Tall Low-Medium Light Plants?

[LyraGuppi]

Since I'll be starting the 90g fairly soon, I'll need a plant list. I'll be sticking with the standard bulb that came with the tank, which I hope I'll be able to figure out what it is. So, no T2s in this tank sadly, but there will be Flourite, which is a planting substrate.
 
So, the height of the tank is 27 inches. I need a few plants that will grow large enough to shelter angelfish from rams/kribs (whichever I decide) and vice versa, but not need really high lights. Anyone have any ideas?
 
PS: There won't be any ferts or CO2 injections, just the lights and the flourite. I have medium hard water.

 

[Akasha72]

my amazon swords are now out of the top of the water. They've got far taller than I expected. They also give great cover for fish to hide in

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Valisneria
Cryptocoryne balansae

 

[Akasha72]

forgot to mention the tigar lotus plant. My fish love to sit under the leaves 

 

[Byron]

We need to know more about the lighting.  If this is a standard 90g, it will be 4 feet in length by 2 feet depth by 18 inches front to back.  A dual T8 fixture taking two 48-inch tubes will be your best light for the plants being mentioned here.  A single T8 tube (48 inches) might be workable but I wouldn't go with this.  A single T5 HO tube (48 inches) will work fine; a dual T5 would be way too much light.  I have used/experimented with all these, so once I know the fixture I can suggest suitable tubes.  I really would recommend the dual T8, as you can use inexpensive tubes in 5000K and 6500K with excellent results; I now have this over my 70g, 90g and 115g tanks.
 
Flourite...if you have not already bought this, I suggest you forget it.  I have used it, and it made absolutely no difference to plant growth.  I set up my 70g with Flourite Black and it ran for two years before I tore it down; it is now running with play sand, and the same plants are doing just as well.  Plus, there is the issue of the sharpness of Flourite, at least the "regular" Flourite; the Flourite Sand may be better, I don't know.  I had to remove my corys from this tank because the Flourite ripped their mouths open; the fish recovered after being moved to a sand tank, though one panda still has only part of its mouth and looks odd, but has been eating and chumming around with the others for more than 3 years now after being removed.
 
I don't exactly know what Flourite (and the basically identical Eco-Complete) actually does, but you need to use substrate and liquid fertilizers just the same as with a sand or fine gravel substrate.  I had several species of Echinodorus swords, pygmy chain swords, Sagittaria subulata, and floating plants.  The Flourite was a waste of $180, when $14 of play sand works better.
 
Byron.

 

[LyraGuppi]

We need to know more about the lighting.  If this is a standard 90g, it will be 4 feet in length by 2 feet depth by 18 inches front to back.
 
Will do, and those measurements sound about right, except the tank is a bowfront.
 
 A dual T8 fixture taking two 48-inch tubes will be your best light for the plants being mentioned here.  A single T8 tube (48 inches) might be workable but I wouldn't go with this.  A single T5 HO tube (48 inches) will work fine; a dual T5 would be way too much light.  I have used/experimented with all these, so once I know the fixture I can suggest suitable tubes.  I really would recommend the dual T8, as you can use inexpensive tubes in 5000K and 6500K with excellent results; I now have this over my 70g, 90g and 115g tanks.
 
I'll have a look at the light later tonight, and check out dual T8 setups.
 
Flourite...if you have not already bought this, I suggest you forget it.  I have used it, and it made absolutely no difference to plant growth.  I set up my 70g with Flourite Black and it ran for two years before I tore it down; it is now running with play sand, and the same plants are doing just as well.  Plus, there is the issue of the sharpness of Flourite, at least the "regular" Flourite; the Flourite Sand may be better, I don't know.  I had to remove my corys from this tank because the Flourite ripped their mouths open; the fish recovered after being moved to a sand tank, though one panda still has only part of its mouth and looks odd, but has been eating and chumming around with the others for more than 3 years now after being removed.
 
In my 45g, I've had results with Flourite, mainly my hairgrass and swords growing like crazy. My mother has already bought it too, so I can't really get rid of it.

I always put the Flourite under a substrate, it did look sharp to me.
 
I don't exactly know what Flourite (and the basically identical Eco-Complete) actually does, but you need to use substrate and liquid fertilizers just the same as with a sand or fine gravel substrate.  I had several species of Echinodorus swords, pygmy chain swords, Sagittaria subulata, and floating plants.  The Flourite was a waste of $180, when $14 of play sand works better.
 
Darnit

There goes my non-existent wallet.. I'll check out ferts.

 

[Byron]

Finding dual T8 fixtures is not easy these days.  First the T5 craze hit, followed by LED, and T8 has become something of a prehistoric thing.  When my five-foot dual T8 over the 115g gave out two years ago, I could not find T8 fixtures anywhere online.  I tried LED and that failed, so I bought a "shop fixture" from Home Depot and inserted into the light housing so I now have dual T8 again.
 
Plant nutrients occur from fish foods and water changes.  It is possible to have a planted tank, low-tech or natural method, without adding fertilizers.  It depends upon your source water and fish load, and plant species.  I have very soft water, near-zero, so I have to add everything.  But this gave me a good opportunity of testing the Flourite.  I had expected it to provide the nutrients I always add in other tanks, but this clearly wasn't happening and several other aquarists advised that I should be adding the ferts just the same.  That made the difference, so to me that suggests Flourite on its own is not providing much.
 
If the Flourite was purchased locally, and fairly recently, you might be able to exchange it for credit.  I've dont this with lighting and filters; one of the benefits of local stores that know you and want to keep your business.
 
