Which Plant
- Thread starter Warr40
- Start date
shuhu
Fish Crazy
any moss (I think) will attach to your ornaments, the most common is Java Moss but there are many others to choose from, lighting will probably wont be much of a problem with these but you don't mention the size of your tank.
George Farmer
ad aqua
Unfortunately all plants that attach to wood etc. tend to be slow growing i.e. Java fern, mosses, Anubias etc.Warr40 said:
I am slightly concerned about your lighting. You have 130W in a 29G. That's 4.5 Watts per Gallon. You WILL need CO2 @ 30 ppm, lots (at least 50% substrate cover) of fast-growing plants and plenty of macro/micro nutrients before even turning the lights on if you wish to keep away algae. Also 10000K is generally more suited to marine set-ups where the corals require the high-blue content for photosynthesis. In a freshwater environment 10000K generally favours algae growth.
As for which plant you should get - lots of fast growing stem plants i.e. Hygrophila species, Ludwigia species, Ambulia, Water Sprite, Hornwort, Egeria species and any floating plants.
Hope this helps.
George Farmer
ad aqua
I would to start with. 4.5 WPG is for the more experienced planted aquarist IMO. Still use CO2 with 2.25 WPG though, you will be able to grow most plants well with that and won't need to worry too much about fertilisers.
With 4.5 WPG things will grow fast, but with that much light things will quickly go south as well if you dont keep on top of everything, id say definatly go with the 65 watts for the moment until you get a feel for things.
Get your co2 setup correctly, get your water parameters correct, get your fertililiseing regime in place, its a definate learning curve in the beginning, its a bit of a balanceing act until your tank matures after a while, and once your comfitable with all of those aspects and your tank is up and running and problem free, then i would consider after a 2 or 3 month period running the other light and upping the wattage, but i think in the beginning to give yourself a good chance of success without many problems, id leave the F1 lighting until you have more experience and a good feel for whats happening in your tank.
Things will grow a little bit slower but thats ok in the beginning, thats what you want, you dont want things getting out of control to quickly.
Im running 3 watts per gallon and for me at the stage im at (only a novice as well) its more than enough for me to handle right now until i get more of a feel for whats going on.
Best of luck with it.
Get your co2 setup correctly, get your water parameters correct, get your fertililiseing regime in place, its a definate learning curve in the beginning, its a bit of a balanceing act until your tank matures after a while, and once your comfitable with all of those aspects and your tank is up and running and problem free, then i would consider after a 2 or 3 month period running the other light and upping the wattage, but i think in the beginning to give yourself a good chance of success without many problems, id leave the F1 lighting until you have more experience and a good feel for whats happening in your tank.
Things will grow a little bit slower but thats ok in the beginning, thats what you want, you dont want things getting out of control to quickly.
Im running 3 watts per gallon and for me at the stage im at (only a novice as well) its more than enough for me to handle right now until i get more of a feel for whats going on.
Best of luck with it.
George Farmer
ad aqua
Standard pea gravel is, as you state, too big. Grain size should be small enough for the roots to anchor yet grow effectively without too much resistance.
I've had good results with fine (1 to 3mm) pea gravel mixed with laterite.
One point to remember about pea gravel is that it can increase your pH and hardness levels due to the lime content. I overcame this problem simply by performing large partial water changes. This has the added benefits of replacing vital nutrients whilst diluting toxins.
I understand that Seachem Flourite is effective - this can be used soley or mixed with gravel. Caribsea Eco-Complete has a strong following too amongst planted aquarists. Both of these options are more expensive though.
As for liquid ferts you can use pretty much any of the commonly available ones to start with. If and when you see excellent growth resulting in nutrient deficiencies then you may need to consider dosing macronutrients (N P K). You can do this very cheaply using dry (powdered) chemicals. I wouldn't worry yet though.
Where do you live?
I've had good results with fine (1 to 3mm) pea gravel mixed with laterite.
One point to remember about pea gravel is that it can increase your pH and hardness levels due to the lime content. I overcame this problem simply by performing large partial water changes. This has the added benefits of replacing vital nutrients whilst diluting toxins.
I understand that Seachem Flourite is effective - this can be used soley or mixed with gravel. Caribsea Eco-Complete has a strong following too amongst planted aquarists. Both of these options are more expensive though.
As for liquid ferts you can use pretty much any of the commonly available ones to start with. If and when you see excellent growth resulting in nutrient deficiencies then you may need to consider dosing macronutrients (N P K). You can do this very cheaply using dry (powdered) chemicals. I wouldn't worry yet though.
Where do you live?
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