Carpet Options

[blinky000]

I'm looking at getting a carpet going in my 14gal since I am just sick to death of constantly looking at muck on top of the sand. Ideally I'd prefer to have something broader leafed, though I had been looking at hairgrass. I really need this to be a low budget carpet so no difficult plants and ideally no expensive substrates, though if it can't grow in sand, I do have a bucket of gravel in the shed as all good fishkeepers do!
What I've found so far that seems to fit the bill is glossostigma, though my concern is that I'm not sure if I have enough light in the tank to keep it alive. Is there a way to roughly calculate that? Are there any more carpet suggestions you can give me?
Thanks in advance

 

[blinky000]

*Bump*

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Moss on mesh easy to grow, can be removed for cleaning and you wont have to change anything in the tank dosing wise. Most other carpet plants require the addition of CO2 or ferts. Just so happens I have just trimmed a huge bundle of moss in my 15 Gallon too, PM me if you want any.

 

[BigTom]

My personal tip for cheap, low tech carpet options is always hairgrass. You can buy E. acicularis from pond suppliers much, much cheaper than the little pots you get from aquarium shops, meaning you can plant really densely at the start giving you an instant carpet. Maybe mix in a little Lilleaopsis brasiliensis for a bit of contrast, looks really good.

 

[blinky000]

Thanks for the tip, BigTom. I'll give it a go Would it still give enough coverage if it's kept fairly short?

I liked the idea of a moss carpet but one of the focal features in my tank is a piece of bogwood covered in xmas moss. I think a carpet might be overdoing it slightly lol

 

[BigTom]

Yeah, you can buy 9x9cm pots for £2-3 each and plant as densely as you like, then trim to whatever height you want. A heavy prune immediately after planting is generally seen as a good idea.

If you can't find any decent suppliers near you then try here (where I got mine from last year) - http/www.lilieswatergardens.co.uk/