groundcovers

[dr_girlfriend]

i'm trying to come up with a groundcover for my planted 10 gal. would riccia work with 1.5 watt/gal? I'm also thinking of Monosolenium tenerum which i've read tolerates low lighting. Or Echinodorous latifolious (spear leaf)?

 

[malkore]

Riccia needs fairly high (3wpg) lighting to work as a foreground, and CO2 injection.
Looking at plantgeek.net, Monoselenium needs at least 2wpg to work as a ground cover.

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=266

 

[travis simonson]

I probably sound like a broken record but, in low-light tanks, Marsilea spp. (Water Clover - actually a type of creeping fern) makes a great carpet plant. It's a bit of a slow grower but that also makes it easy to take care of. I find the stuff thriving in some of the shadiest areas of my tank.

 

[frog girl]

I think someone also suggested dwarf sag. to me since I have the same issue. I am currently trying some Lileopsis but it is to early in the game to tell if it will work.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

well, I guess what i read was incorrect about Monoselenium! oh well, Marsilea looks pretty good, thanks for the info travis. I couldn't find Lileopsis on aquariumplants.com or flordiadriftwood.com, but i'll look into it a bit more.

 

[travis simonson]

Try 'Lilaeopsis' and I think you'll have better luck. Sort of tricky one to spell Here's a link to it on Aquarium Plants:

http://www.aquariumplants.com/cgi-bin/cart/MI934.html

But at 1.5 wpg you probably don't have enough light to grow it well. It requires 2.5+ wpg to do well.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

figures.....
I'd like to get more wattage, but if i'm gonna spend alot of money on lights, its gonna be for a sw tank! 8O
This is the first planted tank i've done, i've kept golddfish for so long I haven't had a chance to try plants until recently.
(goldfish+ plants=clogged filter)
I think I'll stick with your suggestion of Marsilea
thank you!