now.
Dave.
http
/www.tropica.com/default.aspClick on advanced search in the top right, and just select low light from all the various search options. On the right will be a list of appropriate plants.
The water column is referring to where the plants extract nutrients from, as opposed to the substrate. As long as the water column is sufficiently fertilised, even heavy root feeders like Cryptocorynes should be OK. It will save you having to buy a fancy substrate for now.
Dave.
OP
OP
ebrcknrdg
Fishaholic
I use this sight a lot:
http
Click on advanced search in the top right, and just select low light from all the various search options. On the right will be a list of appropriate plants.
The water column is referring to where the plants extract nutrients from, as opposed to the substrate. As long as the water column is sufficiently fertilised, even heavy root feeders like Cryptocorynes should be OK. It will save you having to buy a fancy substrate for now.
Dave.
Thanx for that link. I shall look at it in a while. So are you saying to put in liquid ferts? Will root tablets be of any benefit? Sorry if im giving you a headache
Basically, the water column is the water itself.
OP
OP
ebrcknrdg
Fishaholic
I use this sight a lot:
http
Click on advanced search in the top right, and just select low light from all the various search options. On the right will be a list of appropriate plants.
The water column is referring to where the plants extract nutrients from, as opposed to the substrate. As long as the water column is sufficiently fertilised, even heavy root feeders like Cryptocorynes should be OK. It will save you having to buy a fancy substrate for now.
Dave.
That site is amazing thank you!
Dave Spencer
Gort! Klaatu barada nikto.
Thanx for that link. I shall look at it in a while. So are you saying to put in liquid ferts? Will root tablets be of any benefit? Sorry if im giving you a headache
Don`t worry, it beats the crap out of working!
If you go down the line of low light plants, you will find that a lot of them need to be attached to wood or the like (ie. Java fern and Anubias sp.), not planted in the substrate, so their only source of nutrients will be from the water column. You could add root tabs for substrate plants as well, but it may be an unnecessary expense IMO.
Dave.
vinylman
Essentially Humanoid
You don't have to spend a fortune on substrates. Just buy a small box of laterite, make a hole in the gravel and drop some laterite into the hole where you'll be putting the plant(s), then cover it up with the gravel. Your laterite will go a lot further and it will save you having to increase your light for now. Plus, when you gravel vac, you can really dig down to the bottom of the glass to remove all the gunk. No need to get too close to the plants, as any waste near them will break down anyway. Planted tanks are as much, or as little trouble as you make them. You don't have to spend a fortune to get decent results.
OP
OP
ebrcknrdg
Fishaholic
that excellent advice. Ill add that to my list of things to buy thank you! Will i find laterite in any specialist shops or just my LFS? Will i still need liquid ferts?
vinylman
Essentially Humanoid
I should imagine you'd get something like a small box of laterite (about £10) or a small tub of Tetra Complete Substrate (round about the same price) at any shop that sells fish. The Tetra does more or less the same job, that's what I use. I have mine in a 4ft tank and have never needed to add liquid fertilisers. Stick to something hardy like Vallis, Elodea Densa or any of the Hygrophilas and you shouldn't need to add anything else. Don't be frightened to add plenty of plants. Add them in decent sized clumps, they look more natural that way. Plants are exactly like fish, just research your water quality and water perameters first, but you should be safe with the ones I've mentioned. Try to get a few floating plants, too. They'll work wonders for lowering nitrites. Forget about red plants, they really need at least 2WPG, usually more.
vinylman
Essentially Humanoid
Sorry, just noticed this post. I'd definitely go for the reflectors. In a small(ish) tank, they could make a hell of a difference. If you go for hardy plants and one of the substrates I've mentioned, there's absolutely no reason you couldn't grow plants succesfully.
OP
OP
ebrcknrdg
Fishaholic
Well today ive looked everywhere for ammonia and laterite. Tried Boots, Superdrug, Lloyds chemist and the LFS. I either got blank looks or was told those are hard to get. The LFS tried to sell me some liquid ferts or tablets which i turned down as id rather go for the Laterite or now ill look for the Tetra complete as advised. Will have to get ammonia online now i think as he also tried to sell me something in a bottle which i quickly refused! Gggggrrrr!
vinylman
Essentially Humanoid
You'll get the Laterite or the Tetra Complete Substrate at most online retailers, too. But look around - the prices can vary quite a bit.
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