Trial And Error With Plants..

[kylealastairlove]

does anybody else go for the whole trial and error thing with a planted tank, i have done ever since i started planting, only just starting to get things right now, i've tried a lot of plants, i have a 64L and 1.8wpg, and a ph of 7.6 with slightly hard water, even some plants that supposedly prefer these conditions have turned out to not work for me, the amounts of money i've wasted on plants is crazy, but im going with stuff that works now, and i've recently tried a few new plants. for my set up thats nearly finished now i've gone with a lot of anubius nana, java fern which i brought attatched to wood being as i failed to grow them from the tiny plantlets, so i brought already established plants cryptocoryne pondederifolia i like this plant, i recently tried aponogeton crispus and they're growing great had a couple of flowers on them too, so i've ordered a good few more, lastly i have recently tried out cabomba australis and sagittaria natans however the cabomba just seems to sit there dont think its really growing much, and i by the looks of the sagittaria its slowly growing in can see a few new shoots coming up some healthy long leaves on it but also some that are wilting away, well we will see how things go anyway thats enough from me lol i type too much...

 

[KuronoEnyo]

Should post some pics some time! I bet it looks amazing.

Btw I can agree I've spent plenty of money on plants that decided to die off in my aquarium thankfully found a lot of easy going plants that thrive in my aquarium, even an amazon sword that started off with 5 leafs now has over 18 XD Same with the java fern and anubias I got a big ole bushel of the stuff now cause of all the growth they've done in my aquarium. All I use is eco complete as my substrate no dosing. (Still want to learn more about that stuff before I even attempt it)

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Under that light mate all plants should grow, the limiting factor for your plants is what else you add CO2 and ferts wise as that light with fast growing plants means the nutrients and CO2 in the water if your not dosing are being used up quick by fast growers. If your dosing CO2 and ferts then I'd say you may have a flow issue with the plants you can't grow. Throw up some pic's and let us know what your dosing?

 

[kylealastairlove]

sounds great Kurono and steveo i have just started dosing my tank with 'flourish excel' about 2 days a go and its working wonders already im so pleased! i have a cheap dirt substrate i brought off of aquaessentials.com dont think its been promoting that much growth though, but now things are starting to get going, im very happy i will put some pics up for you

 

[kylealastairlove]

here are some pictures for you peoples ...

full tank shot, java ferns are growing a bit quicker now i started carbon dosing ! and i thought they were beginning to wilt off, things are looking up now though

sagittaria natans, pleased with this because after starting the liquid carbon dosing you can already see a lot of new shoots coming up

cryptocoryne pontederifolia, i know this is a really basic simple effortless plant, but for some reason i really like it

aponogeton crispus seems to be settling in quite nicely too, starting to get a good few new leaves growing up!

aaaaaand lastly, Mr. Zebra, he was out and about and i dont see him much so i thought i would get a pic

thanks for looking

 

[KuronoEnyo]

Ha that looks amazing the java fern so clumped together is absolutely stunning and all that wood is amazing! Yeah Co2 liquid always gets rid of any bba on my plants so its fantastic product in my opinion for anyone with a low tech plant.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Are you going to continue dosing excel as if so you will want to add some ferts that contain full nutrients, Nitrate and Phosphate.

 

[kylealastairlove]

thanks, its 2 seperate pieces both established on a piece of wood i just placed them close to each other and yeah without a doubt im going to keep dosing steveo thanks for the info any ferts you would recommend ?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Neutro+ or TNC Complete?

 

[kylealastairlove]

thanks steveo i will look them up ! and see which one i might go for