Bought A Mixed Lot Of Plants From Ebay

[Lizzie71]

Here is the tank with the new plants in it

I have already been advised that the plant with white edges is not aquatic, but I don't know if that means I need to get rid of it or not. And the red plant is high maintenance apparently, so might not do well in my tank.

The tank is 60 x 30 x 35, tankmates listed below in sig. I have one fluorescent light strip which is 15 watts. I have put in a whole pack of API root tabs today, and I dose with a liquid fertiliser once a week.

I would be very grateful for any advice to keep these plants looking nice. The fish seem very happy with the new look tank too

 

[fozziebear]

yeah get rid of the rotala (the red one) and also put the one with white edges into a pot in your garden.

 

[julioarca]

I agree, the green / white plant is not aquatic....did you get these from Bitsandbobs?

 

[Lizzie71]

Seller was called 08aquapet and seems quite new.

Don't know whether to complain about the non-aquatic one, as the listing was for aquarium plants But then again, each plant cost less than £1 (11 plants for £9.95) so maybe it's not worth it.

I love the red plant, is there no way I can keep it?

 

[SuperColey1]

The red one is Rotala Macrandra and will need to be slap bang centre under the light to stand a chance of survival. This is a very high light plant which you haven't got so you can try and see. Rules can always be broken believe me but you have to try to find out.

Andy

 

[fozziebear]

it will rot in the end, you can keep it till it shows signs of die off, also ebay is the worst for buying aquatic plants, every seller that sells sets bulks them out with non aquatics, you were lucky to get away with only 1, some people have got a whole set and only 1 turned out to be aquatic, if you ever order plants again order from this place, www.aquaticplants.eu.com they are much better, dont sell non aquatics in their collections, and they always arrive in good condition if you get the right postage.

 

[Lizzie71]

Is there any cheap and easy way to add more light? Could I get a more powerful lighting tube? How much would it cost, I'm a bit broke at the moment.

 

[aaronnorth]

you need to buy a ballast and tube, and aim for 2wpg (divide total wattage by gallons) so if it is the 14g you have to work it out in US gallons which is 16g so aim for about 32watts so you need a 18w tube & ballast and when youhave 2wpg you need to be adding co2 so if you dont want to go down this route then just remove the rotola

Aquatics online offer a wide range of lighting.

 

[Lizzie71]

That went way over my head I'm afraid There is no way I can attach a second light tube to the tank lid that I have, so I'd need to find one that was 32 watts or more? Does such I think exist?

Maybe I'll have to sacrifice that plant, sounds a lot cheaper than changing the lighting

 

[frozenbarb]

Thats no Macrandra.. Thats Alternanethera Reineckii.

Red plant or no red plant you need more light. 15w is too low to make plants happy, maybe enough for them to live.

We were all young Aquatic plant students once and didnt want to spend so much on lights. But when you get into the hobby you will be upgrading everything. and using alot of money.

I started 10/06 and had little money, I always try to find a way of upgrading lights. For a 10 gallon i would use a regular 15w lamp, and another 15w shoplight where the flap on the tank cover was. Upgrade your lights and sell the plants that you grown to get back the money

 

[Cerbios]

 also ebay is the worst for buying aquatic plants

You may be being a bit hard on ebay. Ive bought from aquatic magic four times now and have gotten what i ordered everytime, their all doing well in my tank. Ebays just like a big flee market, trust no one you see inside but that doesnt mean you cant find good deals if your carfull about what you buy.

 

[aaronnorth]

That went way over my head I'm afraid There is no way I can attach a second light tube to the tank lid that I have, so I'd need to find one that was 32 watts or more? Does such I think exist?

Maybe I'll have to sacrifice that plant, sounds a lot cheaper than changing the lighting

no, you will need to find a tube that will make the wattage up to 32watts, so find a tube of 17w to make it up but they usually come in 18watts, if there is no space under there then your only other option is an overhead luminaire then you are talking money! I'm sure there will be a space for one more tube

ballasts are what connects to the end of the tubes to power it except yours will be built into the hood.

when you get into the hobby you will be upgrading everything. and using alot of money.

You can say that again!

 

[fozziebear]

id say the collections on ebay are horrible, but the single plants are a lot better, and a lot of the time you can see a real picture of the plant your bidding on, whereas with the online order companies its just a general picture.