How best to use a 37g tall tank

I

iron chef

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Mar 14, 2003
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When I first started my aquarium a few years ago I did not plan for plants, so I have pretty rotten gear for them... I am looking for recommendations on what I can grow with what I have, or what simple modifications I can make to my setup. I'll be happy with pretty much anything that grows besides algae. :)

37g tall tank (>14" from lights to gravel)
Eclipse 3 hood
About 30W of light: 1 ZooMed FloraSun, 1 TropicSun bulb
Substrate: Fine river gravel with no additives, about 2.5"
Fertilizer: None currently though I have experimented with PMDD and Jobe's root spikes.

Currently I am growing crypt. wendtii (sort of a khaki colored variety) and it is thriving. The Petco plant I bought almost tripled in size over a couple of months and I was able to split it into 3 parts, and they seem to be doing well.

The problem is, this is the only plant I have been able to keep successfully. I guess the low light with the tall tank is a killer. I would like a little variety, if possible.

Java moss: Won't grow, and fades away. (at 1.5W/gal in my old 10g tank, it grew like a weed)

Java fern: Can't hack it. Browns out.

Saggitaria: Seemed to do OK, it did grow a bit, but after 3-4 months it turning brown and dying out. (I was using PMDD during this time.)

Random Amazon Sword from LFS: Kicked the bucket.

What else can I try? At least I have a benchmark with the crypt. wendtii... anything equally easy to grow?

Is it desirable or even possible to add iron bearing material to my substrate -- or will I have to empty out the tank to make that improvement?

Many thanks in advance!
 
I'd recommend adding more light, try www.ahsupply.com they specialise in DIY CF lighting. I bought their 96Wx2 setup for my 105 tall tank. If that's more than you want to get involved in, do what I did with my 20g out-grow tanks- get a reflector type shop lamp and use a screw-in flourecent type bulb. I got the shop light holder for about $8 and the 19w 6500k "cool white" bulb was about the same. The lamp holder has a clamp so it isn't that hard to figure out how to fix it above your tank, or remove the clamp and lay the reflector flat on the glass. I have them on my DIY lexan covers with no problems with overheating. One bulb like this would get you over 1 wpg and most low light plants would be good with that. For a good list of low-light plants go to www.azgardens.com and go to "AQUARIUM PLANT HABITAT PACKAGES" and click on the "easy life" package. I bought that package and the plants have done really well with no CO2 or high light levels.
 
I have looked at that lighting shop before, and I don't think they have anything that will fit in my Eclipse hood, at least without major modification. I keep hoping someone will market a kit made to fit in the space available, but I guess most plant people know better than to buy one of these hoods!

Edit: It looks like there are retrofit kits that specify Eclipse 3 compatibility now, cool. For example:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=3811

I think I should set my sights on something like this and stop screwing around with ultra-low light. :)
 
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Try Aponogetons. They grow really tall and big, so at least it will fill up the space more than the Crypts. They don't need too much light, although I'm not sure if what you have will be enough.

Also try Anacharis/Elodea. You will need a lot of it to fill up the space because it's very thin and doesn't branch too much. Plant it in bunches and it will look fuller.

I'd definitely try to get some more light in there.
 
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