Baby Tear Carpeting

[LiQuiD]

Hi guys, newbie plant person here. I have a 55 gallon tank and have started adding plants that I wish to grow. (Aqueon T5 light) I have a sand substrate and nothing more. I have 2 Anubias, 3-4 Anacharis, 2 Jungle Val, 1 White ribbon and a few low ground plants i can't remember their names. I really want to start growing dwarf baby tears and carpeting certain areas of my tank. I found 4 nice small tears at my LFS, and picked them up. They are in little plastic pots with mud. I also picked up some Flourish fertilizer and Flourish Excel for C02 additive. So here are my questions.

1) Should I just remove the baby tears from their pots, and insert them into the sand? Will they cover the sand over time?

2) I am running my light for 12 hours a day. Is this too much?

3) Are the Flourish supplements that I have purchased adequate enough to help these plants thrive?


Thanks alot for any help!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Hi guys, newbie plant person here. I have a 55 gallon tank and have started adding plants that I wish to grow. (Aqueon T5 light) I have a sand substrate and nothing more. I have 2 Anubias, 3-4 Anacharis, 2 Jungle Val, 1 White ribbon and a few low ground plants i can't remember their names. I really want to start growing dwarf baby tears and carpeting certain areas of my tank. I found 4 nice small tears at my LFS, and picked them up. They are in little plastic pots with mud. I also picked up some Flourish fertilizer and Flourish Excel for C02 additive. So here are my questions.



1) Should I just remove the baby tears from their pots, and insert them into the sand? Will they cover the sand over time?



2) I am running my light for 12 hours a day. Is this too much?



3) Are the Flourish supplements that I have purchased adequate enough to help these plants thrive?





Thanks alot for any help!

1. I'm not sure but I have heard baby tears are not a beginner plant.

2. I'd keep a close eye, that's a long time per day. Most people do max 8-10 hours a day so as to not produce an algae bloom. I do 5 hours because my tank hasn't finished cycling. Before I went down to 5 I was at 8 and experienced a massive diatom bloom. I use a Finnex Planted+ 48 inch.

3. Usually yes, your tank is not "heavily" planted.

Do I see a co2 diffuser running in the back? If so that's a ton of CO2 being put out for a 55 gallon. I don't even release half that in my 75. Watch the oxygenation levels so when you add fish they are not being suffocated.

EDIT: didn't see the fish in the tank already.

Caleb

~10g tiger barbs
~45g ick problems/loach and 5 tetras left.
~75g going to be African cichlids

 

[ImACoolguy]

Tank looks great though!


Caleb

~10g tiger barbs
~45g ick problems/loach and 5 tetras left.
~75g going to be African cichlids

 

[F.Sam]

Dwarf baby tears are not a beginner plant. Adding glut (liquid co2) won't be enough to grow them. They need actual co2 to properly grow. I'm sorry but your tears will only survive (or melt) and won't really grow.


Sent per three-eyed raven..

 

[Fresh2o]

I concur with the dwarf baby tears comments. Otherwise most of the other plants should be okay. I do have doubts about the white ribbon. For some reason in thinking it is an amphibious bog plant that may not do so well underwater in the long term. The small green thin leafed plant might be mondo grass. It is a bog plant as well. Those two plants are often marketed as truly aquatic aquarium plants at the big box stores. Sometimes they are labeled "semi-terrestrial".


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[LiQuiD]

Do I see a co2 diffuser running in the back? If so that's a ton of CO2 being put out for a 55 gallon. I don't even release half that in my 75. Watch the oxygenation levels so when you add fish they are not being suffocated.

EDIT: didn't see the fish in the tank already.

Caleb

No C02, just an air stone hiding in my driftwood volcano.

Dwarf baby tears are not a beginner plant. Adding glut (liquid co2) won't be enough to grow them. They need actual co2 to properly grow. I'm sorry but your tears will only survive (or melt) and won't really grow.

Man, this is a big bummer. I love the look of this plant. I hope a miracle can happen. Recommend any other good carpeting plant with no C02 if this one fails?

I concur with the dwarf baby tears comments. Otherwise most of the other plants should be okay. I do have doubts about the white ribbon. For some reason in thinking it is an amphibious bog plant that may not do so well underwater in the long term. The small green thin leafed plant might be mondo grass. It is a bog plant as well. Those two plants are often marketed as truly aquatic aquarium plants at the big box stores. Sometimes they are labeled "semi-terrestrial".

Yep, Mondo Grass is it, thank you. Got the ribbon and mondos from Petsmart, the rest from my LFS. I have noticed that my Jungle Val is going crazy with long blooming strands! One of them has a strand that has grown almost a foot in 4 days! Is that normal?? Its making me feel like im doing something right.

Also, is it too late to put some other substrate in my tank to help the plants thrive? Im sure it will be a pain but I dont mind the work!

 

[fish wrangler]

Wisteria. Plant the stem horizontally and it should form a carpet. I haven't tried this but have heard if it working.

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[chandlerlee13]

Wisteria. Plant the stem horizontally and it should form a carpet. I haven't tried this but have heard if it working.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Wisteria is definitely NOT a carpet plant. Its a bushy stem plant

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[chandlerlee13]

Mondo grass doesn't grow well submerged, same with ribbon plant!

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[chandlerlee13]

And turn off the air stone! Plants need co2 not oxygen

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[fish wrangler]

Wisteria is definitely NOT a carpet plant. Its a bushy stem plant

Fish?are?friends?not?food

Turned on its side and with trimming it can carpet.

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[chandlerlee13]

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Aquarium Advice mobile app[/QUOTE]
No, water wisteria gives the affect of a "carpet" in a large tank if grown on its side and specially trimmed to grow that way. In a small tank it should be used as mid to background filler. A true "carpet" plant has low compact growth and reproduce from runners.

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[chandlerlee13]

Get dwarf sag or pygmy chain sword...in time they'll carpet in your low light tank. Turn off that airstone add root tabs and iron.

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[ImACoolguy]

Get dwarf sag or pygmy chain sword...in time they'll carpet in your low light tank. Turn off that airstone add root tabs and iron.

Fish?are?friends?not?food

Just my 2¢ but air stones are good at night when your co2 is not running it diffuses any left overs in place with oxygen for your fish. That's what I do with my co2, then my lights cut off so does co2 and use air stones.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

 

[chandlerlee13]

Just my 2¢ but air stones are good at night when your co2 is not running it diffuses any left overs in place with oxygen for your fish. That's what I do with my co2, then my lights cut off so does co2 and use air stones.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

That's only if you have a co2 injection system

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[ImACoolguy]

That's only if you have a co2 injection system

Fish?are?friends?not?food

Yes, but a lot of carpet plants thrive when a co2 system is in place. That's why I mentioned it.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

 

[chandlerlee13]

You cannot grow HC without co2. What type of light do you have? Most carpet plants need 2.5+wpg to grow+ co2/ferts

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[DeeLee2013]

Just my 2¢ but air stones are good at night when your co2 is not running it diffuses any left overs in place with oxygen for your fish. That's what I do with my co2, then my lights cut off so does co2 and use air stones.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

Agree on this. I have the CO2 turn off at night and the O2 turn on vi airstones.

Also, wisteria would look cool if turned into a carpet


? Diana Lee ?
? the St. Augustine Redhead ?

 

[chandlerlee13]

Hmm

Fish?are?friends?not?food

 

[chandlerlee13]

How r the baby tears,they die yet?