Need advice on Planted Tank Plant

[Ishkabod]

For the first time I actually want to consider doing a planted tank.

Here is a few of the AGA competition entries I want to model for the tank but the Main one is the first place one for the small small aquarium.

It only has one plant listed so i'd thought why not try it

Here are the pages

Near what i want but not quite (need depth)

I like the waterfall though but i'm not sure it'll work in the design i want

What i want

What i would like to know is

How hard is it to grow this type of plant

Do i need CO2 For sure or is patience enough

lighting requirements. I was looking at the recent posting about a cheap DIY conversion of a regular light strip into something more powerful for 21 dollars. Would that work on a 15 gallon.

And last but not least where can i find rocks like the ones in the pictures.

Thanks sooo much

L

[thedarkstar]

Some of the plants listed seem as though they'd be fine in low light. I would research each of the plants lighting before anything. Cause essentially... Low light = no CO2, high light = CO2. Once you hit a certain WPG CO2 almost becomes mandatory.

As for light, as long as its daylight bulbs, I don't think you'll have any problems finding something cheap that will work.

I guarantee you'll need some decent scissors though, cause you'll be pruning quite a bit to keep it looking that nice.

[Kayen]

HC is the main plant in both scapes.

The thing about HC is that it prefers higher light levels and absolutely loves CO2/Excel.

Or you can grow it emersed how i'm growing it for a few months.

However the main problem is acquiring the plant itself around here.

I see WTB posts for the plant around here often, and seems that not many people have it .

[Ishkabod]

If i can get away with Excel or dry ferts and no CO2 then i'll be a very happy person. Any advice on WPG.

As for a clipping of this stuff well I would only want a bit and then I'd let it grow from there on.

Also how difficult/expensive is a DIY CO2 unit.

Thanks

L

p.s. about the plants in the secondary design. I like the concept but i figure i can work on that after i get the main part done with the one plant in the first pic

Edited January 23, 2009 by Ishkabod

[werner]

DIY CO2

[Ishkabod]

DIY CO2

Okay it seems like the CO2 system is easily made and cheaply too so I might give that a shot. The problem is the maintenance involved. I know i can leave my tanks for a couple of weeks without water changes if i get really really busy but it seems like i can't do that with the Yeast. Also what about that plant in the number one. Can i get away with no CO2. Is there a similar plant that i can get away with if i need CO2 for the other one. Also most of the questions in my first post still need answers. I've been researching but so far i've had no luck so Please help.

Thanks

L

P.S. The DIY CO2 site you gave me is Wonderfull but i'm weary because it says it's enough CO2 for a 30 gallon and i'm useing it on a tank half that size so should i not adjust things or should i and how.

[thedarkstar]

DIY CO2

Okay it seems like the CO2 system is easily made and cheaply too so I might give that a shot. The problem is the maintenance involved. I know i can leave my tanks for a couple of weeks without water changes if i get really really busy but it seems like i can't do that with the Yeast. Also what about that plant in the number one. Can i get away with no CO2. Is there a similar plant that i can get away with if i need CO2 for the other one. Also most of the questions in my first post still need answers. I've been researching but so far i've had no luck so Please help.

Thanks

L

P.S. The DIY CO2 site you gave me is Wonderfull but i'm weary because it says it's enough CO2 for a 30 gallon and i'm useing it on a tank half that size so should i not adjust things or should i and how.

I'd just go to this site... here and look up the scientific names in the side bar. Tropica has pretty good advice concerning light levels, etc. For you to not use CO2, I wouldn't go much higher than 2 WPG, or so I've read, anything more needs quite a bit of CO2.

If maintenance is an issue, try to avoid using Riccia in your tank. Its easy enough to grow, but if it isn't trimmed and you intend on keeping it near the bottom, you'll have trouble.

Also, for the CO2... if it says its for a 30 gallon, you can always throw an air regulator thing on the tube to modify how much CO2 enters the tank.

[jvision]

Since you're planning on just a 15gal or so, Seachem Excel should work out fine. I'd shoot for 2-3 WPG on a standard 15, if you can get shallower, that'd be even better . YOu'll want to be at the higher end if it's a deeper tank. THe only problem is that the 1st tank is heavy on Riccia fluitans, which will melt with Excel.

You should be able to find the rocks you need at a landscape place like Cannar or Burnco.

[Ishkabod]

Thanks and Jason with the Excel could i use The organic carbon one and not the one with everything else or is there a difference. I'll have to check out some landscaping places then. When you say deeper tank does that refer to the standard 15 gallon or not.

Is there another type of plant that is would have a similar effect but won't melt with Excel?

Thanks

L

OH and about the air regulator what is it and where can i get it and how much does it cost and could i buy it second hand. Would it allow the excess produced to accumulate and then be reused or discarded?

