WPG for 75E and Vals --

[Roan Art]

What sort of WPG should I be looking for? It's 48x18x20, 4" shorter than a 90g. Would 3.5 wpg work okay for vals or other high-light plants, or do I really need over 4 wpg? The next one up seems to be like 5wpg.

Should I put vals in a 90g instead? 24" high instead of 20"?

Thanks!
Roan

[djlen]

I'm growing Val. beautifully at 2 wpg (2X55 CF) in a 55 gallon tank. They are not really a 'high light' plant.
Depending on the type of Val., you want to consider what look you want. If you don't want them growing to and then laying across the surface, buy a variety that is a bit shorter. Corkscrew Val. works fine in my 55.....just touches the surface.
I don't like the lay-across-the-surface look in Val. so Jungle Val. wouldn't be a variety I'd opt for.

[Captain Hook]

3.5 wpg should be lots of light for your tank. That's a fairly large tank so the wpg can start to get a bit misleading. On a smaller tank, say a 10 gallon tank, you would probably have the equivalent of about 5-6 wpg.

[Roan Art]

Thank you both! You just saved me a wack of money that I can put into another Eheim 2026 instead :)

Roan

[RTR]

I prefer the leaves floating at/under the suface myself, so standard Val is my choice. I only would use Jungle Val in very large tanks, such as 120 or 180 when I want shading (I used it for the big puffers). Six-foot leaves are really quite a lot, even in a six-foot tank. Other than that, I agree with Len about Val not be light-demanding. I don't do high light anymore.

[Roan Art]

Great, thanks!

What about Vallisneria asiatica? Is that the Corkscrew val? I like how that one looks.

Roan

[CharlieV]

Val. Spiralis is the corkscrew i think. Got some in my tank - cool little white flowers on spiraly bits.
I regulary (every week) cut back my Val and it's only got 1.5WPG

[reiverix]

I've got a bunch of corkscrew vals in my 75g with high light. They are shaded behind a rather large melon sword and tiger lotus, which is good because they can get out of control quickly under full lighting.

If your main goal is to grow vals then I'd opt for the lower end of the lighting scale. Say 2*65w on a 75g. I can grow contortion and italian val quite easy with 55w on my 29g.

However, think about the tank in the long term. Do you really want a 75g filled with just vals? Any other plants you are thinking about?

[Roan Art]

However, think about the tank in the long term. Do you really want a 75g filled with just vals? Any other plants you are thinking about?
No, just *some* vals. I'm doing a mock Papua New Guinea biotope in two 75g tanks and a mock Amazon in the other 75g:

P/NG Tanks
Vallisneria
Aponogeton
Ceratopteris
Bolbitis
Ceratophyllum demersum
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Cryptocoryne versteegii
Cryptocoryne ciliata

Some of the Aponogetons are high light, not sure which ones I'll go with because I'm still researching WHICH are found in that area. I'll use the moderate and high light plants to shade the low lights somewhat. Or modify my hood so there are shaded areas. Should be able to get a balance with that.

I say "mock" because there really is no way you can replicate the a biotope in your tank. Especially with some of the fish I'm stocking, but I'm trying to match as close to the lakes or rivers as possible.

The Amazon will be mostly large, dark, leafy stuff, like Ozelot sword. I know I need those types of plants, just haven't researched into the Amazon area to find out which are found there yet. I've got Silver Dollars for that tank and anything delicate and tastey will get eaten. I know they won't eat Ozelot or Radican, they have that now and haven't touched it. They DID eat the anacharis, an amazon and a few others.


I've got some landscaping programs around here somewhere and I'm gonna reinstall and use them for design.

Roan