how fast will micro swords grow

[maxima423]

in a 10g tank, how fast do you think a micro sword will take to cover the whole floor? i was thinking about making a carpet and putting drift wood in the middle with some rocks

 

[JustOneMore20]

How much light will you have over the tank? The more light, more nutrients, the faster it will grow....it won't cover the whole tank in a week though...its not a slow grower, but not super fast either. With enough light it might cover the whole tank in about a month or so.

 

[Crepe]

You're going to need to tell us your light output and fertilization regimen. I would say in optimal conditions, a good starting culture of Micro Sword will take a month to two months to fill in a good portion.

 

[lanceuppercut]

I don't know, I've had some micro swords for a couple months, with a Coralife T5, and flourish & excel, and I haven't seen a whole lot of growth. Maybe a little bit upwards, and almost none out, like a carpet

 

[HeathB]

Yeah, like the others have said it depends on lights, ferts, and co2, a deficiency in one of these and you'll probably either have dieing plants, or they will grow upwards instead of outwards. If you've got low lighting, I hear the marsilea plants are good. Bit slower, and they look sorta like a bigger glosso.

 

[mgamer20o0]

microswords is a slow growing plant. i can get you a 6x12 mat to make starting easier for you if wanted.

 

[rusilja]

Well, you can check out my microswords tank, which are already 2 weeks old, and I have to admit it's slowly but runners are comming, it needs to addapt to your tank before it'll start growing.

 

[maxima423]

uhmm i am still looking around for lighting, i still dont know what to get cause i am still thinking about what plants to get, as for nutrients, i am going to be using Supplements for Healthy Planted Aquariums: Seachem Flourish but for sure i plan on putting 3-4 Brazilian Swords, 3 -4 java ferns, thats it so far, so i was thinking about putting 1 or 2 micro swords...

mgamer0o0, i dont understand what you meant by "i can get you a 6x12 mat" do you mean like shipping it to me?

 

[timwag2001]

mgamer sells plants.

if you already have some or if you're getting some, cut it up into smaller bunches and spread it out. it'll start to fill in pretty quick as long as, like mentioned above, you have enough lights, ferts and co2.

 

[mgamer20o0]

uhmm i am still looking around for lighting, i still dont know what to get cause i am still thinking about what plants to get, as for nutrients, i am going to be using Supplements for Healthy Planted Aquariums: Seachem Flourish but for sure i plan on putting 3-4 Brazilian Swords, 3 -4 java ferns, thats it so far, so i was thinking about putting 1 or 2 micro swords...

mgamer0o0, i dont understand what you meant by "i can get you a 6x12 mat" do you mean like shipping it to me?

most of the plants you are wanting do best with root tabs. the flourish you linked to is just one part of what you need. that is just trace. you will still need PNK for a complete way to supplement the tank..... though you prob can get away with not using anything other then a couple root tabs depending on your final idea of plants.

 

[maxima423]

what does PNK mean? a lot of people telling me that i dont really need any thing because of the amount of fish i want, i only plan on having 1 fish lol

 

[timwag2001]

although it means the same thing no matter what order its in. it's really N-P-K. which is Nitrogen - Phosphate - Potassium.

if you look at just about any fertilizer, whether it be for house plants, gardens or aquariums you will see three numbers such as 12-6-10. those numbers represent the guaranteed analysis of the fert. so 12% would be nitrogen, 6% phosphate, 10% potassium

 

[JustOneMore20]

what does PNK mean? a lot of people telling me that i dont really need any thing because of the amount of fish i want, i only plan on having 1 fish lol

The less fish you have, the less nutrients you'll have. And even with a lot of fish, you sometimes need to add nutrients. For the plants you plan on, I agree that some root tabs would be good. It wouldn't hurt to dose some potassium...Seachem makes a potassium supplement that is cheap and easy to use.

Brazilian swords aren't true aquatic plants so don't let the lfs fool you. If you like sword plants, check out Tropica Swords they are aquatic and stay small. Perfect for a 10g. Definitely steer clear of Amazon swords as they will quickly outgrow a 10g. Cryptocorynes are nice plants and look similar to Swords. Many of those stay smaller or grow really slow and will be fine in a 10g. For the Micro Sword, the more you plant the faster you'll have a carpet (along with the more light and nutrients). So instead of planting 1-2 bunches, plant more like 5-6 bunches or get a mat like mg sells.

With the plants you are looking at (minus the nonaquatics), you will want to have around medium light...so for a 10g, try to find a fixture that is around 30 watts or so. I know you can't get exactly 30, but somewhere around that is good. You could get away with less watts if you found a t5-ho fixture.

 

[maxima423]

mhmm i see what you are saying about braz swords, ty for the info on micro swords, i will be adding more now, i like the idea of multiple caves + a sea of grass ^_^ ty for the help