Good beginner plants?
- Thread starter KyloRen
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Nils
Aquarium Advice Addict
There are lots of plants that'll grow really good without Co2 under the light. Some of these are java moss, java fern, swords, water sprite, hornwort and crypts. Anubias will also do well in this setup. Some of the plants require extra nutrients, like the swords and crypts, because they are mainly root feeders, meaning you would have to add root tabs under them. Are you planning on Co2 anytime?
Would you consider Liquid Co2 to be efficient enough? I have hornwort but they seem to be dying not sure why. Would jungle vals work in my tank?
Nils
Aquarium Advice Addict
Same, hornwort always died off in my tank after using API Co2 Booster. For these low tech plants you won't really need any kind of additional ferts/nutrients except a light. Vals work in almost all tanks, but another similar plant that stays a bit smaller are dwarf sag, which can do just as good in a low tech tank.
well that explains a lot. I just looked up dwarf sags they are pretty nice. Can I carpet these plants in my tank? I'm thinking about changing my substrate to eco-complete but some reviews say that I should not add fish for the first 6 weeks while using this substrate. Any suggestions?
jessipanda
Aquarium Advice Freak
I have about 1/2 eco complete and 1/2 gravel in my 55g that's been up and running for only about 2 months total. I put fish and plants in it within a week or two. Haven't lost anything. Fish are doing great and so are my plants. Just trimmed my jungle vals down to about 8" today because they were so tall they were creating a blanket blocking out light at the top. That's the 3rd time I've trimmed them and I don't add any ferts other than home made root tabs. It's low light, no co2. Just added some dwarf sags, crypts, and an anubias this past sat so we'll see how they do, but so far so good
As for the fish, I did a fish in cycle without any issues with the eco, and that was under the advice of my local mom & pop fish store. Like I said, haven't lost anything and tank is doing great! Only took about a week to fully cycle. I guess it depends on if you are doing fish in or fishless cycling, but I don't think the eco complete makes a difference as far as when you add your fish. Just IMO...but I'm still a noob! (My 10g will be a year old next month, so Im2 fresh to the hobby)
Sorry for the long post.
Nicee do you think its possible to mix eco complete with Sand and gravel? or should i just remove the sand. That's the thing my tank is already cycled i'm scared that if I change to eco-complete the tank will end up going through the nitrogen cycle againI have about 1/2 eco complete and 1/2 gravel in my 55g that's been up and running for only about 2 months total. I put fish and plants in it within a week or two. Haven't lost anything. Fish are doing great and so are my plants. Just trimmed my jungle vals down to about 8" today because they were so tall they were creating a blanket blocking out light at the top. That's the 3rd time I've trimmed them and I don't add any ferts other than home made root tabs. It's low light, no co2. Just added some dwarf sags, crypts, and an anubias this past sat so we'll see how they do, but so far so good
As for the fish, I did a fish in cycle without any issues with the eco, and that was under the advice of my local mom & pop fish store. Like I said, haven't lost anything and tank is doing great! Only took about a week to fully cycle. I guess it depends on if you are doing fish in or fishless cycling, but I don't think the eco complete makes a difference as far as when you add your fish. Just IMO...but I'm still a noob! (My 10g will be a year old next month, so Im2 fresh to the hobby)
Sorry for the long post.
jessipanda
Aquarium Advice Freak
I have no idea if you can mix it with sand...nor do I know if it would throw you into a mini cycle or not. Need a more experienced aquarium hobbyist to answer that. I'm sure there's plenty of them here that may know
Fresh2o
Aquarium Advice Addict
EcoComplete is inert and will not introduce ammonia.
You can mix EC with sand although the sand may eventually sift to the bottom.
I've purchased dwarf sag from two different vendors and got plants that varied greatly in size. One group stayed small (3-5") while the other grew to the top of my 20 g long. As for carpeting, it may take a while.
If you can grow it, Staurogyne repens makes a nice carpet. It's not a grass but rather a stem plant that fills out more than it grows vertically. It does appreciate good lighting. I grew some in lower light and it got leggy after a while.
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You can mix EC with sand although the sand may eventually sift to the bottom.
I've purchased dwarf sag from two different vendors and got plants that varied greatly in size. One group stayed small (3-5") while the other grew to the top of my 20 g long. As for carpeting, it may take a while.
If you can grow it, Staurogyne repens makes a nice carpet. It's not a grass but rather a stem plant that fills out more than it grows vertically. It does appreciate good lighting. I grew some in lower light and it got leggy after a while.
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
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I like the dwarf sag look better than the repens. So I am thinking about having jungle vals, hornwort and dwarf sags. I'm also thinking about some anubias and java fern but I never have any luck trying to grow these. Is there a trick to them I heard they were easy plants to care for but I can never get them to survive
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