Which Seachem products?

[rickf]

I switched out my fake plants yesterday for live plants and am looking to see which Seachem products I need. I have a 55 gallon tank with 2 15 watt 6700K bulbs. I know the light is on the low side and I told my LFS this and they recommended the plants that I got (hornwort, wisteria, java fern, and 2 others which I can't remember the name). I was looking at the API products, but it seems most go with Seachem. What would I need besides the Seachem Flourish Excel?

Thanks

 

[Brookster123]

For that low of a plant load, seachem flourish with api leaf zone, root tabs for heavy root feeders like crypts and swords

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[rickf]

For that low of a plant load, seachem flourish with api leaf zone, root tabs for heavy root feeders like crypts and swords

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Flourish and not Flourish Excel right?

 

[Brookster123]

Ya, flourish comprehensive

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[rickf]

Ya, flourish comprehensive

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Thanks

What other plants can I look at? Going to wait a few weeks to see how these do with my setup and then consider adding a few more. Amazon Swords look nice. Will those work with my lighting?


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[BBradbury]

Low Light Plants & Ferts

I switched out my fake plants yesterday for live plants and am looking to see which Seachem products I need. I have a 55 gallon tank with 2 15 watt 6700K bulbs. I know the light is on the low side and I told my LFS this and they recommended the plants that I got (hornwort, wisteria, java fern, and 2 others which I can't remember the name). I was looking at the API products, but it seems most go with Seachem. What would I need besides the Seachem Flourish Excel?

Thanks

Hello rick...

The dark green aquatic plants will require low light. This makes selection easy, you won't need to know the name. As for a fertilizer, low light plants will do fine with the kind the fish produce. You only need to feed the fish a good, varied diet. If you want to supplement, then Seachem's "Comprehensive" is a good choice. But, it's not necessary for low light plants.

B

 

[rickf]

Hello rick...

The dark green aquatic plants will require low light. This makes selection easy, you won't need to know the name. As for a fertilizer, low light plants will do fine with the kind the fish produce. You only need to feed the fish a good, varied diet. If you want to supplement, then Seachem's "Comprehensive" is a good choice. But, it's not necessary for low light plants.

B

How many hours a day do you recommend I keep the lights on?

 

[Mebbid]

Anubias, Java fern, Java Moss, Cryptocoryn, and Bolbitis are the standard low light plants.

I have a list of most of the low light plants here if you care to take a look at it.

Excellent List of Low Light Plants

 

[BBradbury]

Tank Lighting

How many hours a day do you recommend I keep the lights on?

Hello again rick...

I keep low light, low tech tanks and have all the tank lights on timers. I set them for 12 hours on and 12 off. Aquatic plants are from tropical places and used to long hours of daylight, so I give it to them.

B

 

[Mebbid]

How many hours a day do you recommend I keep the lights on?

Standard photoperiod is 8 - 10 hours. The more light you give your tank the shorter amount of time you should leave the light on. Longer photo periods give algae more of a chance to take hold and grow so can lead to algae blooms.

Bbradbury for example floats a huge amount of foliage in his tank which absorbs most of the incoming light leaving very little for the rest of the tank. This naturally cuts down on algae growth so it is okay to let the lights go a little longer.

I'm on the exact opposite of the spectrum and generally dislike floating plants. This allows me to have more plants rooted in the substrate but doesn't block the light allowing me to have higher light demand plants on the substrate. While allowing me to have a greater variety of more demanding plants; the downside is that if you don't pay attention algae blooms can happen.

Both methods work, it's just a matter of personal preference for how to keep your tank.

 

[rickf]

Thanks for the advice. I have mine on a timer as well and will experiment with those times.


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[rickf]

Anubias, Java fern, Java Moss, Cryptocoryn, and Bolbitis are the standard low light plants.



I have a list of most of the low light plants here if you care to take a look at it.



Excellent List of Low Light Plants

I see Hornwort was marked to be taken off that list? I thought that did well in low light.


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[Mebbid]

I see Hornwort was marked to be taken off that list? I thought that did well in low light.


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Hornwort was marked to be removed because it was put on the list twice.