Lightly planted help please!!!

[Agent_Scully]

Ok, I've tried planted before and all my plants died. I need to find the best low maintenance plant that is VERY hardy and that does not require Co2 b/ I don't have the money to do an injection or a diy for that matter. I am trying to figure out how many watts per gallon I get. My light says its 15 watts and I have a 20 gallon tall so I don't know what kind of situation I have. Oh and I have large pebble gravel.

What is my status?

[martialtheory]

Terrible. Its going to be extremely hard to grow plants in that sistuation. I'm sorry ur in a hobby thats gonna eat money.

But don't fear, there are still options. When I first started I had a 15w over a 10 gal tank. I had java moss and hygro poly. They worked great.

Please refer to this thread http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/72758-less-than-1wpg.html#post679012 I don't know how, but he did it.

[fishorama]

You can probably grow java fern tied to some drift wood or rock to boost it up closer to the light. I have the windelov (lace) kind in a 20g long & a some regular in a 10g but they're shorter tanks.

Floating Indian fern works too if you like the dangling root look. It can be a PITA if there's too much surface current so it gets stuck to the filter intake.

[tanker]

15 watts is too low for any plant. Anubius or Java fern MAY have a chance, but that is only a maybe.

[blazingazn]

i have a 20 gallon with 15W, but the tank is only half full since it is a paludarium. i have a 6500k bulb, dry fertilizer in the substrate (small sized gravel), and dose only flourish once with every water change. plants are growing slowy, but are nonetheless growing. i have anubias, java moss, some type of sword, banana plant, dwarf sag, fava fern, and crypt wendtii. if you're not concerned about fast rapid growth, then the setup is certainly possible. the crypts and dwarf sag have sent runners, every summer the banana has sent the long stalk lily pad to the surface, and the anubias has gotten longer rhizomes.

[dcewing]

I have similar lighting to your setup. I think it's 17w over a 20 long. Yours being tall will likely reduce the light a bit more. I have had fairly good success with my plants--i.e. they're still growing after a year or so. I haven't used any fertilizers or co2.

Growing really well: java moss, java fern (regular and windelov/lace), cryptocoryne wendtii (red & green), anubias coffeefolia and anubias nana petite. THe moss ball seems fine.

Growing okay: flame moss, guppy grass and cryptocoryne lutea

I have managed to kill off hornwort and wisteria.

I am dealing with a bit of algae right now, but I think it's because I was feeding too heavily. We'll see if it gets better as I reduce feedings.

I'm sure you can grow something, just experiment a little.

[AshK]

I have a 17 watt bulb over a 20 gallon high and have had great success. I have eco-complete as a substrate, which may help as well. I don't dose fertz or do co2. I do get a new bulb every 6 months and make sure to get the right spectrum (6700 K). Here's a photo:

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k75/bravecaspian/PICT0842.jpg

The plants that are doing well: anubias barteri; onion plant: both regular and dwarf; crypt wendtii red(grows exceptionally well--even has babies from time to time); penny wort (floating); duckweed (floating); anarchis (floating); marimo balls; java fern

Plants that did not do well: Rotala indica(in picture but has since been moved to higher light); rotala nanjenshin; java moss; cork screw val; hornwort

To get the java moss to grow better I have elevated it closer to the light. We'll see if it does anything. The trick with the floating plants is to corral them in an area away from the substrate plants, so they don't hog light. I have never had a single spot of algae. I have considered adding more light...but I'm afraid I will mess up the good thing I have now!

On a slightly related note, it is very easy to modify your hood to get more light. You could up your light to 1.5 wpg or even higher in about 20 minutes and for around 20$. This thread shows here (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147012&highlight=DIY+CFL) the details. I recently did this modification to another tank, so if you decide to go this route you can pm me for help! It was incredibly easy and very worth it, IMO