Byron.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It gets worse I am hate to say. Ff your tank is indeed 27 inches deep, you will need above average light. The further light has to travel, the less intense it becomes. Push it though water and this makes it worse. The old watt per gallon rule, while not very exact, did provide some guidelines. One of these was that in very shallow or in tanks deeper than 20-24 inches, one needs more light. In the first case it has to do with the light not spreading out enough before it hits bottom and in the second case it has to do with needing more watts to get the same intensity of light to the plants.
 
The next issue has to do with growth rates. As rule most of the plants that thrive in lower light levels are also slower growers. I can tell you it takes years to get a 4 inch anubias  to 20 inches. One way around the height issue is to attach anubias and ferns to wood so they start out being a good distance off the bottom.
 
Then there is the problem of having low light with tall plants- even stems. Low light will encourage leggy growth. This means leaves are spread further apart on the plant and then they tend to die off nearer the bottom as there is never enough light way down there.
 
I have pounds and pounds of fluorite in buckets and containers. I gave up on it. Just like Byron I found developing mulm and using decent substrate ferts works as well as evenr the most expensive plant substrate. But if you are dead set on using it come on over and you can have mine for free. I think I have enough for your new tank. What I have used and do like is about an ounce per gal. (in a 50 gal tank I would use 50 ounces) of Laterite which I sprinkle into the bottom inch of the substrate as it goes into the tank. This stuff is not pricey and it does help, imo
 
I agree with Byron about using more light. I know it will cost upfront, but in the long run you will be a lot happier and so too will be the plants in your new tank.
 
Lastly, you can save money on ferts by getting dry ingredients and mixing your own. You will also need a gal. of distilled water for this which should cost a whopping $1.00

 

[Byron]

At this stage in the discussion, some photos to illustrate may be helpful.  Below is my 115g which is five-foot length, and has two 4-foot T8 tubes, a Phillips 5000K and a 6500K from Home Depot, replaced annually for $8 total.  This tank has been running since 1996 with this lighting, and I have torn it down a couple times to move, etc, and most recently in August 2011 when I replaced the gravel with play sand.  In my view, this is the sort of planted aquascape you want with angelfish (that you mentioned initially).  My swords do well in this tank, both the larger and the chain.  And I have floating plants, practically essential for angelfish to create the natural dim waters they prefer.  The photos are at various stages in the life of this tank, so you can see how plants change over time.  The plants themselves are the same, or in the case of the chain swords, adventitious plants from runners off the parent plants that I bought back in 1997.
 
Photo 1 is from the gravel substrate days, Sept 2009.
Photo 2 is August 19, 2010.  You can see the increased plant growth in one year from the previous photo.
Photo 3 is Feb 24, 2012, after it started to rebound from the tear down in August 2011 to change to sand.
Photo 4 is May 27, 2014.
Photo 5 is Feb 24, 2015.
 
Byron.

 

[Ch4rlie]

At this stage in the discussion, some photos to illustrate may be helpful.  Below is my 115g which is five-foot length, and has two 4-foot T8 tubes, a Phillips 5000K and a 6500K from Home Depot, replaced annually for $8 total.  This tank has been running since 1996 with this lighting, and I have torn it down a couple times to move, etc, and most recently in August 2011 when I replaced the gravel with play sand.  In my view, this is the sort of planted aquascape you want with angelfish (that you mentioned initially).  My swords do well in this tank, both the larger and the chain.  And I have floating plants, practically essential for angelfish to create the natural dim waters they prefer.  The photos are at various stages in the life of this tank, so you can see how plants change over time.  The plants themselves are the same, or in the case of the chain swords, adventitious plants from runners off the parent plants that I bought back in 1997.

 
Byron.

 
Are these normal tubes used in offices and suchlike, not specifically 'aquarium' T8's sold at LFS at vastly upmarked prices?
 
As this would be great to know as I too use T8 tubes on my main tank, would be of considerable savings if I can find  equivalent UK store that has these T8 tubes, 5,800 and 6,500K or therabouts if available.

 

[Byron]

Are these normal tubes used in offices and suchlike, not specifically 'aquarium' T8's sold at LFS at vastly upmarked prices?
As this would be great to know as I too use T8 tubes on my main tank, would be of considerable savings if I can find  equivalent UK store that has these T8 tubes, 5,800 and 6,500K or therabouts if available.
 

 
These tubes I am using are not "aquarium" or "plant" type, but they are specific with respect to the colour temperature (Kelvin) and this is important.  With two tubes, I can mix one 5000K and one 6500K which has turned out to be good lighting for plants and the colour rendition of fish and plants.  I believe I have Phillips at present, but I have also used Sylvania with the same success, and I have used the GE 6500K.  We in NA get these in hardware and home improvement stores, and they are much less expensive.  They are in with the standard T8 tubes, and there are "warm white" and "cool white" and so forth; just look for the Kelvin.
 
Over my single tube tanks, I have to go with the more expensive tubes, Life-Glo is my regular, because these are more intense lighting than the less expensive types.  I have used the GE 6500K 24-inch tube over my 29g, but it didn't stay there long as it clearly was too weak and the plants began showing it.  But the 4-foot tubes seem to be better quality.
 
Byron.

 

[daizeUK]

Are these normal tubes used in offices and suchlike, not specifically 'aquarium' T8's sold at LFS at vastly upmarked prices?
 
As this would be great to know as I too use T8 tubes on my main tank, would be of considerable savings if I can find  equivalent UK store that has these T8 tubes, 5,800 and 6,500K or therabouts if available.

 
Charlie I usually get my T8 tubes and all other kind of bulbs from LampSpecs online. They offer various kelvin ratings, I get daylight bulbs (and I've started buying daylight bulbs for general use in the kitchen too as I prefer them to the standard yellowish ones).
 There are other online suppliers I've used before too so it's worth shopping about a bit.