Fast growers for a 2.4wpg 55g tank

[JustOneMore20]

My 55g has been set up for almost a year. I've had plants in it since I set it up. I have 2 65w compact fluorescents over the tank, or about 2.4wpg. The lights are on for 10 hours a day, on a timer. I do weekly water changes of 40%. My nitrates stay around 15ppm, ammonia 0, and nitrite 0. My pH is 7. No CO2. Substrate is about 1/3 Flourite and 2/3 4mm gravel.

I try to fertilize weekly. I use Excel, Tropica Master Grow, Flourish Potassium, and Flourish Iron.

I've tried many plants. Some of them have done great, but some don't. The plants in my 29g with less light do much better than this tank.

Right now my plant list consists of:
*Bacopa caroliniana--doing great
*Myriophyllum (Parrots Feather)--doing ok, but don't look great
*Ambulia--growing, but looks bad
*E. tennellus--doing great
*Dwarf sag--doing good
*Java fern--growing nicely
*Rotala rotundifolia--does pretty good, but I'm tired of it
*Taiwon moss on the DW--grows nicely
*Anubias (barteri, i think)--doing good
*Crinum Onion plant--great
*Crypt retrospiralis--growing slow, but looks good
*Crypt wendtii (red and green)--great
*Crypt lutea--great
*Tiger lotus--great
*Anacharis--a little leggy, but it grows

Plants I've tried:
~Ludwigia repens--refused to grow...does great in my 29g with 2.wpg
~Wisteria--grew too much...eventually tangled itself up and looked horrible
~Giant Hygro--leaves fell off....wouldn't grow

I know I need to fertilize more often and maybe get better ferts. I use the amounts recommended on the bottles.
I have quite a "plant salad" right now, but I haven't found any stem plants that grow really good, except the Bacopa and Rotala. I plan to replace the Ambulia with something, as it just looks too bad. The Myriophyllum looks ok, but I recently moved it and I don't think it has enough light where it is at now.

I have a big hunk of driftwood in the tank with Taiwon moss on it. I think it takes up too much room, but my yoyos love it.

Fish list:
3 angelfish
8 head and tailight tetras
4 rummynose tetras
9 flame tetras
4 yoyo loaches
5 corydoras sodalis
4 corydoras trilineatus
1 bolivian ram
1 bristlenose
2 ottos

I'm maxed out on stocking, I know. But the water changes keep the nitrates around 15ppm, which IMO is pretty good.

I'm getting some Hygro polysperma soon (hopefully today) and I hope it will grow good in the tank. It will replace the Giant hygro.

I need more suggestions on some fast growers. I have some algae problems (mostly hair algae and a little beard algae). I can't seem to balance everything out though. I can't afford pressurized CO2 and I know the DIY doesn't help that much, but if someone has a different opinion, I'll be happy to add it, if it will help.

Any suggestions?

Here's a bad picture (I'll get a better one tonight):

(sorry its so long...I had alot to tell)
Oh and I've given up on aquascaping this tank, atm. I plan to replace the substrate with Eco-Complete in the future and redo the planting. But thats months away...

 

[imrandome1]

I dont no anything about plants but i can say i love the look of it, thats what i wont my tank to look like, keep it up!

 

[JustOneMore20]

Really? That's crazy because I look at it and see a total mess! It looks a little better now. I trimmed the stem plants up a couple days ago, so they aren't as overgrown now as they are in the picture. I'll get a clearer picture when I get home, I just took that one off my photobucket account for the post.

Thanks!

Suggestions anyone? I would think that most medium light plants would work, but obviously I'm doing something wrong because I'm having trouble finding plants that thrive.

Help!?

 

[czcz]

FWIW, my favorite of your plants is R. rotundifolia. Suggest you try practicing trimming on that one and shape it a little. Leave the bottoms and replant/pass on the tops, then see how you like it when it grows back.

I think you should play with stuff you can shape in this way and use as either a mid or back ground. Two great ones for this are Stargrass (H. zosterfolia) and Bacopa australis. How about some Baby Tears/Pearlweed (M. umbrosum) in the mid/foreground? All good fastgrowers and will help with the algae.

Maybe try some shorter plants to compliment the Crypts, too. You may be able to support Blyxa japonica with that light. Can definitely support H. corymbosa "compact" (Compact hygro).

The ones you like in the 55ggal are great ones though and you could probably make a great tank keeping the plants you love, and just working on dosing and such a little for the algae. Whats your PO4 like? Are you open to dosing some and observing? Powered CO2 reactor? How about another DIY bottle or two?

 

[JustOneMore20]

How about some Baby Tears/Pearlweed (M. umbrosum) in the mid/foreground

I'm thinking about getting some.

Whats your PO4 like?

Its about 3ppm....so I don't dose it. Should I be dosing it?

How about another DIY bottle or two?

