What kind of plants can i have?? LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH

[mgkaelen]

hi guys... for my 10g planted tank, i have 20w of fluorescent light. since this is the bare minimum, i assume that i will only be able to house LOW LIGHT plants. is this correct? what if i had 28w of light? (i see some bulbs at the hardware store that will fit my fixtures) also, will i be able to get away with a higher kind of plant (medium) if i have the 20w of light on for a LONGER duration throughout the day? thanks for any help you guys can give =]

kaelen

 

[medge00]

for the size of your tank and the bulbs you already have, I think you'll find its not so hard to get things to grow. Success with plants is more than just light. What kind of substrate do you have? which plants do you like? do you plan on adding CO2 via diy, a hagen type thing or flourish excel? what "food" are you planning on giving the plants? (fertilizers...) answer some of those questions and we can help you find some really great looking plants. I have 6,500k, 10 watt bulbs in my tank (2 WPG total) and have found I am way more successful with a good substrate, weekly flourish and a pretty easy CO2 system.

About those higher watt bulbs you found... I found some too once at Home Depot. they didn't list the color temp on the side. when I put them in, the were the most yellow bulbs I've seen and they looked awful!

 

[mgkaelen]

i'll be using fluorite.

i don't have a CO2 system yet but i'm going to buy a setup, not diy.. a "nutrafin natural plant" thing.. my boyfriend doesn't want to do the diy because he is CRAZY. however i was under the impression that CO2 isn't absolutely necessary if you only have 2wpg. i'm planning to introduce my first plants to the tank before i have the CO2 system set up... is this a bad idea?

another question that i had was about fertilizers. WHAT do i feed theM? the nutrients in the fluorite isn't good enougH? is there anything that the fish may mistake for food and eat/get sick? what do you recommend?

what color temp should i look for? i also don't want an ugly yellow color in my tank.

as for plants that i like, mayb ei should just tell you what i'm interested in and maybe we can talk about how i can get to the point that if i have them i won't kill theM? or perhaps there are similar looking substitutes that are compatible with the plants i will currently be able to house.

i like...
pennworts, indian water stars (same thing as pennywort?), dwarf sagittaria, lloydiella green, moneywort, giant sagittaria, anubias nana, banana plant (pretty sure it needs HIGH light) , crypt lueta... are any of these plausible options?

 

[medge00]

Ok... well, first, I suggest you read anything and everything you can about planted tanks, which it looks like you're doing. I can only offer you advice with stuff I've experienced, and i haven't been doing planted tanks that long. Check out posts by Rex Grigg, he knows a lot. Here's his website: http://members.dsl-only.net/~rex/

lets tackle your questions...

1. Flourite is supposed to be great. I've never used it, its pricey, but I've heard its one of the best things you can use. Good choice.

2. CO2. You're right, you dont have to use CO2, especially with a low light tank. Its just an option. Some people think CO2 is a bit extravagent with a 10 gal tank. I use the plant system you're refering to on my 10 gal. and I love the results. The tank is an absolute jungle. It kinda just depends on what you want. Are you looking for a really lush looking tank? go with the system you're planning. If you just want things to grow and be green, its not 100% necessary. You can get by without it. I'm just one of those people that prefer it. I love the way my ten gal. looks since I've added it.

3. Fertilizers. This I think is pretty much a necessity, but its not complicated. For my ten gal. I add a little flourish once or twice a week. Sometimes I add flourish iron, like every other week. Not too much of either one, or you'll be in algae hell. Search the forum for what others use.

4. As far as I've read, the best color temp for plants is 5,000 to 6,700k, if I remember correctly. I like 6,500 or 6,700 the best. They're not really yellow at all. Its all a matter of preference. what do YOU like?

5. Plants. Here's what I know.... dwarf sag is pretty easy to grow. I have pennywort in my 10 gal. I think its fabulous! its pretty. easy to grow, doesn't even have to be planted, its kinda floaty. I haven''t tried moneywort, but i've heard its a good algae buster. (Be sure to get some good stem plants that will suck nutrients instead of letting the algae get em. check out www.aquabotanic.com for more ideas). Most anubias are pretty easy. I haven't tried nana yet. Anubias are slow growers and are nice plants. No experience with banana plant. Crypts are fairly easy. Slow growing (mine are putting out tons of new leaves with the CO2 addition). I'm having problems with them in my big tank though. In my 10 gal. they're doing great. Giant sag. I don't know much about.

Some of this stuff you'll learn as you go along. Actually, you'll learn pretty quickly. If you haven't set the tank up, I suggest you decide on what plants you wnat, then plant it quickly right from the get go. This helps avoid algae problems and what not, and you have to keep planting things, messing up the substrate and what not. The best way to learn is to do! (but keep reading too, that helps.)

whew! that was a long one! HTH.

 

[Fruitbat]

If you don't want to go to the expense of adding more light...I think you'll find that you can successfully grow quite a variety of plants with your current setup.

I've had pretty good success with my planted aquaria with light levels of between 1.5 - 2 watts per gallon. I prefer the 'low-tech' approach to aquarium gardening so I don't use a whole lot of fancy stuff and I don't use additional CO2.

The key is to pick plants that will grow well under the conditions you can provide. From experience I can recommend:

1. Cryptocoryne wendtii - comes in a number of varieties, all of which are fairly easy to grow. I've got the C. wendtii 'bronze' variety in my 26 gallon right now and it is growing like a weed.

2. Java fern, Microsorium pteropus, is an excellent plant for low- to moderate-light situations.

3. Some Aponogeton species will do well in medium-light aquaria. I've got A. ulvaceus in the same 26 gal with my C. wendtii and it is adding new leaves daily and has two flowers developing. A. ulvaceus is definitely too big for your 10 gallon tank, however.

4. Marsilea sp., the so-called 4-leaf Clover, is a low-growing fern that makes a great foreground plant. Unfortunately it can be hard to find unless you can locate it in one of the specialty on-line shops. It thrives in low-light tanks. I'm looking for some of this stuff myself so if you happen to find it then let me know!

5. Bolbitis sp. is an African fern that likes low- to moderate-light tanks. It looks great once it starts to grow but it does get big! Like Java Fern, this plant likes to be attached to a rock or a piece of driftwood.

In my tank I use Flourish Excel about once a month and I've put Flourish Tabs beneath the gravel near the Aponogeton ulvaceus because it is a heavy feeder. My Cryptocoryne wendtii are close enough to the Flourish Tab to benefit from it. I also add some Kent Grow occasionally just to keep the macronutrient levels up.