Edited January 24, 2009 by Ishkabod

[thedarkstar]

Thanks and Jason with the Excel could i use The organic carbon one and not the one with everything else or is there a difference. I'll have to check out some landscaping places then. When you say deeper tank does that refer to the standard 15 gallon or not.

Is there another type of plant that is would have a similar effect but won't melt with Excel?

Thanks

L

OH and about the air regulator what is it and where can i get it and how much does it cost and could i buy it second hand. Would it allow the excess produced to accumulate and then be reused or discarded?

the regulator thing will be one of those air hose connectors, not the 'T' but the one that you can adjust for airflow.

And as far as it looks to me, as long as everything is air-tight there will be no leaking so you'll use the CO2 until the reaction is complete.

Similar effect... try mosses?

And deeper would be like a standard 20 gal vs a 20 gal long. Longer + Wider = less height, meaning you can use less light to achieve higher lighting within the tank.

[Ishkabod]

Thanks and Jason with the Excel could i use The organic carbon one and not the one with everything else or is there a difference. I'll have to check out some landscaping places then. When you say deeper tank does that refer to the standard 15 gallon or not.

Is there another type of plant that is would have a similar effect but won't melt with Excel?

Thanks

L

OH and about the air regulator what is it and where can i get it and how much does it cost and could i buy it second hand. Would it allow the excess produced to accumulate and then be reused or discarded?

the regulator thing will be one of those air hose connectors, not the 'T' but the one that you can adjust for airflow.

And as far as it looks to me, as long as everything is air-tight there will be no leaking so you'll use the CO2 until the reaction is complete.

Similar effect... try mosses?

And deeper would be like a standard 20 gal vs a 20 gal long. Longer + Wider = less height, meaning you can use less light to achieve higher lighting within the tank.

Okay so i guess maybe increasing the light in the tank is a must but what about low light plants. Will those work in a tank like that. Also what should i do for a substrate and anchor for the plants themselves. I have tried to do this before but i'm horrid at it. Tips and tricks to get the look i want would be helpful.

Would the plant Hemianthus callitrichoides ''Cuba'' Be hard to find. I was looking and it seemed to be exactly what i needed. Low light and medium growth with a max hight of 3 cm.

Thanks

L

[jvision]

There are a few dwarf species of Crypt. and Anubias that would be fine w/o much light at all.

Your plants will do well with some sort of carbon, so Excel or DIY CO2 is the way to go, IMO.

HC"Cuba" may be difficult to find. I know there is some of the domestic stuff around - think I have a few sprigs in a couple tanks if you can't find any.

[thedarkstar]

I agree with everything jvision said, the only other thing I can add is that I've seen posts looking for HC on the forum a few times (including my own) and it seems like its a fairly popular plant that 'might' be hard to come by?

Substrate should probably be something like a layer of sand (optional), followed by a nutrient-rich soil/gravel, with a layer of sand on top. As for anchor, unless they need to be tied to a rock, they should root just fine in most sand/gravel.

Low light plants: Crypts, Anubias, Java moss/fern, some Echinodorus sp. can do well in low light, some Vallisneria, Hygrophila sp. can do well, as can quite a few others.

The Issue here is that most are swords or stem plants which tend to grow large, for your aquascape project I'd go to that tropica site and then try to find... Hemianthus callitrichoides, Marsilea hirsuta, Riccardia graeffei, Monosolenium tenerum, Utricularia graminifolia, etc...

All of those seem to be low light/small, my favorite two are the HC and the Marsilea hirsuta.

Edited January 24, 2009 by thedarkstar

[firestorm]

My HC is in roughly 2.5wpg, I use the hagen natural plant systems (for up to 20 gal) and make my own mix, I dose by the EI, and my HC is really starting to come around. I had problems before with a certain fish uprooting it and knocking it around, but now that he's gone it's doing well. In a month I might have a little bit of it to spare, and it's the "cuba" variety. I bought it from pisces and it was a tropica plant. Unfortunately pisces doesn't always get it in, and when they do it sells out FAST. I went to see about the dwarf hairgrass they apparently had, they were sold out of it within a few days

Good luck with trying recreate those tanks If using mosses instead of the riccia, I would suggest tying them to the rocks with fishing line. Eventually they will attach themselves to the rocks. If using riccia, I suggest buying some toole (walmart or fabric stores should carry some), or buy some of those bath sponges (the ones with netting) and use those for tying the riccia to the rocks. After about 9mths-1 yr you may have to redo the riccia, as the stuff under the netting eventually starts to die off and it thins out alot. And if you don't keep riccia trimmed, bits of it float around the tank all over.