I don't have any DIY on this tank, but I'm really considering it to see if it will help with the algae. I saw a thread in the Show-off section where someone has DIY CO2 on a 55g with alot more light than I have, but his plants look great.

I really need to trim the Rotala, but its behind that DW and hard to get to. I like the tops alot better than the bottoms. The bottoms have really small leaves since they don't get alot of light. The tops get a nice pink color on them. I like it, just not the trouble I have to go to, to trim it. But, I'll trim it and see if it looks better.

I definitely need more midground plants. I'll try the baby tears and maybe more crypts. The crypts just grow really slow. A couple of my crypt wendtii reds are pretty tall. My green wendtii is growing close to the ground though...I think it is too shaded.

I have stargrass in my 29g tank...so maybe I'll get a few cuttings of it and try them in the 55g. It grows really fast in the 29g, but some of the leaves don't look so good. I think it would look better with CO2. I'm going to hook up DIY Co2 on the 29g soon...if all goes well, the 55g may be next.

 

[imrandome1]

yeah i do like it, it is slightly overgrown imo but i like the random layout, were in the world is there were 1 plant is in one place and another in another particular place, i like the natural not over the top showroom look. i guess not every 1 likes it but hey i do.

 

[newfound77951]

I saw a thread in the Show-off section where someone has DIY CO2 on a 55g with alot more light than I have, but his plants look great.

Yup, that's me! (should say HER plants looks great....I knew I shoulda picked a better screen name....no worries)

DIY CO2 will help your plants out and help with the algae. I have two of the Red Sea Turbos on my 55....they're about $20 each online, and I think they work pretty darn well. That said, if you're handy, you can build a DIY reactor easily....I think there are lots of posts on this in the DIY forum. Alternately you could get some Excel (also way cheaper online), although some of your plants might not like it.

Some of my fast-growers that you don't have include Hygrophila polysperma "Ceylon" and H salicifolia, my two sword plants (an ozelot and an unidentified big sword) are also growing well. I have lots of clippings from the two Hygros as well as some tropic sunset if you want to try them. I have Bacopa caroliniana but it doesn't grow fast for me. My Rotala was looking awesome, now it isn't as much, I'm thinking of chopping off the tops and replanting but it's all the way to the surface and looks cool like that....

 

[JustOneMore20]

Yay! Just the person I was looking for. Sorry, I tried to make it neutral since I didn't know if you were guy or girl, but I accidentally added that his in there. Sorry!

I am getting some of the H. polysperma "Ceylon" in the mail, hopefully today. Crazyred so generously sent me some. I have tried all the websites I know of to get some, but all the H. polysperma has been placed on the noxious weed list in the US, so its illegal to sell. I even emailed one place and they said they can't sell it. I should've bought it before they stopped selling it!

I would love some clippings...I will pay you for them, pay shipping, or trade (even though I'm not sure you would want any of mine). Whatever it takes.

I think I'll try the Red Sea CO2. I'll have to wait until I have some money though...it sucks being a college student who works part time and has sooo many fish tank plans....

I do have the Excel. I only use it once a week though. I'm afraid it will kill my Anacharis.

it is slightly overgrown imo

It looks a little better now. I trimmed it Wednesday. That picture above was taken like a week ago. I trimmed the bacopa, rotala, myrio, and pulled most of the Ambulia out.

but i like the random layout

Its very random. I planted this tank a little at a time. I should've planted it heavily from the start, but I didn't have the money and was very impatient. I've learned my lesson now and I'll be setting up another 55g, which I've done my research on. It will have Eco as substrate and I'll plant it pretty heavily from the start. I should've bunched my crypts together more, but once I planted them I was afraid to move them. I have moved a couple, and they just lost a few leaves, not total meltdowns. But I'm afraid to move too much. When I change the substrate I'll redo the tank and hopefully make it more structured....but for now I just want to help the algae problem and fill in the spaces.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Keep them coming....

 

[czcz]

Whats your PO4 like?

Its about 3ppm....so I don't dose it. Should I be dosing it?

No.

 

[fish_4_all]

Looks great and with the addition of CO2 you should see them take off. Now if I can get a simple 10 gallon to look as good or even close!

 

[JustOneMore20]

czcz: That's what I thought. I'm not dosing nitrate either...since mine are a little high for a planted tank.

Thanks fish 4 all.

Alright, I will try to get the Red Sea CO2 soon, so hopefully it can help with my algae.

I'll try to get some close ups of the tank and clearer pictures tomorrow.....I was busy tonight and didn't get around to it. And now the lights are off...so I'll have to wait!

 

[JustOneMore20]

Better pictures!

Whole tank:

Left side:

Middle:

Right side:

And some of the inhabitants:
Bolivian ram

Trilineatus cory

Sodalis cory

I like taking pictures way too much!

I must be blind because all the pictures looked clear when I resized them, but on here they don't. I'll see what I can do tomorrow. I will get a good whole tank shot. The one I had on here is too blurry and too small.