Glosso Or Pygym Chain Sword

[arif_93]

i originally ordered some glosso from aquaessentials but they emailed saying they have none and thye said i can swap for another plant. i choose Echinodorus Tennellus pygym chain sword i wanted to creat a lawn/carpet with the glosso but will i still be a able to create a carpet from Echinodorus Tennellus.
i have a 40 litre tank with 34 watt thats 4.3 wpg i have tetra plant substrate topped off with 1 inch of sand and i dose 1 ml of nutrafin plant gro and 1ml of hagen flora boost 1ml every other day so they get 1ml every day.
will i still be able to create a lawn with my Echinodorus Tennellus ???

 

[nry]

It can carpet, though you may want to consider fertiliser beyond the ones you mention. With that level of lighting (and CO2 I believe) you are likely to need to dose N,P and K as per the EI suggestions, as otherwise your plants will possibly not grow as well as they could and hence lead to algae problems.

I had e.tennelus in my low light tank and it did spread but I did not have enough light for it to carpet that well. Higher light levels like yours are certainly have a better chance than my old 1wpg.

 

[arif_93]

i dont really understand ei so i dont want to start experimenting really.
if i lower my lightin to 2.3 wpg will i still be able to make a carpet without using ei

 

[nry]

The whole point of EI is to provide enough light, nutrients and CO2 (though it can be altered to suit use of Flourish Excel) to grow well and hence reduce the chances of algae break outs as a side factor.

High light, CO2 and poor nutrients breaks the balance, which could lead to algae and/or plant growth problems.

I have no clue what affect it will have on e.t. (phone home!) if it has 2 or 4wpg, and those fertilisers, all you can do is try at this stage as you have everthing bought, setup and/or ordered.

 

[arif_93]

what is ei and what does it do

 

[nry]

Estimative Index. A method of adding a rough amount of different chemicals (which are plant nutrients) to ensure a useful amount is available of each one for the plants so they can grow well. It generally requires good lighting (2wpg or above), stable 30ppm of CO2, and a very regular maintenance schedule which involves a ~50% weekly water change.

It is a very cheap way of fertilising your aquarium plants. I spent £15 on some powders from AE. Although they are only 250grams per packet, I reckon I have enough to last me 10 years or so with my 15-gallon! The pinned article gives a good suggestion on how much of each to dose and when, for different sizes of aquarium. In comparison, I would spend that much every few months on liquid fertilisers, and probably not get the same results when compared with EI.

 

[arif_93]

what powders do you need

im gonna have to read about it more maybe ina couple of years time when im older

 

[nry]

It's all in the pinned article, says what to buy, how much to use, when to use it and how to use it either dry as powder or mixed with water to add that way.

 

[Dave Spencer]

what is ei and what does it do

I would say that yours is not a high light tank considering that it is only 40l. With the substrate you have you should be able to grow E. tenellus successfully without worrying about EI.

Dave.

 

[arif_93]

what about glosso s=cuz thats wat i got instead of e. tennelus