3rd Attempt at Plants in my 46g, will they live? PICS!!
- Thread starter hondaman
- Start date
im 100% sure that unknown 2 is not an aquatic plant, we have em in the garden, unknown 4 is also likely to be terrestrial..
gud luck wid the other plants :dance2:
gud luck wid the other plants :dance2:
Yeah #1 and #4 are terrestrial plants. They're similar to those "lucky bamboo" plants you see at home depot. In fact home depot sells #1 as a lattice of several plants, kinda cute... I just got rid of some last week (your unknown #1), not from within my tank, but as a potted houseplant 
Yep, I'd say that #4 is a form of Dracaena (sp?), and possibly also #1. I was sold a #4 as an aquarium plant. Within days it had gone 'rusty' (no other way to describe it) and gradually dissolved into slime until I took it out of the tank (and I didn't wait too long to do that, as I was worried how it would affect my fish).
It seems that fish aren't the only products that LFS sell to unwitting newbies without warnings!
It seems that fish aren't the only products that LFS sell to unwitting newbies without warnings!
I'm quite certain that all the unknown plants are terrestrial. Take them back to where to bought them and ask for your money back. The will not grow or survive underwater.
IndianaSam
IndianaSam
hondaman said:
Oh, I believe they were sold to you as aquarium plants. 9 times out of 10 the people working at the large chains have little idea what plant they're selling (there are certainly some exceptions).
Give this place a try. I've ordered from them before with great results (I am in no way associated with their company). You may have luck with some of their beginner plants or some hygro species.
I'm going to give credit to Tom Barr (plantbrain) since he has helped me big time in getting my planted tank from an algae infested jungle to a much better display with unmatched clarity.
First off those Hagen ladders are terrible at diffusing CO2. I had trouble getting 10-15 ppm in my 29 gallon with those units. I now run them into tom's venturi diffuser system and easily make 30 ppm+ CO2. If I used the kH-pH method of testing, my tank would have over 65 ppm of CO2!. Same Hagen system different diffusion method. CO2 is so high actuallly that the clear silicone tubing powering my airstone (for night time CO2 degassing) has been etched white. This never happened with the ladder system.
Next off, you need to get your nutrients much higher. In my 29 gallon 2.1 wpg tank with CO2 I dose the following 2x a week.
1/4 Tsp of Potassium Nitrate (KNO3)
1/16 Tsp of Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4)
1/16 Tsp of Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4)
5 mL of Seachem Flourish every second day
1 mL of Seachem Flourish Iron daily
Tank gets a 50% waterchange weekly. After a waterchange I dose the following in addition to the other fertilizers:
1/2 Teaspoon of Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4 * 7H2O)
1/2 Teaspon of Calcuim Chloride (CaCl2)
Ever since I started this routine, my plants have gotten much much greener and algae has been dying back. My black beard algae so far has turned red and is being picked away at by my fish. I expect it to dissapear completely within a couple weeks. Contrary to popular consensus adding phosphates to your tank does not promote algae. Poor CO2 and fertilizer shortages do.
To buy these fertilizers go to http://gregwatson.com He has excellent pricing and the dry fertilizers will last you over a year. To read up on Tom's Venturi CO2 design, go to http://www.BarrReport.com His newsletter is very interesting though a bit on the complex side (I am saying this as a person who has a background in biology). I've learned a heck of a lot and would reccomend subscribing in a second. The venturi information though is in the free section under DIY Articles.
Good Luck
First off those Hagen ladders are terrible at diffusing CO2. I had trouble getting 10-15 ppm in my 29 gallon with those units. I now run them into tom's venturi diffuser system and easily make 30 ppm+ CO2. If I used the kH-pH method of testing, my tank would have over 65 ppm of CO2!. Same Hagen system different diffusion method. CO2 is so high actuallly that the clear silicone tubing powering my airstone (for night time CO2 degassing) has been etched white. This never happened with the ladder system.
Next off, you need to get your nutrients much higher. In my 29 gallon 2.1 wpg tank with CO2 I dose the following 2x a week.
1/4 Tsp of Potassium Nitrate (KNO3)
1/16 Tsp of Mono Potassium Phosphate (KH2PO4)
1/16 Tsp of Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4)
5 mL of Seachem Flourish every second day
1 mL of Seachem Flourish Iron daily
Tank gets a 50% waterchange weekly. After a waterchange I dose the following in addition to the other fertilizers:
1/2 Teaspoon of Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4 * 7H2O)
1/2 Teaspon of Calcuim Chloride (CaCl2)
Ever since I started this routine, my plants have gotten much much greener and algae has been dying back. My black beard algae so far has turned red and is being picked away at by my fish. I expect it to dissapear completely within a couple weeks. Contrary to popular consensus adding phosphates to your tank does not promote algae. Poor CO2 and fertilizer shortages do.
To buy these fertilizers go to http://gregwatson.com He has excellent pricing and the dry fertilizers will last you over a year. To read up on Tom's Venturi CO2 design, go to http://www.BarrReport.com His newsletter is very interesting though a bit on the complex side (I am saying this as a person who has a background in biology). I've learned a heck of a lot and would reccomend subscribing in a second. The venturi information though is in the free section under DIY Articles.
Good Luck
hondaman said:
I have a Petco near me and I have often seen terrarium plants mixed in with the aquarium plants. They do not distinguish between the two.
