3 replies to this topic

[MathMan]

Hi All,
Well I have just started up my new 6'x1'x1' planted tank. So far I got a heap of Amazon swords, java fern & moss, Ludwiga, and some grassy type stuff. Has internal power filter and got home made CO2 injector. I was wondering a few things...
Is lighting absolutely critical? At the moment I have 2x30watt bulbs (gro-lux). I don't really care if the plants grow slowly just as long as they dont die, so is this sufficient?
What fertilisers are best to use? Is there some cheap form I can buy somewhere that wont hurt the fish (liquid or solid)? I have heard of PMDD (I think that's it) but really can't be bothered making it up.
Is it possible to overstock an aquarium with plants?
Any tips would be appreciated.
Cheers
Alex

[Brett4Perth]

Hello Mathman and welcome,

Your tank is an unusual shape, I calculate it contains about 168l or 45 gallons. With your 60W lighting this give you 1.3W/gallon. Anything under 2W/gallon is regarded as low light, though the shallow water partially compensates for this.
How important is light. VERY. Plants are totally reliant on light for the energy to live and grow, it is their food source. Sure they need other nutrients, but without adequate light they will die.

Plants that require less light are Java fern and moss. It may be sufficient for your Amazon swords, they would prefer more. I suspect you will struggle to keep Ludwigia and any grassy type plants. You may have more success with vallis.

At that lighting level, assuming no addition light is reflected from other sources eg. nearby windows, the light is likely to be the limiting factor. Adding anything else is unlikely to have much of an impact on plant growth. CO2, fertilisers,etc are not going to help much unless you increase the lighting.

You can't really overstock an aquarium with plants. However you need to remember that during the night plants use oxygen as well. Lots of plants and lots of fish can result in oxygen being depleted and death of fish.

Good Luck
Brett

[MathMan]

Thanks for the tips Brett
So far things are going fine with the low light levels, even the ludwiga, I had that in the pond outside and when i put t in the tank i seemed to have a growth spurt. I have put the plants that need more light directly under the light so hopefully this will help.

So shall I get rid of the CO2 thing I put in or is it not doing any harm in having it there?

I would like to have some sort of ground cover plant, other than java moss, could you recommend something that doesn't need a lot of light?

cheers.
Alex.

[Brett4Perth]

I wouldn't stop the CO2, its just that more light would help ... well ... more!

Low light foreground plants are a problem, E. tenellis (pygmy chain sword) has worked best for me.

Brett