Add ins for low light low planted tank?

[Deitta]

I really only have one healthy plant, a pretty sword. I recently uprooted everything and this is the only plant to survive. It is growing new leaves pretty well. But I have always had a problem keeping the leaves of most of the plants nice and green/healthy. Are my snails (small mystery hitchhikers that they are) the problem. I have never done anything other than make sure the roots are planted as well as I can manage.
I found a store recently in town that has some drop in tablets that provide CO2 and some nutrients. I have really hard well water and wonder if this is neccessary. Would these type of tablets help my few plants? Are some brands better than others? Do you use them according to instructions or do you use them more/less?
I have been truely ignorant about proper plant care. Been too worried about keeping the fish alive first!

 

[Fruitbat]

Deitta...

You don't say how much light you have but I'm going to go with the assumption that you're at less than 2 watts per gallon. I can heartily recommend practically any species of Cryptocoryne for such a tank. You can also grow Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus) and Hornwort (Ceratophyllum submersum) as well as Sagittaria if you like the 'grassy' look. Almost any species of Anubias will also thrive in low light levels.

At low light levels, adding additional CO2 really isn't as much of an issue as it is in high light tanks. I use a Seachem product called Flourish Excel to provide a source of extra carbon for my plants. I also use Seachem Flourish as a general fertilizer and use Flourish Tabs beneath my gravel as a slow-release source of nutients. I use the recommended doses of the Flourish and Flourish Excel and I supplement those with Flourish Iron. (No...I do NOT work for Seachem!! They simply have a great line of plant care products.)

I've posted some profiles that might interest you...especially the ones on Cryptocoryne wendtii and Java Fern. You can find them at : http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewforum.php?f=26

Hope this helps!

 

[Mr Burns]

low light: http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter_by=2
med low: http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter_by=3
med: http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter_by=4

what low, medium low, and medium mean..i'm not sure exactly. roughly, i would guess low is < ~ 1wpg, med low is ~ 1 - 1.75wpg, and medium being ~ 1.75 - 2.5.

my personal recommendations: go with plenty of microsorum pteropus (java fern), anubias barteri v. nana, vesicularia dubyana, and ceratophyllum submersum (hornwort). while slow growing, i think the combination of java fern and anubias nana is absolutely stunning. a carpet plant worth checking out, if you're interested, is marsilea quadrifolia or crenata. it's a slow grower, but can give a nice 'glosso' effect over time. if you like the effect of riccia, another cool plant to check out is monosolenium tenerum (http://www.tropica.com/article_fullscreen.asp?type=aquaristic&id=564 thanks TG!)

 

[Deitta]

By low light, I meant what ever came with the hood. I have not purchased a new light bulb... although I do suspect that I will need to soon. Mostly because I have been using the same bulb since last July. I haven't noticed any drop in light quality and the plants do keep sprouting....
When I do buy a new light, what should I look for? I don't want to change anything other than the bulb. My hood is the standard 1 bulb over glass type for the 29gal. I wouldn't mind if I also got some algae since I do have 3 plecos.

 

[TankGirl]

You are basically stuck with the same wattage for your hood, because likely only one wattage will fit into the fixture. You can play around with the type of bulb, in terms of the spectrum and temperature, etc.

How many watts is the bulb? I don't recall what comes in a hood that size, but might be 15w, in which case you have really low light.

 

[Fruitbat]

If the only light you're going to have is the one that will fit your standard fluorescent hood then you're going to be limited to 1 watt per gallon or less. I point again to my suggestions above for those light levels. I've got a heavily planted low-light tank (15 watts over 26 gallons = less than 1 watt per gallon) and have had really good luck with the following plants: Cryptocoryne wendtii, Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia, Cryptocoryne parva, Cryptocoryne crispatula var. 'balansae', Cryptocoryne ciliata, Anubias barteri var. 'nana', Java Fern (normal and var. 'Windlov', and Aponogeton ulvaceus.

 

[TankGirl]

I am very curious about how that sword is doing so well if the lighting is as low as I suspect. Do you know what kind it is?

Also, some snails will eat plants, but in general they will either mow them down or just nibble on decaying parts.

 

[Mr Burns]

it's probably a 20watt...that's what came with my perfecto 29gal...

 

[Ramrebel]

what would you reccomend for floating on top? I like those tho I realize they would block the already weak light - maybe just in part of the tank

also something that Mollies wouldn't consider a tasty treat?

Thanx,

Ed

 

[TankGirl]

You could try java moss as a floating plant.