Will my lighting be enough these plants.

[calfishguy]

I would like to add some Corskrew Vallisneria and some Alternanthera reneckii "Roseafolia" to my planted 29 gallon tanks.

My question is whether I have enough lighting. I have a dual t5 no with two 6700K 18watt bulbs. I do not have a special substrate however I do use root tabs, flourish excel, flourish, and i will also be adding some flourish potassium. (No c02)

My lighting currently supports green, bronze , and red crypts, amazon swords, moss balls, anubias, and some micro sword however I will admit that my micro sword has never grown significantly and just looks plain BLAh!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Smcoyle87]

Hello Calfishguy,

I saw this excerpt from a plant profile on aquaticplantcentral.com that may help you out a little:

"Although Alternanthera reineckii 'rosaefolia' can be grown with lower light levels and without CO2 supplementation, it will not reach its true growth potential. Moderate to high lighting (2-4 watts per gallon) and CO2 injection is more ideal. If kept in low-light tanks, the lower leaves tend to fall off. This species can grow well in both hard and soft water, although soft, slightly acidic water is best."

 

[Smcoyle87]

I think you might be to the point that if you want to increase light, you should probably start adding Co2 as well. As for the lighting, maybe just try and swap out the regular t5's with t5HO bulbs?
DIY Co2 is actually very easy so you might want to go that route.
Hope this helps.

 

[Smcoyle87]

I think you might be to the point that if you want to increase light, you should probably start adding Co2 as well. As for the lighting, maybe just try and swap out the regular t5's with t5HO bulbs?
DIY Co2 is actually very easy so you might want to go that route.
Hope this helps.

 

[Smcoyle87]

Whoa...sorry about that!

 

[calfishguy]

I think you might be to the point that if you want to increase light, you should probably start adding Co2 as well. As for the lighting, maybe just try and swap out the regular t5's with t5HO bulbs?
DIY Co2 is actually very easy so you might want to go that route.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice but i am purposely trying to stay away from c02. That is why I went witht the no instead of ho in the first place

 

[Smcoyle87]

Oh alright, well I think the Val will be fine. The Alternanthera might be hit or miss. I've never actually kept it before so hopefully someone who has will chime in.

 

[calfishguy]

Oh alright, well I think the Val will be fine. The Alternanthera might be hit or miss. I've never actually kept it before so hopefully someone who has will chime in.

Do you know of any similar looking plants that would have lower light requirements.

 

[Smcoyle87]

Unfortunately the only other plant that i know with reddish leaves that doesn't high light and Co2 injection is Ludwigia repens. The undersides of the leaves are reddish/orange while the tops are green/yellow. Most low light plants are shades of green. Ludwigia repens is a good investment however, when healthy it's a very attractive plant.