Help with plant ID

[Poncho.tinoco]

Just went to my LFS and saw these beautiful red colored plants. Can anyone please help me ID them? I really would like to keep them alive, the guy at the store told me red plants are harder to keep alive. I also brought some Malaysian driftwood and I don't know what the other one was.. When I asked what mind of plants they were he couldn't help me and it was so busy I did not wait for the plant expert at their store. They are potted and the Roos were growing out of the pot so I decided to just let them be in there and bury the pots.

Any help IDing all of the plants would be appreciated as well as any de of suggestions.. Should I keep all the reds together or how does it look this way? Right now there's 5 neons 3 light tetras.. Six harlequin rasboras and about six Cory cats.. I plan to add some fancy guppies and finally a dwarf gourami.. I'll also add some cherry shrimp once my colony is established in it's own 10 gallon tank.. This one is a 30 gallon.. What do you guys think?

Please help me.. All advise is welcome. Thank you

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

There's also that moss ball in there.. Is that good for the tank and the other plants? Or should I just get rid of it? I'm dosing the tank daily with flourish excel and there are some flourish tabs in the sand/gravel

 

[Scottyhorse]

Looks like some sort of rotala... What kind of lights are you running?

 

[flitabout]

It looks like what I just bought yesterday. Rivercats sent me this link for it. http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/plantfinder/details.php?id=97 It looks to be a harder plant to grow

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

It does look very similar to what you sent in that link. I hope it's not that hard to grow cuz I really like it. This is the light I'm using. It's a single unit and what the guy at petco recommended for basic plant care. I'm new to keeping plants so I don't know if this will be good enough. Also flourish excel doesn't saY anything about those extra nutrients listed in that link. Is this really a good light for plants?

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

Would you say it had a better chance if I moved the one on the left more towards the middle? This is the length of the light it doesn't cover the whole length of the aquarium. Thank you for your time and advise

 

[flitabout]

That light is not going to be enough that leaves you in the very low light category. I am running quad T5HOs 24 watt 65k bulbs over a 37g with DIY CO2 and I am doing heavy dosing glut (excel) at 1ml per 2 gallons and PPS-Pro dry ferts and I am crossing my fingers that I can make it grow.
Excel is not a fertilizer it is a liquid co2 substitute. This is my light. Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

Wow that's a bit pricey. It won't even fit my tank. It's 36" long. I looked it up on amazon for the right size and from the reviews It seems that they aren't the best. I'll have to figure something out because I'm not willing to spend $100 plus who knows what else for the right intensity of the lightbulb since the ones I found seem to be "useless" as one reviewer said.

 

[foster53]

I'm using the Odyssea Quads also. I find them to be a decent light for the cost. Obviously not the best on the market, but sufficient to grow any plants I want to. Check out Topdogsellers on amazon. They are very reasonable on pricing. You should have at least a couple 6500K bulbs in the fixture. Red plants require higher light to maintain their red color. I run 200 watts of 6500K light over my 40B propagation tanks, and my red plants are blood red. The Alt. reinekii are red on both sides of the leaves

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I'm looking at one that says it has four t5 light bulbs.. Two at 10000k and two at actinic blue bulb.. I'm not so sure on what that means.. Will that be enough for my plants? It Is my understanding that 6500k is better for plants right? So would I have to replace these bulbs? Pardon my ignorance I'm new to this.. And will flourish excel be enough co2? $100 dollars already seems like way too much for this aquarium.. I'd hate to have to buy better bulbs

 

[Super_Blueberry]

Yea, those bulbs won't do you any good. That's more of a saltwater design with those.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I'm stressing out now lol. I'll have to keep searching for the right fixture at the best possible price with the correct lighting.. So I'm looking for at least two 6500k right? Will i need to supplement with more lighting? Or will two of these, for say 12 hours a day, be enough?

 

[foster53]

I'm looking at one that says it has four t5 light bulbs.. Two at 10000k and two at actinic blue bulb.. I'm not so sure on what that means.. Will that be enough for my plants? It Is my understanding that 6500k is better for plants right? So would I have to replace these bulbs? Pardon my ignorance I'm new to this.. And will flourish excel be enough co2? $100 dollars already seems like way too much for this aquarium.. I'd hate to have to buy better bulbs

Look for the fixture that is for freshwater planted tanks. The one your looking at is more for saltwater tanks.

 

[foster53]

Picture Information

10% OFF


Mouse here to zoom in



Image not available Photos not available for this variation


Mouse over image to zoom

T5 Quad 36" 6500K Aquarium Light Hood Freshwater Plant Tropical Fish LED 156W

This is the one to look for, then just find the size you need.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I found one labeled for freshwater but it says it comes with a 10000k and a pink bulb for freshwater. Do you know if petco or pet smart sell the right kit for freshwater plants? I'll have to pay them a visit and check it out

 

[foster53]

I'm stressing out now lol. I'll have to keep searching for the right fixture at the best possible price with the correct lighting.. So I'm looking for at least two 6500k right? Will i need to supplement with more lighting? Or will two of these, for say 12 hours a day, be enough?

The fixture I posted for you, has 4 T-5 High output bulbs that are 6500K.
This would make you a decent light for your tank.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

I found it on eBay. Just curious tho.. How good is this fixture? Will it be sufficient like just enough or more than enough? And do I need more seachem products? Since I only have the liquid co2 excel.. I would rather not mess with DIY co2 systems.

 

[Poncho.tinoco]

Okay so decent lol I'm a little behind on the posts I guess.. Your answering my questions before I even post them lol thanks a lot!!

 

[foster53]

The fixture is decent for the price. Certainly not top of the line by any means. I use them on my plant grow out tanks. The grow any plant I want to grow. If you go higher light, you will need more carbon in the tank. You might want to look into using glute for you carbon source. Its way cheaper than using Excel. You will also have tp up the ferts with higher light. If you go higher light, start with about 8 hrs. per day then adjust up or down depending on algae issues.

 

[foster53]

Your welcome. Definitely do your research to find your best deal, and fixture. Lots of people use LED lights with good results. You can buy DIY kits for them, and save a good amount of $.