need help creating a "carpet"

[Smcoyle87]

Just as the title of the thread says, I need help. My common sense tells me to just buy potted plants like micro sword and just remove the pot and plant them a couple inches apart in a random pattern... yeah?
Lol, any advice is appreciated.

Steve

 

[BigJim]

Yes, that will work, but only if you have enough light and a carbon supplement.

 

[Eleven13]

Yes, that will work, but only if you have enough light and a carbon supplement .

How much light in considered enough to carpet? I have 1.5 watts per gallon on my 10 gallon with a 15 watt T8 fluorescent bulb.

And by carbon supplement, do you mean like Seachem excel, or like a DIY co2 diffuser?

I too am wondering why my micro swords aren't carpeting

 

[aqua_chem]

Good carpets = high CO2 (not DIY, excel, etc) and good light, but not necessarily high light. You can buy a ton of it to start with, but you carpet will probably look scraggly after awhile, or you'll have to wait months to see a carpeting effect.

Seriously though, CO2, CO2, and CO2.

 

[Eleven13]

Good carpets = high CO2 (not DIY, excel, etc) and good light, but not necessarily high light. You can buy a ton of it to start with, but you carpet will probably look scraggly after awhile, or you'll have to wait months to see a carpeting effect.

Seriously though, CO2, CO2, and CO2.

Hmm....yeah currently I'm running no Co2, but I wanted to do a DIY set up possibly this weekend. The micro swords are looking a little bit scraggly, but they don't seem to dying, they're just growing upwards instead of spreading out.

I guess I'll set up the Co2 and whatever happens, happens. Worse comes to worse I'll look for an easier carpeting plant

 

[aqua_chem]

Hmm....yeah currently I'm running no Co2, but I wanted to do a DIY set up possibly this weekend. The micro swords are looking a little bit scraggly, but they don't seem to dying, they're just growing upwards instead of spreading out.

I guess I'll set up the Co2 and whatever happens, happens. Worse comes to worse I'll look for an easier carpeting plant

It very well may be a light issue as well.

 

[BigJim]

How much light in considered enough to carpet? I have 1.5 watts per gallon on my 10 gallon with a 15 watt T8 fluorescent bulb.

And by carbon supplement, do you mean like Seachem excel, or like a DIY co2 diffuser?

I too am wondering why my micro swords aren't carpeting

Small tanks don't follow the Wpg guidelines very well. Like aqua_chem said, CO2 is important. It's pretty much impossible to get a steady CO2 supply with a DIY setup. Excel is a mediocre substitute for a pressurized system.

 

[alLexX]

from what i've heard on the subject,youll need pretty good lights. or, i may have read this somewhere or adapted it from the backings like this, take a mesh and get a lot of moss (like java) and thread it in. you might want shrimo to help keep it clean

 

[Coursair]

from what i've heard on the subject,youll need pretty good lights. or, i may have read this somewhere or adapted it from the backings like this, take a mesh and get a lot of moss (like java) and thread it in. you might want shrimo to help keep it clean

For Moss Walls or Squares, Java Moss is messy. Other Mosses are slower growing but have much better structure. And yes, Shrimp are great at keeping Moss fluffy