jeez I just wanted a planted tank

[skjl47]

Hello; This is the 29 gallon high. There are two UGF's under the gravel but I have air running to only one side right now as I needed to bleed some air into my fry tank. There is the quartz gravel a mentioned at 4 to 5 inches deep. This tank has the 2 LED screw in bright stick bulbs for about a month but had the round LED screw in bulbs for about 11 months before that. There is a rubens sword but it is hidden by the valls in the picture.

 

[jclyde13]

Heavily planted aquariums with bright lighting are a delicate balancing act between lighting, CO2, and fertilizers. If anything is out of balance, you end up with an algae farm, and potentially dead plants. Like the others here, I would recommend starting with a low light setup with fairly undemanding plants. For your carpet, I would suggest Hemianthus micranthemoides, dwarf chain sword, or dwarf sagittaria. For your background plants, Ludwigia repens, Rotala rotundifolia, amazon sword, cabomba, Anubias barteri var. barteri, Anubias congensis, Hygrophila difformis, and Hygrophila corymbosa are good starters. If you're sticking with gravel, then I would recommend at least investing in some root tabs.

I don't know of any "easy" to grow carpet plants. If you want an easy stem plant, your best bet is Anubias. They'll grow under relatively low light conditions and are tolerant of being up-rooted.

Sorry to nitpick, but Anubias isn't a stem plant.

 

[jclyde13]

They can't be rooted in substrate though.

For a good carpet rich substrate is essential, good lighting and co2 is practically necessary. There are things like dwarf hairgrass that are easier to grow and carpet well over time

Yes they can. Anubias do very well when rooted in a nutrient-rich substrate. You just have to make sure that the rhizome is not buried.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; This is a 20 gallon long. It has a fluorescent tube, about 18 inches. I have just enough pure black gravel to do a 20 gallon.

 

[Hendre]

Yes they can. Anubias do very well when rooted in a nutrient-rich substrate. You just have to make sure that the rhizome is not buried.

Ah. Never tried, I'm having trouble keeping lilies buried so I doubt an anubias will do lol

 

[jclyde13]

Ah. Never tried, I'm having trouble keeping lilies buried so I doubt an anubias will do lol

I like to use this to hold them down. You can just cut off about a 3" strip and wrap it around the roots to hold them down.

 

[Hendre]

Never seen that here

 

[Grinch]

Heavily planted aquariums with bright lighting are a delicate balancing act between lighting, CO2, and fertilizers. If anything is out of balance, you end up with an algae farm, and potentially dead plants. Like the others here, I would recommend starting with a low light setup with fairly undemanding plants. For your carpet, I would suggest Hemianthus micranthemoides, dwarf chain sword, or dwarf sagittaria. For your background plants, Ludwigia repens, Rotala rotundifolia, amazon sword, cabomba, Anubias barteri var. barteri, Anubias congensis, Hygrophila difformis, and Hygrophila corymbosa are good starters. If you're sticking with gravel, then I would recommend at least investing in some root tabs.


Sorry to nitpick, but Anubias isn't a stem plant.

Nor is any plant a carpet, if you get my drift.

 

[skjl47]

hello; This is the 55 gallon as of today. I have harvested some of the plants both to set up the 29 gallon some months ago and took some to an area fish shop. it is time to remove some more.
A few months ago I changed out the light from the screw in LED's already mentioned to an LED shop light. It is a cool white at 1900 lumens using 21 watts. It is about 48 inches long and replaces a 32 watt T8 shoplight. I think it was on sale for about $25 but may be around $35 to $40 normally.

 

[skjl47]

hello; This is the 55 gallon currently. I now run a four foot long LED shoplight. it was on sale at Wal-mart a few months ago. It is a cool white and does well even tho I prefer the daylight usually. it uses about 21 watts.