Can someone give me some recommendations on an easy to grow aquarium grass that requires little in the way of lighting, fertilizer, co2, etc.? The scientific name would be helpful too. TIA.
Need grassy plants!
- Thread starter Scooter
- Start date
java moss... Easy to grow. Should be tied down to a piece of driftwood. Or even or a coconut shell.. Kinda gives it a cool look...
Thanks Cheech. I want a strictly foreground grassy plant and I'm afraid that Java Fern might get a little long for what I need. I'm looking into Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (Micro Sword), but I'm getting conflicting information. Some sources say low light requirement, others say it MUST have bright light.
Woops a daisy
woops, wrong post. I use glossastigma? (dwarf hair grass. spreads nicely and is semi small.
woops, wrong post. I use glossastigma? (dwarf hair grass. spreads nicely and is semi small.
Last edited:
Shiftaltumlock
No mater where ya go, there ya are
Try some Marsilea Quadrifolia or Aquatic Clover. It is a medium light foreground plant.
How much light do you have?
You can grow Glossostigma in as little as 2wpg, if you provide Co2 and nutrients.
Glosso is the ultimate foreground plant, IMO.
How much light do you have?
You can grow Glossostigma in as little as 2wpg, if you provide Co2 and nutrients.
Glosso is the ultimate foreground plant, IMO.
Thanks Jingles and Shift. Right now I've got about 1 watt per gallon, but I hope to change that within the month. Currently, I'm not adding any CO2 or fertilizer, though I might change that as well. I have to say I don't know just a whole lot about aquarium plants so I appreciate the info.
Not much to say about plants, thats a personal preference, and it depends on what you can get in your area =)
But I can comment about lighting and CO2. If I were you, I would save my money, and stick with low light plants for now (anubias will work very nicely as a low light carpet type plant). Why do you ask? Instead of running off to get more lighting, save your money for a good pressurized CO2 system. Many people make the assumption that more light = better growth without factoring in CO2. In the end the only thing really taking off in their tanks is algae. Get a good stable CO2 concentration in your tank going first, then consider getting more lighting.
HTH
-Richer
But I can comment about lighting and CO2. If I were you, I would save my money, and stick with low light plants for now (anubias will work very nicely as a low light carpet type plant). Why do you ask? Instead of running off to get more lighting, save your money for a good pressurized CO2 system. Many people make the assumption that more light = better growth without factoring in CO2. In the end the only thing really taking off in their tanks is algae. Get a good stable CO2 concentration in your tank going first, then consider getting more lighting.
HTH
-Richer
I agree with richer. CO2 is worth more of the investment than lighting. you could go out and buy a shoplight or two, depending on the size of your tank, and it would work fine. But with that lighting, algae would flourish without the addition of CO2 to help the plants compete. Plants dont use nutrients as much when they arent photosynthasizing because they arent producing more parts of the plant to service.
My glosso has already begun to spread out after 1 week and looks great. I would reccamend this, but you should also try other types of foreground. Uniformity doesnt look as good as a natural or wild motif, IMO. But a layout is needed to balance it.
anyways, microswords are both nice foreground glosso. There are also those clover type foreground plant that I cant think of, but they are good when the conditions are correct. You must remember that there really isnt such a thing as an aquatic plant that doesnt need much lighting, CO2, or fertalizer. not unless you are talking about java moss or algae. You will always need to provide a decent amount of lighting, CO2, and fertalizer for them to be healthy.
My glosso has already begun to spread out after 1 week and looks great. I would reccamend this, but you should also try other types of foreground. Uniformity doesnt look as good as a natural or wild motif, IMO. But a layout is needed to balance it.
anyways, microswords are both nice foreground glosso. There are also those clover type foreground plant that I cant think of, but they are good when the conditions are correct. You must remember that there really isnt such a thing as an aquatic plant that doesnt need much lighting, CO2, or fertalizer. not unless you are talking about java moss or algae. You will always need to provide a decent amount of lighting, CO2, and fertalizer for them to be healthy.
Thanks guys. Sounds like some great advice. What I meant by not much lighting harkens back to much of what I read that says you "have" to have at least two watts per gallon to be successful with plants. Either that's just plain false or I'm doing everything right. One of my tanks has less than one watt per gallon, but it's got a variety of plants in it (besides grassy types) that have all grown and spread (now maybe not as fast as they would have with more lighting - but this particular tank has virtually no algae). Oh well. Again, I appreciate your input. I'll probably concentrate on the CO2 for now because it will give me the added potential benefit of lowering the pH in the tank.
Good idea, work on CO2. Whoever told you that you need at least 2 watts per gallon to grow plants successfully was somewhat mis-informed. 2 watts per gallon is the threshold for CO2 injection being a must. When you hit (and surpass) about 2 watts per gallon, you can start to get into more demanding plants. That however doesn't mean less wattage won't work =)
I'm currently planning a low light plant tank myself (so far it looks like the tank will get less than 1.5 watts/gallon), and I've known quite a few ppl grow beautiful plant tanks with lighting less than 2watts/gallon. So for sure, you don't need 2 watts/gallon to grow things successfully =D
HTH
-Richer
I'm currently planning a low light plant tank myself (so far it looks like the tank will get less than 1.5 watts/gallon), and I've known quite a few ppl grow beautiful plant tanks with lighting less than 2watts/gallon. So for sure, you don't need 2 watts/gallon to grow things successfully =D
HTH
-Richer