low light plants and substrates

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gar1948

gar1948

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May 8, 2008
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[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]About to setup a fluval spec 3 tank (2.6 Gal) with std lighting it comes with. Right now I t[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]hink it will be p[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]lants only.[/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]I plan on[/FONT] using low light easy plants like anubias, crptocoryne and java fern. [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]C[/FONT]an I use black sand with plant tabs and liquid plant food instead of eco complete or other specialty substrate? Do i even need p[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]lant tabs since these plants get [FONT=Arial, sans-serif]most of their nutrie[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]nts[FONT=Arial, sans-serif] through th[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]eir lea[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]ves? I'm open to suggestions on what brand and type of ferts I s[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]ho[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]uld use and how often. [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
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FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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Super slow growers like java fern and anubia can do OK with no ferts or CO2 under low light, but this is generally with fish, snails or shrimp in the tank providing some fert and CO2. Like said, these are rhizome plants, so they are not root feeders.
 
gar1948

gar1948

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May 8, 2008
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Columbus, Ohio
thanks for your advise. the led's are total 8 watts which isn't much. If I introduce co2 will it help with this limited wattage?
 
FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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The lower the light, the less the need for C02. You'd be wasting the CO2 in you situation.
 
THE V

THE V

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Nov 25, 2007
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Purchasing a beginner dry fert mix would be a good idea. You can find micro/macro blends online by searching for "Dry Aquarium Fertilizer". Crypts can feed through their roots and leaves. They can grow very slow or surprisingly fast depending upon the conditions.

All aquatic plants benefit from CO2 injection. Slow growing plants usually respond a little less. You can get the same thing by adding in Flourish Excel (Or Metricide 14). This is chemical that kills algae and the plants can use as a carbon source.
 
wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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Dec 11, 2005
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petluvr said:
Those will grow fine without the addition of ferts, the root tabs would be useless for the the anubias and the java fern.
Click to expand...
FreshyFresh said:
Super slow growers like java fern and anubia can do OK with no ferts or CO2 under low light, but this is generally with fish, snails or shrimp in the tank providing some fert and CO2. Like said, these are rhizome plants, so they are not root feeders.
Click to expand...
In the case of java fern, this is true. The filaments growing from the rhizome are holdfasts, not roots, and transport no nutrients to the plant. For anubias, they are actual roots and DO transport nutrients to the plant.

Mark
 
petluvr

petluvr

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wesleydnunder said:
In the case of java fern, this is true. The filaments growing from the rhizome are holdfasts, not roots, and transport no nutrients to the plant. For anubias, they are actual roots and DO transport nutrients to the plant.

Mark
Click to expand...
That's correct but considering the roots of anubias are normally free floating in the water column or attached to something I do not see how a root tab placed into the substrate would be beneficial to an anubias.
 
wesleydnunder

wesleydnunder

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petluvr said:
That's correct but considering the roots of anubias are normally free floating in the water column or attached to something I do not see how a root tab placed into the substrate would be beneficial to an anubias.
Click to expand...
Yes, if the plant is growing without its roots being in the substrate, root tabs will do nothing for it. However, many folks, including me, have anubias also planted in the substrate or potted in substrate. In these instances root tabs are beneficial to the plant's growth. Most of the anubias in my 125gal are planted in substrate.

My post addressed the original statements by you and Joel that anubias are not root feeders and that root tabs are useless for anubias.

Mark
 
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