plant growth, what to expect???

M

mountain_webste

AC Members
May 2, 2007
245
0
0
B-more
I know this is a very vague question subject to many, many variables, but I’m hoping to get some opinions, or at least a consensus (is that possible???) rule of thumb, since I’m a planted tank noob.

The question is: How many plants should I buy so that the tank looks planted from the start in the context of how fast they grow/fill in? Basically, I’m OK spending some $ buying plants, but at the same time I don’t want to feel like I wasted $ if I’m trimming them back/pulling up offspring in a month. I don’t want to come across as impatient, I’m not. But, I don’t want to have five skinny little stems for 6 months where I envisioned a densely planted area.

I’m converting my 46G bow to a plated tank. My goal is to have 1/3 to ½ of the tank densely planted, the remaining space open with some rock work and maybe some drift wood.

I’m running just over 2W/gallon (96W). Water params at 0/0/~20. PH ~ 7.5. I don’t have a test kit for water hardness so don’t know that. I will not have CO2, but plan on adding some ferts as necessary (still reading up on that as I’m a plant noob). I’m sticking with the frequently mentioned low-light plants.

Again, I realize this is a very vague question. I’d be happy to clarify or share more details if they would help answer my question.
 
Depends on exactly what you put in there. A good sized Amazon Sword would fill out part of the tank and then grow slowly in your lighting. Crypts are slow growing so you may want to get good sized specimens.

On the other hand many vals and hygros grow like weeds (which they basically are) and should do well in your tank.

Do you have a few specific plants in mine?
 
For the most part, I'm really not set on any specific plants. I've been reviewing plant profiles on plantgeek.net to get a sense of size and apperance of what's availible based on input given to me in earlier posts. Ideally, I'd like some tall, grass-like, plants along the back perimeter and some "bushier" plants in the foreground.

I have decided on java fern to attach to a couple pieces of driftwood I have in the tank. My understanding is that java fern does best when attached to an object rather then being planted in the substrate.

I've also tied some java moss to some of the driftwood and to two terra cotta pots that I have in there as caves. My hope is that they will eventually grow to cover the pots and get some good coverage on the driftwood too.

Thanks for your input, how fast/slow things grow is hard to ascertain (though I realize there are so many variables that go into that that its hard to give a blanket answer)
 
The choices for a bushy foreground may be limited, due to no co2. Lighting is just a tad low, so most of the popular foregrounds won't work. These would include HC, HM, glosso and possibly even the marsilea family.
You can however, turn to having moss carpets. Flame moss works great for that purpose.

As for long grassy backgrounds, vals are a good choice to use. They require very little maintenance.
And also, watch the ferts dosage. You may not even need ferts because of no co2 injections. Easier for you :-)
 
I like your choice of java fern and java moss. Val sounds like a logical background choice for you. I have some Spiral val which does great in my 2.1 watts per gallon lighting. Throwing in a giant hygro would add interest to the background.
 
mountain_webste said:
... since I’m a planted tank noob.

... The question is: How many plants should I buy so that the tank looks planted from the start in the context of how fast they grow/fill in? ... But, I don’t want to have five skinny little stems for 6 months where I envisioned a densely planted area.
Click to expand...
mw: Please excuse my expression here and I am not trying to throw cold water on you but IMHO you are really barking up the wrong tree.

If you spend the money in order to purchase large plants how will you feel in 3 weeks when they start dying and you have a bunch of large unaesthetic plants in your tank?

In addition the $'s spent on large val's may be a waste as they will probably melt down before regrowing anyway and a significant portion of the root structure will die as well.

I was where you are several years ago and had the same thing happen with smaller plants. It just takes a while to get the hang of it (or at least it did for me) via experimentation as each ecosystem differs. (As best as I remember I did not lose any plants but they sure did look poorly until I figured out how to get them growing again.)

If 6 months is your time frame you should be in good shape with most of the plants previously referenced in this thread.

In addition you might consider Anubias barteri round leaf. Please reference:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=768+810&pcatid=810
These are slow growing but are very hardy plants and can be attached to rocks and wood in order to generate additional aesthetics.

TR
 
I second the Anubias family. You can get some substantial plants in that group. Some prefer to be tied off but I have planted and tied off Anubias and not noticed much difference. Water Sprites can alos be used as good background plants. You might get some die off but they rally pretty quickly. I have very low light and add flourish at wc's and my plants seem to do fine. I have flourite but am pretty sure the water sprites and Anubias get their nutrition through the water column.
 
nice squawkbert!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom