What Type of Plants Can I Support?

[Gboy66]

Have a 13 watt, CFL 6700k bulb in my 2.5 gallon MiniBow, what type of plants can i support? At the moment i have an anubias and small jungle val

 

[fort384]

I would think just about anything would grow ok with that shallow of a tank and a 13W cfl bulb. At the very least medium light stems and things like lilaeopsis would most likely do ok.

 

[JokerWx13]

thats over 5wpg and the tank is so shallow, i wouldnt be afraid of too little light but too much light to the point that there's an algae outbreak

 

[Gboy66]

Thabks guys! Hopefully i have no algea blooms!:/

 

[Eleven13]

Thabks guys! Hopefully i have no algea blooms!:/

I have plants in my 3 gallon betta tank and they do fine, I had algae issues in the past but I reduced my photoperiod to 8 hours and it solved the problem.

I have anubias, anacharis, a crypt (currently going through crypt melt....waiting to see if it'll recover), and a bunch of aponogeton "betta bulbs" which grow like wildfire

 

[Gboy66]

I have plants in my 3 gallon betta tank and they do fine, I had algae issues in the past but I reduced my photoperiod to 8 hours and it solved the problem.

I have anubias, anacharis, a crypt (currently going through crypt melt....waiting to see if it'll recover), and a bunch of aponogeton "betta bulbs" which grow like wildfire

Thats awesome! Whati lghting do you have? Your betta is knarley by the way

 

[Eleven13]

Thats awesome! Whati lghting do you have? Your betta is knarley by the way

Haha thanks, that's Valentino (girlfriend got him for me for Valentine's day )

My lighting is a simple T8 6 watt fluorescent, nothing fancy. I used Seachem excel in very small doses to initially tackle my algae problem, but that mixed with the light reduction helped a lot. Just something to look into if you ever run into it yourself

 

[Gboy66]

Ah he is of spanish origin? Hahah

Great! Ive been getting the nasty green algae, how do i fix that? Ill be giving the tank a good cleaning here soon

 

[Coursair]

Ah he is of spanish origin? Hahah

Great! Ive been getting the nasty green algae, how do i fix that? Ill be giving the tank a good cleaning here soon

Consider reducing the wattage. You could drop it to a 10watt or a 5 watt if you can find one that still the right spectrum.

But other fixes ? Raise the light up higher. Reduce your photoperiod to 6 hours a day. Plenty of water changes and make sure the Nitrates don't get too high.

Make sure you have enough plants to compete with the Algae and look at adding Flourish Excel (but read warnings to make sure which plants can handle it.) you may need to add it at half strength at first since it's such a small tank.

 

[Gboy66]

Consider reducing the wattage. You could drop it to a 10watt or a 5 watt if you can find one that still the right spectrum.

But other fixes ? Raise the light up higher. Reduce your photoperiod to 6 hours a day. Plenty of water changes and make sure the Nitrates don't get too high.

Make sure you have enough plants to compete with the Algae and look at adding Flourish Excel (but read warnings to make sure which plants can handle it.) you may need to add it at half strength at first since it's such a small tank.

Thanks very much! I have taken a picture of this reply, it was so helpful.

I habe kent iron and manganese, should i use that? Also, can you suggest a type of root tab to buy in stores?

 

[adammorrill]

I have been using the kent iron and manganese product for about 2 weeks and so far i havent seen any major differences in my plants.

 

[Gboy66]

I have been using the kent iron and manganese product for about 2 weeks and so far i havent seen any major differences in my plants.

Hmm okay, i wont use that then. So i need to buy:
Flourish excel
Root tabs (type)?
More plants! Im thinking a moss, rotala indica, and a carpeting plant. What type should that be?
Some nana for the DW, or somthing like it

I think thats all i need..

Heres the tank so far

 

[Coursair]

Hmm okay, i wont use that then. So i need to buy:
Flourish excel
Root tabs (type)?
More plants! Im thinking a moss, rotala indica, and a carpeting plant. What type should that be?
Some nana for the DW, or somthing like it

I think thats all i need..

You can make Root Tabs cheap by buying Osmocote Plus plant food at a hardware store ( for house plants ).
Get a cheap ice tray.
Fill the compartments 1/2 way with Ferts,
fill up with tank water.
Freeze

Push Fert-Cicles deep under substrate. Maybe only 1 or 2 for a little tank.

Or buy Flourish or other brand Root Tabs.

Iron is a good Fert, esp if you have Red colored plants.

Flourish ( comprehensive) water column Ferts
Flourish Excel ( source of Carbon )
Root Tabs for root feeders

Those should cover most bases to start.

A tiny tank, I like to use small leaved plants.
Dwarf Baby Tears
Lindernia rotundifolia
Mini Xmas Moss

You may be able to ask for these in our Mart. Or join ( for free) and post to be able to see The Planted Tank or Aquatic Plant Central sales threads. TPT and APC have almost any plant if you can't find it here. Just read the rules

 

[Gboy66]

You can make Root Tabs cheap by buying Osmocote Plus plant food at a hardware store ( for house plants ).
Get a cheap ice tray.
Fill the compartments 1/2 way with Ferts,
fill up with tank water.
Freeze

Push Fert-Cicles deep under substrate. Maybe only 1 or 2 for a little tank.

Or buy Flourish or other brand Root Tabs.

Iron is a good Fert, esp if you have Red colored plants.

Flourish ( comprehensive) water column Ferts
Flourish Excel ( source of Carbon )
Root Tabs for root feeders

Those should cover most bases to start.

A tiny tank, I like to use small leaved plants.
Dwarf Baby Tears
Lindernia rotundifolia
Mini Xmas Moss

You may be able to ask for these in our Mart. Or join ( for free) and post to be able to see The Planted Tank or Aquatic Plant Central sales threads. TPT and APC have almost any plant if you can't find it here. Just read the rules

Great! So..

Make or buy the root tabs
Get flourish comprehensive
Get flourish excel
Get plants.

Is that all ill need then to keep these plants growing?

Haha ill go check that forun out..read the rules?

 

[Coursair]

Great! So..

Make or buy the root tabs
Get flourish comprehensive
Get flourish excel
Get plants.

Is that all ill need then to keep these plants growing?

Haha ill go check that forun out..read the rules?

They ask that if you want to POST in the Mart that you first post elsewhere. But if you just want to view the Mart area and send PMs you can do that right after joining I think ???

And yes, those ferts should be enough to get you started and should work well. Later you can buy more specific items if you see an actual deficiency.

 

[Gboy66]

They ask that if you want to POST in the Mart that you first post elsewhere. But if you just want to view the Mart area and send PMs you can do that right after joining I think ???

And yes, those ferts should be enough to get you started and should work well. Later you can buy more specific items if you see an actual deficiency.

Odd! I just checked that place out and wow..they really can aquascape over there!!

Great, i bought API tabs today, but ill start using them once i add more plants.

I am scared about using flourish and having shrimo though! Any experiences? Shoul i try it at 1/4 dose at first?

 

[Coursair]

Odd! I just checked that place out and wow..they really can aquascape over there!!

Great, i bought API tabs today, but ill start using them once i add more plants.

I am scared about using flourish and having shrimo though! Any experiences? Shoul i try it at 1/4 dose at first?

The regular Flourish (comprehensive) won't hurt shrimp.
The Excel, I'd start out slow. MANY people use it with Shrimp with no ill effects. I avoid it in my CRS tank, because I got nervous. I have used it with my Amanos. I would say try 1/2 dose or less and work up slowly each week. See how your Shrimpz do with it.

 

[fort384]

I dose my crs tank with excel and have never had an issue with it. What I avoid is dosing chelated iron in my crs tank as I had a bad experience with it. I agree though the best approach is to start slow and ramp up after monitoring closely.

 

[Gboy66]

The regular Flourish (comprehensive) won't hurt shrimp.
The Excel, I'd start out slow. MANY people use it with Shrimp with no ill effects. I avoid it in my CRS tank, because I got nervous. I have used it with my Amanos. I would say try 1/2 dose or less and work up slowly each week. See how your Shrimpz do with it.

Ohh, ok! I will start slower, definitly. Thanks

 

[Gboy66]

I dose my crs tank with excel and have never had an issue with it. What I avoid is dosing chelated iron in my crs tank as I had a bad experience with it. I agree though the best approach is to start slow and ramp up after monitoring closely.

Really? Well that is good news! Thanks for sharing