Need suggestions for "carpet" plants...

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klcrn

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
7
:n00b: here!!

Hello everyone...I just found this site and so far it's awesome! But with so much info I'm a tad overwhelmed, so I'm going to take the direct route...sorry if this has been discussed somewhere else...

My son and I have have 2 small--a 10 gallon and a 20 gallon---freshwater community tanks. We would like to find an easy growing, low maintance "carpet" plant ecpecially for the 20g as we are planning to have shrimp and mini crayfish in it. Also we have a small log we would like to cover. We just have stock lighting.

Also would love a reliable source....

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Can't wait to have a good look at your site! :D
 
ok, by stock lighting i presume you mean whatever cam with your tank, which is probably a single 15 watt fluorescent on the 20, mabe a screw in incadescent on the 10?

Your choices for plants would be very limited without brighter lighting, but if you have at least a 15 watt tube on the 20, i think your best choice for a carpet like grass plant that stays short would be narrow leaf micro sword, (Lilaeopsis mauritius). It can do well under low light and still spread fairly quickly, (unlike regular micro sword, lilaeopsis, which needs bright light and grows very slowly)

It usually comes potted,like HERE Don't confuse it with narrow leaf chain sword, another grass like plant , which may also do OK, but it grows taller.
 
Thank you for the quick replies!

I checked my lighting..yes it's just the standard run of the mill lights..looks like a 20 watt for the 20 gal and 15 for the 10 gal. Would be willing to upgrade if I knew what to get...

Was thinking of a more "plush" look if possible (My son said that the pic reminds him of yard grass...he hates to mow the lawn!! LOL)
 
Maybe what you are looking for is moss? Like...

Christmas Moss? They do fine, but grow slower in low light. For the carpet effect, you may want to attach it to some sort of plastic mesh. http://www.aquariumplantsandsupplies.com/product_info.php?pName=java-moss
PL-MO03-01.jpg


Java Moss below.
PL-MO10-01.jpg
 
Ohhh that does look nice!! Thank you for the link...will check them out!
 
That would be great for my plateys.... The moss looks thick enough to hide the fry.
 
prob going to be limited to just moss for the most part. there other stuff that would get the effect you want better but needs more light like hair grass.
 
If I were to upgrade my lighting, would I need a different hood or just different bulbs. And what would you suggest??
 
i personally like to suggest the cfl bulbs over small tanks. you can get the light you need over the tank with out too much problem. you can retro fit your hood by going to home deopt lowes and picking up the sockets and tearing your old hood out. you could also just buy a new hood that uses incandescent bulbs that way all you do is just screw them in.
sylvania-cfl-bulb.jpg
 
Ideally you want between 2 and 3 watts of flourescent light per gallon of water, so for a 20 gallon tank you want anywhere from 40 to 60 watts total of flourescent light, (not incadescent)

If you really want to up grade, you can get a nice T5 light fixture for under $100. I can give you more details if you are interested.

BTW, that seller of the moss that is pictured, is in Malaysia and ships plants to you illegally without going thru customs. On plantedtank.net someone posted that the USDA intercepted the shipment at customs and homeland security sent the unsuspecting recipient a letter warning them that they are participating in an act of smuggling and that this poor guy has been placed on a home security watch list. There are plenty of legitimate businesses selling plants on the internet that are not ebayers and are right here in the USA!
 
I agree with Robert, you have to make sure that everything is legal when ordering overseas. Sometimes, they even sell plants that are on the USDA noxious weed list. I once ordered a large quantity of plants that went through customs. Everything was legal when I did it, but my package did take a few days to be approved at customs. I also had to pay extra for everything. By the time I got the package, all of my stem plants had died.

If you order in the US, you'll get them faster. Check out AquaBid, they often have good sales in the states.
 
WOW!! Thanks for the heads up! I have used Aquabid once and was happy with the transaction.

Right now everything seems do be doing well in our tanks so I'm not going to push my luck by changing anything. But I've gotten some very good suggestions that I will definately keep in mind for the future.

This is a great forum with loads of info and wonderful helpful members!!
 
Well the same ebay sellers are on Aquabid too, just bear in mind if they are outside the USA or not.

Did you decide what to do about your lighting?
 
If you want the cheap way to get a little more bang for the buck check out the plant & aquarium tubes at Wal-Mart. They will make your tank/fish look different cause they have a different wave length.

Regular advice is to make sure the plants get enough light and the right type of light.

Without going wild and spending $50+ on a new hood light the plant & aquarium light should help you a little, but you will still need to keep to low light plants.
 
The brand of the bulb makes no difference as far as light intensity or brightness. The reason it is called a plant bulb is because of the color wave length which is measured in "kelvin" It will look nicer, but it isn't any brighter than any other color flourescent. The only way to increase the brightness it to add more bulbs. The light hood or fixture can only run the wattage it is designed for, so using a higher wattage bulb in the same fixture is not an option.

What the exact minimal level is that constitutes sufficient "low light" to grow plants is debated. Most people seem to think its between 1.5 and 2 watts per gallon, but I think most people agree that below 1 watt per gallon is not enough to grow most any thing, particularly small foreground plants.

Screw in flourescents that are meant to replace incadescents are about 4 or 5 times as bright per watt than an incadescent, but some people have argued that any flourescent under 20 watts does not give off enough light to grow plants even in very small aquariums. www.rexgrigg.com
 
TY for the Walmart idea. I don't want to spend tons of money. Very novice hobbist here, but so far haven't lost a single fish :} I like the look of the riccia....does it have to have the CO2 and all???
 
The tubes at wal-mart won't give you extra light (I'm in the same boat with a low light tank) but it will give you the right wavelength of light to help your plants a bit more than just the regular tube you have in there.

Compare the cool white light as being the same type of tubes that are in office buildings. Ever see any plants at the office, they all look half dead. The grow lights, daylight, and plant & aquarium bulbs have a different wave length.

I guess you might compare it to a person staying doors and needing vitamin D. You plants need a certain wave length or they will suffer something like mal-neurtrician.

I'm not an aquarium plant expert but since it is something I am getting into I can offer you what little newbie advice I have gathered along the way.
 
TY for everyone's help. It's nice to have experienced people willing to share their info. I will definately look into getting different lights...
 
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