I have an 80gal tank setup with a hearty population of fish as well as plants. I'm loving the post by WyldFya, but I have some direct questions. First off is the setting. The tank is kept at a constant 79f, with a 2 inch sand substrate and 4 14" 10000k 55watt bulbs. The light is kept on for about 14 hours a day, give or take depending on when I get home. Currently growing, (starting with the out of control) Anachris(4" to 48" long), Chilensis(some rooted, some free floating), an Anubias Nana(slow growing), bamboo stalk(slow growing), and some Cobomba(just added recently, growing well. I started using a fertilizer about a week ago even though my plants were doing well. I figured the extra nutrients couldn't hurt. As I house a couple of Black Ghost Knives, I'm looking for a broad leaved, fast grower to aid in providing hiding spots. My first question is, for the plants I have, can I better arrange the situation to aid growth? The second question, Is there a fast growing, broad leaved plant that will grow well in the current environment? I'll be happy to attach pictures as soon as I'm able to get them back on my computer, and happy to answer any questions you might have for me. Thanks for the time.
New Plants To Hide The Beast
- Thread starter metalyx
- Start date
First thing, is that it is dangerous to dose ferts, without knowing what you are dosing, and why. There are equilibriums that you want to maintain, dosing blindly can cause dramatic swings in water quality, loss of plants/fish, and algae growth. For a fast growing broad leaf plant, look for echinodorus species, particularly melon, amazon, rubin or ozelot swords.
I started using, whether it matters or not, Flourish by Seachem. It seemed pretty sturdy on the needed nutrients, the only concern being the .0001% copper content for the snails. In the short run I suppose the scaleless fish could suffer as well. I'm planning on using the same dose for a 60gal tank tomorrow. The specs for the fertilizer I'm sure are online, but if you all see any problems with it let me know, as I'm dosing again(this morning by my time zone) the second dose. I've not used more than a 60gal dose on my 80gal tank for fear of damaging the scaleless fish. Thanks for the warning so far, I'm looking into some misc Blades for more plants. If I can get them posted I'll leave pics of the plant life so far. Forgive if my thought are scattered, I'm 9 shots into my Effen, and regardless of how scatterbrained I'm typing, I do appreciate the feedback. Thanks again everyone.
Again, it is dangerous to dose fert if you don't know why you are dosing them. You need to check your levels. We cannot tell you what you need to dose, without knowing what your tank is like.
Minus the fertilizer for now, I've had some really explosive plant growth in the tank. I purchased the Cabomba a dark purple color, and in the first couple of days they turned a dark green. Past that, the tallest of the plants has grown about 4" over about two weeks. I don't ever have algae growth in the tank, it only shows up on the hood glass right under the light. Is this anything I should be worried about? Thanks everyone. 
as long as you stick to the dosing insructions it will be fine. Ive been using Seachem Flourish and Flourish Excel for about 3 weeks and the growth has been excellent.
Ive now bought a Co2 kit to add on to it so we will see how it goes
Ive now bought a Co2 kit to add on to it so we will see how it goes
I'd love to hear how the Co2 addition goes for you. I recently decided to do away with about 90 percent of my Anachris, which leaves me with a well planted tank still. Does the ph affect any of the growth in plants? All of my levels were nominal except for the ph that was hovering at about 6.6. I added some coral and removed my bogwood to help as well as an immediate water change.
