Lots of Planted Tank Questions for 3 Month Newbie

[theycallmekhan]

So I've had a 10 gallon tank for for 4 years and just turned into a planted one. I have red cabomba, red tiger lotus, water sprite, and dwarf hair grass in it. I'm going to get a java fern today afternoon if there are any java ferns left. My red cabomba is growing like a weed and it's dominating my tank, however the red cabomba isn't really that red, just some small patches so why is that. I have tons of floating water sprite, and one planted one. This is one of my major concerns because my floating water sprite is dying and my planted one is growing beautifully has an amazing green shade. My floating water sprite was growing good, but after being trimmed it has started to wilt. My red tiger lotus grew a nice amount and just naturally broke away from it's bulb. I have replanted the bulb in the back, and put the lotus up front. I didn't know that you had to make a 1 x 1 cm grid of dwarf hair grass, for it to make a carpet so I just did that last week. How long will my carpet take to grow? I have a full spectrum fluorescent 15 watt 6500 K light, a Aqucalear 30 filter, and an air pump. I dose my tank with 1 ml of Fluorish Excel everyday, and Seachem Fluorish every Sunday and Wednesday. My tank is pretty heavily stocked with 2 flame gouramis, 10 neon tetras, and 1 guppy but, I have a powerful filter and my tank is full of plants, so do you think I will be fine?
I know I've written so much and asked so many questions, but thanks for your time. I'll post pictures after I hopefully get a java fern.

 

[Angela1108]

As far as I remember the dwarf hair grass takes a lot of light so it will be a slow grower

The floating. Water sprite might be having a hard time getting the nutrients it needs. If there are any signs of roots I would pop it into the substrate as soon as you can- or even put the stem in ASAP

The lack of color in the red plants might be a lack of Iron. Other people might have more ideas/info


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[theycallmekhan]

Oh there are roots on many of the plants. So I should put the roots in. Thanks. Would Fluorish Iron be good? And about the dwarf hair grass could you give me an estimated number. Thanks for the help.

 

[theycallmekhan]

Oh yah I also, forgot to mention I use total substrate aqua fertz from AquariumPlants.com

 

[Angela1108]

Yeah I would definitely put the roots in then as for the dwarf hair do you mean an estimate of time? That I am not exactly sure of. I just know it does better in high light and sometimes if there isn't enough light it won't really grow. I never had luck with it so I switched to dwarf sag and have a lot of runners.


I would think about getting the iron- unless you have any shrimp or anything like that- they can be sensitive to metals


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[theycallmekhan]

Thank you guys for suggesting that. The tank even looks better. Here are some pictures.

 

[theycallmekhan]

Here properly attached.

 

[Angela1108]

Also when plants are new they often "melt" for a bit and grow back. It is the change in water they had vs new


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[theycallmekhan]

The plants aren't really new. About 3 months old. And just in one night, the water sprite seems so much more healthier. What iron fertilizers would you recommend?

 

[Angela1108]

I tend to stick to the seachem just because I know and trust the name but personally I can't/don't add iron because I have a bunch of bamboo shrimp and they can sometimes be sensitive to the metals. I would rather not risk it. Hopefully someone else will chime in of there is a better iron supplement


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[Coursair]

DHG is a holy grail plant. It looks great when it grows well, but it usually needs high light ( par value, not hours) and CO2.

I would turn off the air pump. It will out gas your carbon faster (?).

Red Plants usually need higher PAR as well.

This was my low light/low tech 10g. Old vid.
http://youtu.be/aptmdICahvM

DHG usually needs injected CO2 and better lighting AFAIK.

Dry Start Method is being used for many carpets...not an option since you have fish, but maybe next time.

Good luck with DHG, but if it won't carpet, join the club.


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[theycallmekhan]

I'm pretty sure my dwarf hair grass isn't going to carpet, but I'm just trying. So do I have to turn the air pump off. I kind of like the look. What lights would you recommend. I love your tank though. What plant is that floating at the top, duckweed?

 

[Coursair]

You don't have to turn air off. If you end up with DIY or injected CO2 you could put it on a timer.

The floater is Amazon Frogbit.

Exact lighting ?
Depends...do you want to add CO2. If not, don't go higher light.

If you swap out light and go higher PAR, if you don't add CO2 you'll just grow algae.

So low light/low tech a bit more limited on plants.

Or Med-High Light/High Tech = more upkeep n ferts but can grow more, faster.


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[Coursair]

Btw. The tank in the vid ? Petsmart incandescent 10g kit. I swapped out bulbs for mini CFLs. Mine is low light.


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