View Full Version : Long shot... plants for 0.5wpg?
paperdragon
06-13-2009, 4:17 PM
Is there anything at all that'll grow (even really slowly) in 0.5WPG? My bro-in-law has a 55g with 2 15w fluorescents, and he'd like to try live plants but can't afford to upgrade the lighting. Has anyone tried things like java ferns or anacharis in similar lighting?
I've got pretty much the same set up. I can grow anubias just fine--it even flowers for me. Java moss also works. I think java ferns would work, too, but my fish eat them or just tear them up trying.
Basically, everything I can grow is the kind of plant that you tie down to wood. I don't have anything growing in my substrate. You can put together a decent aquascape with some nice rocks and a few dramatic pieces of driftwood, and then start tying plants to anything that'll stand still :)
chesterthehero
06-13-2009, 6:13 PM
leahk is correct. java fern, java moss and anubias would work fine. along with hornwort and wisteria.
fyi, home depot sells cheap lights in case you ever want to upgrade to a little more.
jbradt
06-13-2009, 6:20 PM
leahk is correct. java fern, java moss and anubias would work fine. along with hornwort and wisteria.
fyi, home depot sells cheap lights in case you ever want to upgrade to a little more.
x2
paperdragon
06-13-2009, 7:00 PM
Ok, thanks! :D
Star Grass grows strongly in mine. Anacharis works. Bacopa is growing well. Water Wisteria, Java fern, java moss.
paperdragon
06-14-2009, 6:11 AM
Stargrass works? Awesome!
bluekrissyspike
06-14-2009, 11:00 AM
i upgraded the lighting on my 55 to a shoplight. you can paint the outside of it black so it doesn't stand out so much. it cost me less than $40 for the fixture and 2 daylight bulbs. it brings me up to 80watts or 64watts, depending if i get t8's or t12's.
jb-ny
06-14-2009, 11:12 AM
if he can scrape up $20 bucks he could try what I did.
Walmart has shoplights with clamps and sells GE screw-in CFL (daylight)
Two worklights and 2 CFL 26w bulbs were $20 +/- $2
I used a piece of mylar on top...you can see a pic of my set up in my personal section.
paperdragon
06-21-2009, 6:07 AM
Thanks for the responses everyone. It looks to be a moot point for now though.
Yesterday, my bro-in-law called and asked if I could take his last 3 fish - 2 cardinal tetras and a glowlight tetra. I tested the water he brought them in to see how much work acclimating them would be and the ammonia was off the chart (test tube turned dark navy blue) and pH was 6.0 rather than the 7.2 it should've been. This is going to be a long process.
KarlTh
06-21-2009, 11:32 AM
with pH that low at least the ammonia is harmless. Going to need to very slowly raise KH. If you're talking about acclimating them to your tank, the important stats are GH and KH. If they are close then just dump 'em in.
paperdragon
06-21-2009, 3:15 PM
I haven't been able to get GH and KH test kits yet. Plus I'd still be a bit worried just dumping them in since these are "old tank syndrome" fish. I added a bit of Prime before starting to acclimate them, and I've been changing out small amounts of water every now and then throughout the day.