that's because i'm trying to get a very dense growth, and not just a few plants. i want something like this, this or this, and not this, this, this or this.
If you mentioned it, I missed it......exactly how much light are you going to put over this tank? This makes all the difference in the world as to how much plant mass you need to start off with.
You are correct in wanting to load it up initially, but you seem to be going over board for the size tank you are dealing with.
Reply with wattage and whether the lighting is CF or NO fluorescent.
I'm not exactly sure that you understand how much a single plant is in quantity. As we stated before, even when you don't consider that the plants will grow larger, the quantities you are looking to buy are still ridiculously large for your size tank. Go back and look at that link you gave us for Pearl grass. It says 40 stems for one order. Now do you really think you are going to need 20 orders of 40 stems? With the Bacopa they give you 10 stems for each type. You also get 10 plants in one order of watersprite and you get 10 stems for both types of hygrophilia that you want. It also might be so crowded that not all plants get enough light and die off. Please know that those tanks you posted are just for show in competitions. That are extremely hard to maintain for a longer period of time. For example, those stem plants that are stuck so close together are rotting on the bottom from lack of light. This means they will have to be pruned or replaced often. Furthermore, with that much lighting the plants will grow so fast that your hand will be in the tank every other minute, and you might just give up on it all togther. Also I don't hear you talking about macro and micro ferts as well as CO2 supplementation all that much. If you don't have these things, in the correct amounts, your plants will not thrive, look yellow and sickly, and algae will soon reign supreme over your tank. We wouldn't be on this forum if we didn't want to help one another. Please don't get defensive and keep an open mind. Also remem ber that this hobby is all about patience. Plants take a while to grow that's just how it is. However, once they get settled and have everything they need you should see improvement everyday.
Go back and look at that link you gave us for Pearl grass. It says 40 stems for one order. Now do you really think you are going to need 20 orders of 40 stems? With the Bacopa they give you 10 stems for each type. You also get 10 plants in one order of watersprite and you get 10 stems for both types of hygrophilia that you want.
ok, you've misunderstood me. i'm going to order these plants from my lfs, and the number is the number of stalks i'm ordering. so it's 20 stalks of water wisteria, 10 stalks of bacopa australis etc. and i'm going to follow seachem dosage chart, except for the buffers and prime. i just need enough background plants to block the black background, enough middle plants to make the tank look 'bushy', and enough foreground plants to make the foreground look 'interesting'. the only plant that i'm thinking of lowering the quantity is the water sprite, as it comes with a single crown with many stalks in a single plant, so maybe 10 would do.
Oh, OK. You were scaring me there for a second. Are you sure that you don't want to wait for some of the plants to grow out though? Do you already have a specific lighting scheme in mind? Meaning, does your LFS offer any good light sets?
i'm not exactly sure about the light yet, but i'm thinking 4 or 5 fluorescent bulbs side by side in the hood. btw, i have a 13W fluorescent bulb that says '13W(fluorescent bulb) = 75W(ordinary light bulb)'. which wattage should i take?
10 water sprite plants alone will take up most of the space in a 10 gal tank once they are taller than say 8". If you were planning a good mix of plants for your background, I'd suggest no more than 2 or 3 water sprite plants in the mix for the background, which would leave some room for some other plants back there at least until the water sprite grows in more.
Also remem ber that this hobby is all about patience. Plants take a while to grow that's just how it is. However, once they get settled and have everything they need you should see improvement everyday.