Which Plant Best For Carpet

[daiandgems]

Hiya im starting up a iwagumi tank and was jus wondering which plant/plants would be best for creating my carpet I like the hair grass and hemianthus cuba I think its called but want to know what others are out there and growth rate.
Thanks Dai.

 

[BigTom]

I think people will be able to give you better advice is you tell them more about your lighting, substrate, co2 and fert dosing plans.

 

[weezawoo]

I know there is also glossostigma elatinoides and liaepopsis brasiliensis, might be worth looking up

 

[daiandgems]

Hiya substrate I was thinking of was columbo flora base lighting is 2 x t8s with reflectors and co2 is fluval 88g kit hope that gives you an idea cheers.

 

[ian]

how big is this tank?? The columbo stuff is a really good substrate. You are going with pressurised C02 which is good for carpeting plants. If you are thinking HC 'cuba' then you'll need good flow around the substrate to stop this from growing upwards and inturn not creating that carpet. You'll have to think about ferts as well. TPN+ is always a good fert to get to grips with the plants.

BTW 88g C02 won't last very long in a large tank.

 

[daiandgems]

how big is this tank?? The columbo stuff is a really good substrate. You are going with pressurised C02 which is good for carpeting plants. If you are thinking HC 'cuba' then you'll need good flow around the substrate to stop this from growing upwards and inturn not creating that carpet. You'll have to think about ferts as well. TPN+ is always a good fert to get to grips with the plants.

BTW 88g C02 won't last very long in a large tank.

I havent really got an idea what ferts to use so thats next thing to look into my tank is 90l so hoping that 88g will last a couple of months thanks for the advice on the hc

 

[ian]

The length of time C02 will last can vary per tank. For eg, i'm using 2kg on my 190ltr and it lasts me about 10 weeks. This is just a approximation, but i reckon you're looking at 2-3 weeks max and the latter is a very max!

 

[daiandgems]

The length of time C02 will last can vary per tank. For eg, i'm using 2kg on my 190ltr and it lasts me about 10 weeks. This is just a approximation, but i reckon you're looking at 2-3 weeks max and the latter is a very max!

What I wanted to know as well is how long should I run co2 for should it be on all the time or jus a certain amount of hours cheers

 

[ian]

the bench mark for C02 running times are (have you got a solenoid?) 2 hours before lights on and 2 hours before they go off. This ensures water is well saturated when the lights come on, and research suggests that plants will only photosynthesise to their max potential at 4-6 hours.

 

[daiandgems]

Sorry to sound dumb but not sure if the fluval kit has a solenoid dont think it has think you jus manually turn flow on and turn off when you want.

 

[ian]

the problems with using this method is that you create an unstable C02, which in turn can cause certain algae. People don't always use solenoids though, they will just run the C02 constantly. With an 80g over 90ltr, this won't lat you very long at all...8 days max?

 

[daiandgems]

Is there a kit use can advise on using but not to big as limited to space cheers and thanks for advice so far

 

[ian]

theres a couple of options for you really, you can set up a DIY FE for around £80

se here http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=212550 and here http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=254568&st=0&p=2104940&#entry2104940

and then have a read of this...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/341090-the-yeast-co2-method/

Andy had this running on a 125ltr and i personally saw good results from this (even though i didn't think i would!)