this plant is bomb proof, it will grow anywhere, in or out of the substrate what ever you choose. A good plant for a new set up as it'll use excessive ammonia and nitrite really well.
New To Aquarium Plants
- Thread starter eaglesaquarium
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this plant is bomb proof, it will grow anywhere, in or out of the substrate what ever you choose. A good plant for a new set up as it'll use excessive ammonia and nitrite really well.
OP
OP
That's precisely what I was thinking!
My LFS has it in bunches. How do I put it into the substrate? Just bury the end of the stem into the substrate? BTW, the amazon swords I planted yesterday aren't really in the fluorite portion of my substrate, should I move them (or move more fluorite to where they are) or are they fine where they are in mostly just sand? (I read last night - after I planted them, of course
that they are heavy root feeders.)
OP
OP
Well, I went and bought some anacharis - 4 bunches. They look great in the tank already. (I also added 3 more slightly larger amazon swords). They are hard to see in the picture, but two are in the back right corner, and the other is under the filter intake.
In addition, I put some anacharis around the back and side of the tank, and I left two of the bunches together. I think I like the together look better than the more individual stems. Is it ok to leave them like that for an extended period? Can I plant them together like that?
In addition, I put some anacharis around the back and side of the tank, and I left two of the bunches together. I think I like the together look better than the more individual stems. Is it ok to leave them like that for an extended period? Can I plant them together like that?
Why would they need to be in the Florite?? Contrary to many peoples old style beliefs, Swords don't need a nutrient rich substrate as long as the water column gets dosed, you don't need to worry about it. The term root feeder is again quite an old fashioned term. I wouldn't get anymore swords though, 5 is plenty as they do get quite big.
That souldn't be a problem, you may notice the bottom going brown, if this happens, just separate them a bit.
ps I like the way you are learning to grow the plants first
OP
OP
Thanks Ian.
I am a gardener already, and similarly, with terrestrial plants you have to feed the soil rather than the plant itself most of the time (I guess that's like feeding the water column with aquatic plants).
Yeah, I'm not too worried about the swords getting too big. If they do, they do. With my little wattage bulb, I assume it will take quite some time before they over take my tank. I can always pull them out and try to sell them on ebay!
Thank you for all your help. I'm sure I will be back in the planted section many more times when ever a problem arises.
Speaking of water column... Is there anything that I need to make sure is in the water column right now (and in the future) for these plants? I know there are plenty of nitrates available right now. What about phosphates and other trace minerals? Do these plants need anything, or is just turning on the light for a few hours a day with their current conditions sufficient?
I am a gardener already, and similarly, with terrestrial plants you have to feed the soil rather than the plant itself most of the time (I guess that's like feeding the water column with aquatic plants).
Yeah, I'm not too worried about the swords getting too big. If they do, they do. With my little wattage bulb, I assume it will take quite some time before they over take my tank. I can always pull them out and try to sell them on ebay!
Thank you for all your help. I'm sure I will be back in the planted section many more times when ever a problem arises.
Speaking of water column... Is there anything that I need to make sure is in the water column right now (and in the future) for these plants? I know there are plenty of nitrates available right now. What about phosphates and other trace minerals? Do these plants need anything, or is just turning on the light for a few hours a day with their current conditions sufficient?
OP
OP
Is it possible that if my plants are using CO2 too quickly that my pH could rise from 6.8 to 7.6 in 24 hours?
My pH has just risen that quickly in my tank, and I can't figure out why. Any help???
My pH has just risen that quickly in my tank, and I can't figure out why. Any help???
OP
OP
Just starting to get the beginnings of some Black Brush Algae - it might be a result of too many water changes recently. I've been doing water changes as a precaution with my tank. I added fish on Tuesday. Then I did a small water change on Wednesday. I added more fish on Thursday, and did another water change on Friday.
My parameters are this:
NH3: 0ppm
NO2: 0ppm
NO3: 20-40ppm
pH: 6.6-6.8
temp 72F
My 18W light stays on for 6 hours a day. The tank gets a fair amount of indirect sunlight as well, but nothing direct. The room it is in is fairly bright for a few hours in the morning, and then for a few hours in the evening.
