A little help estimating the plant quantity for new tank

[teamgs]

Greetings,
My 90 gal tall is cycled and ready to go, and I would like to add the plants before the fish. I am trying to estimate the general number of plants to purchase to get a moderately heavily planted tank. The specs:

tank dimensions: 36" wide x 30" tall x 18" deep
lighting: 1 - 96W Dual Daylight CF, 1 - 96W Dual Actinic CF
CO2 - None
Substrate - generic medium to small gravel ~3-4"
Proposed fish - community tank

The right half of the tank is a large rock field, sloping from right to left, back to front, with the high point in the back right corner about 1 foot from the top of the tank. However, in at least half of the rock field, the gravel is relatively close to the top of the rocks, so that plants could still be rooted in the gravel. The left half of the tank is bare gravel, with the exception of two large specimen rocks and a small piece of driftwood.

I am looking for a low to moderate light tank, with the background plants to reach to the top of the tank eventually (if not initially)
I am not adverse to spending some more $$ to get a few large mother or specimen plants. I have seen some 2 foot and larger swords for around $25. As for the plant types, I was looking at all the normal low light plants. (Anacharis, Ambulia, Hygro, Water onion, large sword for background. Java fern, anubias, crypts, vals, etc. possibly a specimen plant of some sort for the middle area. Nana, dwarf sag, 4 leaf clover, pygmy crypt, etc. for the foreground)

I just have no clue as to a general number of plants to purchase. Of course, if I have a glaring ommision as to a good plant, or a glaring mistake, please let me know.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Gary

[Lonewolfblue]

It all depends on the look you want. I think for the rock pile, java ferns and anubias would look great tied to the rocks til they attach themselves. Could do 1 java fern and maybe 2 or 3 types of anubias, to give it a variety. As for foreground, clover is pretty good, but I think E. Tiandra will look much better. It's not so light demanding either. And it spreads much faster than clover, clover is very slow growth.

Could also do 1 sword as well, maybe in the left corner. Don't place it right in the corner, but out closer to the center of the tank and a short distance from the left side. This will allow it to spread out and look good.

As for hygros, depends on what you like. I have Sunset hygro, and it just goes all over the place. Kind of hard to manage. But does look really cool in it's coloring. A patch of R. rotundafolia is pretty nice too, and you can get the one that's green or the one that's reddish as well. then maybe a couple smaller crypts for up front in the midst of the ground cover, to add depth. Another taller crypt that will give color is Beckettii. It's a great looking plant.

But like I said, it's all in what you like. You can do a wide variety of plants, or a fewer amount, but more of each. Depends on the look you want. I prefer fewer and more of each myself, but I do have a tank with about 30 species of plants in it. Doesn't look near as nice as a planned scape, but in a way, a no-scape tank with a mixture of plants can look really good too. Just my opinions here...

[teamgs]

Thanks for the information! I will look up the plants you mentioned. I appreciate your assistance.

Regards,

Gary

[Lonewolfblue]

Here's the ground cover I was talking about, E. Tiandra...

[teamgs]

Originally Posted by Lonewolfblue

Here's the ground cover I was talking about, E. Tiandra...

Very nice! (I hope you are speaking of the short stuff! )

Gary

[docrak]

Your plant list is pretty good for a low light tank. The only thing I wouldn't recomend is a sword right now. I had pretty good luck growing a sword at 2w/g but bellow that you might have growth issues. Change out your Dual Actinic and your possibilities are endless. My only recomendation is definetly buy Hygro. It's a fast growing plant in most lighting conditions and absorbes a lot of excess nutrients that cause algae. As for how much to buy; go out to one of those one line web sites and order how much as you think you need. Then cut the order in half and that should be your first purchase. I always get to many plants when setting up an aquarium and have to throw half out or give it away to some friends. The real secret is to plant heavy, but leave room for the plants to fill in.

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by teamgs

Very nice! (I hope you are speaking of the short stuff! )
Gary

Yes, the ground cover....

[teamgs]

Thanks all! I will take all the information and hopefully place an order today. If I do get a sword, I definitely won't start with a huge, $25 one, until I am sure that I can support it's growth with my system.

I seem to recall reading here that CF's give more output than standard flourescents, which were used to create the WPG rule. I think that my calculations based on the article, put my effective output at somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 W, for a ratio of 1.5 WPG. If I find that I need more light, I may think about swapping my dual actinic for a 96W SmartPac, which will give an additional 45W of daylight, yet still provide some of the actininc, to help the fish appearence. This would get me up to right around 2 WPG.

Regards,

Gary

[docrak]

Originally Posted by teamgs

Thanks all! I will take all the information and hopefully place an order today. If I do get a sword, I definitely won't start with a huge, $25 one, until I am sure that I can support it's growth with my system.

I seem to recall reading here that CF's give more output than standard flourescents, which were used to create the WPG rule. I think that my calculations based on the article, put my effective output at somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 W, for a ratio of 1.5 WPG. If I find that I need more light, I may think about swapping my dual actinic for a 96W SmartPac, which will give an additional 45W of daylight, yet still provide some of the actininc, to help the fish appearence. This would get me up to right around 2 WPG.

Regards,

Gary

That's not always a correct assumtion. LSI (Lumens per Square Inch) is a far better way to measure lighting intensity. Refer to Rex Grigg's web site:

http://www.rexgrigg.com/mlt.htm

The problem with that system is that it can be difficult to figure out how many lumens your bulb puts out.

It's difficult to judge how much light you have, it's based on so many factors. The age of the bulb can affect light levels. Basically treat your tank as low to moderate lighting. I'm not sure if you're at medium lighting but them again there is no way to tell exept how your plants react to the lighting.

Good luck, and have fun buying those plants.

[teamgs]

Thanks! At least I have some room to increase the lighting with my current setup, should I need it.

Good article, BTW!

Regards,

Gary