Which Foreground Plant

[theotheragentm]

Does anyone have experience with either of the following two plants that can tell me which one is easier to take care of?

Lilaeopsis mauritius
Dwarf Hairgrass

I'm running a 55 gallon tank with only 65 watts of CF on top of it, so by no means am I pushing a lot of light on the tank.

I think I prefer the hairgrass look, but I could go either way. What do you guys think?

 

[Purrbox]

I've grown Eleocharis acicularis, but not the other. It can be quite variable in height, going anywhere from 2" to 8" tall. There is another variety that stays shorter that you may want to look into if you want something that will stay more reliably short. It's called Eleocharis parvulus, and I've found that it grows to 1-3" tall.

 

[neilanh]

Yes, I really like the e. parvula, but don't believe you'll be successful growing it with your amount of lighting.

 

[Purrbox]

Good catch Neilan, I totally missed the light levels. With your lighting I'd recommend looking at marsilea sp or mosses.

 

[theotheragentm]

Do you have any more information on the Marsilea? I can't seem to find any pictures of it other than real close and one that looks like it's breaking the surface of the water. That's definitely not what I'm looking for here.

What kind of wattage would I have to bump up to in order to grow Dwarf Hairgrass? It's been a while since I've really messed with my tank. What WPG are considered low, medium, and high?

 

[Purrbox]

You might be able grow the hairgrass with medium light (about 110 watts), but would have better success with high light (about 165+ watts). Of course if you upgrade to high light you'll need to look at CO2 and fertilization.

 

[theotheragentm]

Yeah, I'm thinking I will leave the big tank as low tech and turn one of my other smaller tanks into a carpeted tank.

How do nano tanks like this do it? They're not using CO2. Just ferts and a carbon supplement?

 

[rkilling1]

Do you have any more information on the Marsilea? I can't seem to find any pictures of it other than real close and one that looks like it's breaking the surface of the water. That's definitely not what I'm looking for here.

Here is a list of some of the clovers:

PlantGeek.net - Plant Guide