Cabomba Caroliniana

[Matthew5664]

Hi,

I have a Cabomba caroliniana in my planted aqu and dew to the flimsy nature of the plant have planted it in the far right corner away from the filter outlet. However even with this safty mesure i've found that day by day it's slowley 'shedding all it's leaves??? I don't think that and of the fish are eating it but could be wrong?? any help would be helpful.............? hehe. Found thet funny don't know y?



120 l
ph 7.5
nh3and4 0
no2 0
no3 10ppm

6 platies
3 dwarf gori's
2 rams
1 plec (gold nugg)
1 betta

And befor anyone says anything I know that betta, gori's and rams aint ideal to keep together but they all have a chat and they get on fine!

 

[AndyTaylor]

Is it shedding from the bottom up, by any chance? mine does that and i reckon it's down to lack of light penetration because of where I planted it. It seems to need a lot of light. Mind you, the airstone I had beside it didn't help much either!

 

[Matthew5664]

HA!

I have my air stone next to it does that affect it???

And no its shedding from the top. When the 'leaves are gone then the stem breaks off??

Do you think it's the air stone Might try moving it, if it is

 

[Dubby]

Its definitely due to low lighting. How much lighting do you have?

EDIT: Looks like you beat me to it with your post Yes, the airstone could be the cause too. Has the plant developed roots yet?

 

[Matthew5664]

Theplant came with a root system. As for lighting i have 1 30" freshwater strip light 25watt with reflecter. Do you think i need more coz theres not much more room under my hood! or could i switch to a Tropical lamp
both are by Arcadia is this a good make?

 

[emo]

Hmm, it could be different for you... but I had a similar situation. My cabomba caroliniana absolutely thrived in my 10 gallon through cycling, then for a few months with 2 platys. I was constantly cutting it back almost every other day, however within two weeks of introducing my d. gourami, there was about one tattered stalk left (now completely gone)
I never really saw the gourami eating it, but this was the only explanation I had at the time! I did think that he surely couldn't of munched his way through the forest of cabomba in that short a time, but maybe he did!

 

[Matthew5664]

I've seen my gori's nip at it but not to the extent that the plant would be striped! anyway I fink i'm gona put it in another tank and buy another (differant) plant to replac it.......mmmmm.......Something tall i feel......... .........

 

[Dubby]

Theplant came with a root system. As for lighting i have 1 30" freshwater strip light 25watt with reflecter. Do you think i need more coz theres not much more room under my hood! or could i switch to a Tropical lamp
both are by Arcadia is this a good make?

This is definitely less for growing Cabomba which requires atleast 2+W per gallon. Your tank is 120L ie. approx 24gallons and your lighting is 25W giving 1W/gallon.

Arcadia is a good brand.

 

[Matthew5664]

So 50Watt is reald needed? can you get this watt in a 30"

Or can i add another 25watt???

25+25=50? does it work like that?

 

[Jen]

You can deffinatley add another 25 watt bulb in there... as long as you have the space to do it.

 

[Jer-]

This is definitely less for growing Cabomba which requires atleast 2+W per gallon. Your tank is 120L ie. approx 24gallons and your lighting is 25W giving 1W/gallon.

according to Dubbys calculations, your tank is 24 Gallons. This means that in order to achieve 2+ Watts per gallon, you would need approx 50 (48 to be exact) Watts in Total of lighting over the tank.

You already have 25 Watts, meaning you would only need 25 watts more.

A running pump/airstone in a Planted (or even sparsely planted) tank is bad cos plants need CO2 instead of Oxygen. By using an air pump you are injecting Oxygen. I would definately not use a pump/airstone thing in my tank as its plant.

 

[Matthew5664]

Right so the air stone and pump have come off the setup and going to LFS today to get my Wattage above the tank does anyone know if there is a 50watt bulb avalable or will i have to go with two bulbs?

 

[Dubby]

Right so the air stone and pump have come off the setup and going to LFS today to get my Wattage above the tank does anyone know if there is a 50watt bulb avalable or will i have to go with two bulbs?

You will not get a regular fluorescent bulb with 50W which has a length of 30". The wattage is pretty much governed by the length.

You should be able to get that wattage with COmpact fluorescents (CF).

 

[Matthew5664]

that will need a differant stater as well wouldn't in?

 

[Dubby]

that will need a differant stater as well wouldn't in?

If you are referring to the CF, then Yes it would need its own ballast. CFs come with electronic ballast so there is no starter. Infact some bulbs have the ballast built into them.