I am running a Penguin200 filter on the tank. I will be adding a second to the tank shortly, once it arrives. This should roughly double the circulation of the tank.
From my limited research, BBA is a result of fluctuating CO2 levels - from water changes primarily since I am not dosing anything at all right now.
Am I correct in just sitting pat, since my water numbers are all fine? Should I drop the hours of light down to 4, or does that not matter for this algae?
My parameters are this:
NH3: 0ppm
NO2: 0ppm
NO3: 20-40ppm
pH: 6.6-6.8
temp 72F
My 18W light stays on for 6 hours a day. The tank gets a fair amount of indirect sunlight as well, but nothing direct. The room it is in is fairly bright for a few hours in the morning, and then for a few hours in the evening.
I am running a Penguin200 filter on the tank. I will be adding a second to the tank shortly, once it arrives. This should roughly double the circulation of the tank.
From my limited research, BBA is a result of fluctuating CO2 levels - from water changes primarily since I am not dosing anything at all right now.
Am I correct in just sitting pat, since my water numbers are all fine? Should I drop the hours of light down to 4, or does that not matter for this algae?
just remind me of the lighting in your tank? You may be right with the water change theory. Adding extra circulation will deffo help. Are you thinking of dosing any liquid carbon?
OP
OP
The lighting is a single 18W T8 daylight bulb.
As of right now I don't plan on dosing carbon. If I did, I think I'd be going with Flourish Excel, but as of right now, NO. I'll be away for a few weeks in the summer and I don't want to leave any more complicated directions than I need to. I could change that up come September but right now I want the directions to be: feed, check water and do a minor water change. I don't want any extra steps...
As of right now I don't plan on dosing carbon. If I did, I think I'd be going with Flourish Excel, but as of right now, NO. I'll be away for a few weeks in the summer and I don't want to leave any more complicated directions than I need to. I could change that up come September but right now I want the directions to be: feed, check water and do a minor water change. I don't want any extra steps...
that's fair enough, you don't really need any carbon addition in there anyway. If you were to up the planting in there, you would be able to get away with less water changes and head down the Walstad style of planted tank with light that low. Cut down on the water changes.
OP
OP
I was planning on trying to go a full week without a change anyway (assuming no issues with ammonia/nitrite). Thanks so much!!!
no probs, i would manually remove the algae though.
OP
OP
Just rub it off? And siphon the stuff out of the water?
yes, that will be fine.
OP
OP
Anacharis continues to melt and sluff off leaves. I keep having to clean my filter intake, as it gets covered in the dead leaves. I had to vacuum up a fair amount of dead plant material (all anacharis) and finally trimmed up the amazon swords. (Some of them had browned up.)
I am noticing that some of the anacharis is really greening up nicely and adding new growth, others look just like empty stems. The empty stems have been removed. Hopefully the plants are getting used to my lighting now and are ready to just grow (slow and steady works for me) and stop melting.
In the realm of fish news: all signs of the fish are remaining positive, and I found 3 cory eggs this morning in my anacharis.
I doubt that they are fertilized, but I will keep an eye on them. If they are fertilized, I'll just snip that anacharis off and move them into my quarantine tank. I'd love to get my panda numbers up to a dozen eventually (not for a while yet though). Even though I expect that nothing will come of these eggs, I'm stilled pretty puffed up about the fact that the cories are happy enough to have laid the eggs! Natural plants were definitely the right decision!
I am noticing that some of the anacharis is really greening up nicely and adding new growth, others look just like empty stems. The empty stems have been removed. Hopefully the plants are getting used to my lighting now and are ready to just grow (slow and steady works for me) and stop melting.
In the realm of fish news: all signs of the fish are remaining positive, and I found 3 cory eggs this morning in my anacharis.
I doubt that they are fertilized, but I will keep an eye on them. If they are fertilized, I'll just snip that anacharis off and move them into my quarantine tank. I'd love to get my panda numbers up to a dozen eventually (not for a while yet though). Even though I expect that nothing will come of these eggs, I'm stilled pretty puffed up about the fact that the cories are happy enough to have laid the eggs! Natural plants were definitely the right decision! Similar threads
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