Ground cover

[Mikezilla89]

I'm thinking about redoing my entire 29 gallon tank, and what I want is some type of ground cover that could spread fairly fast and look good ( maybe something grass-like?). I'm going to be using a layer of laterite and sand for the top substrate. lighting is about 3w per gallon and I will be giving the tank co2 as well. Any ideas?
Ps, I don't want java moss

 

[Morgie]

hair grass or dwarf baby tears are my personal favorite for ground cover.

 

[Mikezilla89]

Hair grass seems like an awesome idea! any idea how well it'll do in sand?

 

[uh.oh...]

it spreads faster in sand, because the roots have little resistance. I'm not sure about your lighting though. watts per gallon isn't really useful to determine lighting. 10wpg of the wrong color won't do you any good, and if you've got a 70watt metal halide on a 15 gallon tank you're at 3wpg, but you'll be tanning your fish. look here: PAR vs Distance, T5, T12, PC - Updated Again Charts

There you can look up what kind of bulb(s) you have and what you're lighting will amount too. Any "ground cover" plants usually require med to high lighting, and co2 to really fill in. Dwarf baby tears are especially temperamental

edit: oh look!

 

[Mikezilla89]

Oooo Ty! That'll be helpful in the future, I think I'll post that up on the wall in our aquatic plant accessories section at the pet store I work at

 

[abrahamavelar]

My queation is will that scale be any different if I perhaps have a t5ho wit 2 bulbs but have the bulbs that I had for my reef tank???

 

[aqua_chem]

We need to know more specifics. You said you're adding CO2. Will this be excel, DIY, or pressurized? 3 wpg: PC, CFL, T5HO, T8? Inquiring minds need to know.

 

[abrahamavelar]

imo it gets confusing ive seen some videos of ppl growing plants really good with low lights 175. How much light do I need on my planted fishtank? - YouTube

 

[New]

dustinsfishtanks ftw!

 

[abrahamavelar]

dustinsfishtanks ftw!

ftw as in f the world???

just by watching some of his videos it made me think how much light is it really needed

 

[New]

for the win, hes great!

 

[abrahamavelar]

oh ok =) i really like his 220 and i want to try his dirt thing

 

[New]

Yeah, hes really good with plants, he has some sweet dw pieces for sale which im def thinking about getting

 

[abrahamavelar]

i know same here but my problem will be where to place them

 

[New]

Yeah, i dont want to have to completely re-aquascape

 

[abrahamavelar]

i want to get the one thats mark as number 10 but space its the issue and it can fit there but im not sure how good will it look

 

[Mikezilla89]

We need to know more specifics. You said you're adding CO2. Will this be excel, DIY, or pressurized? 3 wpg: PC, CFL, T5HO, T8? Inquiring minds need to know.

DIY CO2, I just changed my lighting, got myself a solarmax t5 ho 230 fixture with one 10000k daylight bulb and a florasun 5000k bulb, both @ 24w each

 

[aqua_chem]

Two jugs might get you great results in this case. Assuming you also have ferts, you have the conditions for many ground plants.

Might I recommend Glossostigma?

 

[abrahamavelar]

Well I have a 3 liter bottle on a 75 and according to the drop checker/ co2 indicator im good and i do use seachem flourish tabs