Is My Lighting Enough For Plants?

[simonas]

I;ve bought a few plants today, vallis, amazon swords and java fern

I have one light unit with 2 4ft t5 tubes in and 1 light unit with 1 t5 tube in although I haven;t ever plugged that in yet?

As the tank is 24" deeo will my lighting be enough for thes eplants to thrive?

I;d realy like my tank to be come a thickly planted tank of vallis really for my discus, angels and tetras

Simon

 

[KittyKat]

You will need both bulbs, in my experience, to reach that far down. You'll probably be wanting to add some root tabs for the Vallis. and swords.

 

[simonas]

cheers Kat
do the root tabs effect the water quality or fish?

Simon

 

[lljdma06]

No, they don't effect water quality. If you don't want to use rootabs, you can also dose with a liquid fert, or mix your own dry powders. Remember to attach the java to wood an rockwork. What kind of swords did you get?

 

[KittyKat]

They should not affect the water in any way; just try not to dig them up after they are in. I am currently using the ones by Sera, I am sure someone will say that they prefer another brand. Which species of Vallis did you get? I have personally always wanted to keep a lotus in a large, planted discus tank.. think about adding one

 

[simonas]

no idea Lissette they;re the common swords I see in the shops on a regular basis, I need to take them out the lead weight and foam and plant them

the java fern is a big one in a pot? it has curly bits at the end of its leaves, I was going to leave that in the pot is that a good idea as my substrate is prob not deep enough for the size of the roots? how would I attach it to wood?

Simon

They should not affect the water in any way; just try not to dig them up after they are in. I am currently using the ones by Sera, I am sure someone will say that they prefer another brand. Which species of Vallis did you get? I have personally always wanted to keep a lotus in a large, planted discus tank.. think about adding one

straight vallis I;m not sure you know, I love vallils I had a tank once full of it that I;d love to replicate
They had a lots there in a pot it looked very nice

Simon

 

[KittyKat]

the java fern is a big one in a pot? it has curly bits at the end of its leaves, I was going to leave that in the pot is that a good idea as my substrate is prob not deep enough for the size of the roots? how would I attach it to wood?

With some nylon or cotton thread. If you bury the rhizome in the substrate, it would rot, which is why they are best grown on wood or porous rock.

 

[simonas]

I;ll go and find some now

 

[lljdma06]

Post pictures when you are done and we'll id the swords for you.

llj

 

[KittyKat]

Which species of Vallis did you get?

straight vallis I;m not sure you know, I love vallils I had a tank once full of it that I;d love to replicate
They had a lots there in a pot it looked very nice

You should try giant Vallis. and Vallis. "rubra" because they will grow right to the surface of the water! Straight Vallis. doesn't always get as tall as that

 

[simonas]

just bought some giant vallis from ebay
see how that gets on
in myLFS they have a display tank full of it and the owner said he;d thin some out and give me some

 

[ian]

be prepaired for the sword to look a bit 'off' a week or so after planted. They are often grown out of water and tend to try and adapt by dying back a bit. Just cut the leaf from the crown. Also, you'll need to plant the crown of the vallis just above the substrate, to ensure it grows well.

 

[simonas]

cheers Ian, the crown being the base where the new leaf comes out?
Simon

 

[ian]

yeah, it's normally white on vallis. Like llj say's, make sure you get some pics up!

 

[JoshuaA]

just bought some giant vallis from ebay
see how that gets on
in myLFS they have a display tank full of it and the owner said he;d thin some out and give me some

Andys beautiful display tank, that's where I got the inspiration to go tropica substrate.

I have some Sera tabs as well which I bought for £10 I think and you get 50 in a tub. I don't really think anything else is worth that much more or for less.

However thesse tablets are notorious for leaving white dust everywhere if you have digging corys!