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These plants only get .5 watts of light per gallon....

3K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  Aquaticmoon 
#1 ·
Some pictures of my live plants. Anyone want to explain why they are doing so well with only .5w/gal of lighting?




 
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#2 ·
How long did you have these plants?:shock2:
 
#3 ·
the amazon sword has been in there for over two years...mind you I prune it down fairly regularly or it would be much bigger. The other more scraggly lookin sword has been chillin in there for almost as long. The apono is only about 2 months old...and the frill plant started out about the size of the swords less than a month ago...same with the wisteria thats growing back next to it.
 
#6 ·
Those are all low light plants. In low tech planted tanks you will have slower growth .This causes the plants to need less ferts.

The best thing about these tanks is that the longer they are running the nicer they will get.

This tank has about .70 wpg, non CO2, no ferts
 
#7 ·
Lovely Corydoras hastatus, Kevin.:love:
 
#9 ·
They are all low light plants. As for the CO2, it's doing nothing for you. It will add a little CO2 to the water, but within a few minutes of removing it, all the CO2 will have left the tank. And if it's just going through an airstone into the tank, the bubbles just rise, and almost no CO2 is added to the water.
 
#10 ·
Ah but see I figured out how to make a diffuser to hold the co2 in the water column so in fact its not all leaving. And beyond that I find it hard to believe its doing nothing for me when every time I pump the co2 into my tank my plants all put on an inch by the next morning.
 
#11 ·
What you are doing by running the co2 every now and again is causing unstable CO2 levels in your tank. This may lead to BBA. With that low of lighting IMHO your tank would do better in the long run by not having CO2, or have it going all the time.


BTW sorry for posting that photo. :oops: I though this thread was in the plant forum and not the photo forum. :oops:
 
#12 ·
True, the plants will put on growth when you add the CO2, but that growth then slows down again until you add it again. And unless you are using a bell-shaped diffuser which holds CO2, like in an upside-down bowl, the CO2 in the water decreases. Also, if it's a bell-shaped diffuser with CO2 under it, it's always a good idea to have some current under the diffuser, or the CO2 will go into the water at a much slower rate, thus, not doing much good. And as the other person posted, doing CO2 only now and then, you run a very high risk of BBA due to fluctuating CO2 levels.
 
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