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plants - I'm 'bout to give up

Scooter

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
114
Location
Knoxvegas, TN
Help!! I need some non-CO2 needy, low light plants. And I don't want to be adding a bunch of chemicals either. I've got a 75g tank with some plants that are turning to mush. The only thing doing reasonably well are anubias. Everything else is failing. I'm terrible with plants but prefer them over artificial. Any of you plant folk out there have some suggestions? CO2 is virtually nil because I'm running a large wet/dry filter.

I typically don't whine or beg, but I'm doing both right now.
 

Jason

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
28
Do not give up. A fish tank without live plants is never as beautiful as a planted one. All of the above suggestions plus Vallisneria spiralis and some Cryptocorynes are doing well under very low light. And do not forget that you can always add another bulb... :idea: ...
 

Scooter

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
114
Location
Knoxvegas, TN
Matt, I've got one watt per gallon and I'm not really interested in increasing it at this point in time. The lack of CO2 is a bigger problem than the lighting, imo. Though more lighting would certainly help, I'm currently more interested in some plants that will thrive w/o a great deal of it. I guess I could always fill it with anubias. I've got some hornwort and java fern in there too that do OK, but they're aren't doing as well as the anubias.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Maybe I'll just get aggravated enough one of these days and fill it full of fluorescent orange plastic plants.
 

farm41

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,191
Location
monroe, or
Scooter,

I agree with the above recommendations, I know java fern and java moss will grow at those light levels as will the anubias. I have Cryptocoryne Wendtii growing and putting up some runners at 1 wpg. I would get some Tropica Master Grow, Flourish, or Kent freshwater plant supplement, to add weekly, not a lot, just use one of them every water change.

HTH
 

2la

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
196
Location
Portland, Oregon, USA
Scooter said:
The lack of CO2 is a bigger problem than the lighting, imo.
Actually, that's putting the cart before the horse. If you don't have enough lighting to stimulate a good rate of photosynthesis, the CO2 that you add will combine with water and then dissociate to release protons, dropping your pH. While the two go hand in hand and you cannot increase one factor without balancing it with an increase in the other, it is much, much better (i.e., safer) to increase your lighting without increasing your CO2 than vice versa. The most you risk by doing the former is encourage algae growth; with the latter, you risk a precipitous drop in pH that can kill both plants and fish.
 

ginnie5

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
64
Location
Ft Mill, SC
You know...

(I'm going to go into hiding after I admit this :eek: ) But I have NEVER been able to keep java fern alive. java moss yes. Any other plant yes, well except this last one that I'm not even sure wasn't terrestrial. They just plain die on me regardless.
 
B

Boo

Guest
I put laterite underneath the gravel and supplement with Leaf Zone once a week, with water change about 5-10% weekly. I have 4-55watt PC's and 1 40 watt Plant grow flour.total of 260 watts on my 135 gallon. My onion bulbs, Am.swords, chain swords are growing rapidly.But my Anubius is growing the fastest, sprouting a new leaf every 4-5 days. No CO2. I credit it to the Laterite and Leafzone. And of course water change once a week with ro/di water.
 

Discus Man

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
125
Scooter, I too want a planted tank with no CO2 and only one watt per gallon.
My success stories have been Java fern, bolbitis, anubias, larger leaf varieties, Carolinia, and Amazon swords. Put a pocket of Fluorite in the substrate where you want to put the plant and pop rooting plants there. Put all others on rocks or wood tied with fishing line.

What I will suggest is yank out the elodea right away. With a low light tank eldoea survives barely but somehow seems to still use up something necessary in the water (my guess is CO2). You want to avoid even trying a fast grower- except carolinia which I have found doesn't affect the other plants. Carolinia looks like Cabomba but isn't.
Avoid plants like elodea, wisteria, etc. Exactly the plants you LFS will suggest for a lower light tank.

plant growth will be slow but in a year the tank will finally be 'full' of the plants you want.
JME
 

Xanathos

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
97
Cryptocorines would do very well with this light, and it gives plenty of hiding places for fishes likes Apistos...

Phil
 
P

PlanetMongo

Guest
I have a 2 gallon eclipse (erm, no fish). Java Fern and Anubias bartoni have done great in this tank, cryptocornes not so good unless I did maintainence. I haven't changed any water in months and they're still going strong. Take that for what it's worth.. :)

I also did wonders with kitty litter, sand, osmocote, DIY CO2, and fast growing light loving plants. 2 10 gallon tanks spanned by a 4 foot shoplight. Nice tank, but the kitty litter/sand stuff gets ugly. If only Flourite were $1/lb. :)
 

Scooter

New Member
5 Year Member
Messages
114
Location
Knoxvegas, TN
:lol: Patience, patience, patience. I exercise that just fine with fish, but I haven't with plants..........until recently. Problem solved. The plants just needed time and are doing okay now. No CO2 and no additional light as of yet, but more light forthcoming so I can increase my plant options. Thanks for the feedback.
 

aspen

Active Member
5 Year Member
Messages
1,033
Location
toronto, canada
>>'Problem solved. The plants just needed time and are doing okay now.'

your tank is doing well? adding more light without adding co2 may well cause you more problems- algae. i would be satisfied with it till you have more problems. read the articles at www.tropica.com (under aquaristic/biology of water plants) regarding the relationship between plant growth and co2. low light tanks with the addition of co2 do much better than tanks with higher light and no co2. there is nothing wrong with growing low light plants without co2 ime. if you add more light then you should consider at least diy co2.

rick
 

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