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new to plants

2K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  eileen 
#1 · (Edited)
So i've never really had a planted tank and i got some questions, my tank is low lighting and has no Co2 and i probably wont use fertilizers. So my questions are,

1. Is this even possilble?
2. If so will these plants work; Java fern, hairgrass (i can buy this online as a 4' by 7' carpet), Anacharis and some java moss

Thanks in advance!

Phil
 
#3 ·
Good low-light plants are Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss, many of the Cryptocoryne species. Depending upon how "low" it is, swords and Vallisneria can work.

Substrate plants like hairgrass, being farthest from the light, generally need more intensity, and with that comes CO2 and additional nutrients. Though some have success in basically low-tech setups. But there are better choices that are more likely to work.

The type of light is all-important. I can be more specific if you indicate what fixture you have (fluorescent or incandescent) and the tank size.

As for nutrients, without some fertilizer you will have very limited success. Even Anubias and Java Fern need food to grow, and many of the essential nutrients are not likely to be present in the average aquarium without being specifically added. A good complete liquid fertilizer once a week usually suffices. I can recommend Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium made by Seachem as one of the best. It may seem initially expensive, but you use so little once a week it lasts a long time. Another that would work in your situation is Nutrafin's Plant-Gro liquid, though it takes more and thus this becomes more expensive long-term.

Byron.
 
#6 ·
What is your light? It may be fine or not, but until I know what it is I can't say.
 
#8 ·
By fluorescent are you meaning tube fluorescent, or a screw-in bulb that is a compact fluorescent?

What is the wattage? What is the type--does it have a name like "daylight" or "warm white" or "cool white" or...? Is there a kelvin rating (number followed by a K)? Some of this will be printed on one end of the tube, depending upon size and manufacturer, or maybe somewhere inside the fixture.
 
#10 ·
OK, so it is the light in the hood on the tank, that helps. Is it a tube that has prongs at the end, or a (normal type) screw-in bulb.
 
#11 ·
I have a 15Watt fluorescent bulb in my tanks. I have java fern with java moss on driftwood, cryptocoryne wendii red, vallisneria, wisteria,dwarf sagittaria,and a sword plant that I have to put florish or root tabs in once in awhile. No Co2 and in pool filter sand and they are all doing good. One tank is a 30 gal. high and and the others are standard. with 1 15Watt fluorescent bulb. I have java moss, hornwort,crystal wort or Ricca floating on the surface of some of the tanks for baby fish to hide in.
 
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