elodea
- Thread starter eon aquatics
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Java moss is a plant that most people would like to have at first, only to curse it completely later for the pest that it becomes. I don't have much of it anymore and wish I had never brought it into my tanks.
I am sure it can be used very creatively in various projects, bit this is just my experience.
I am sure it can be used very creatively in various projects, bit this is just my experience.
I'm not going to suggest any "easy" plants for you because no doubt, following this post, you'll get a load of suggestions anyway, which is great, choose away.
Truth is, unless you've got a few of the basics nailed down first, even the easiest of plants that may be suggested can still fail you.
My planted tank is extremely low tech. But I have a decent LED light that seems to work good and I feed with root tabs once in a while, and I have a hodge podge of substrate. That's it. But the main ingredient on top of those, the most important one by far, is time.
I've been through about fifteen types of plants over the past couple of years, some easy ones too, and they've still failed!
Two that have taken off for me though are val and crypt crispulata. You've just got to try a few and see what works for you.
Truth is, unless you've got a few of the basics nailed down first, even the easiest of plants that may be suggested can still fail you.
My planted tank is extremely low tech. But I have a decent LED light that seems to work good and I feed with root tabs once in a while, and I have a hodge podge of substrate. That's it. But the main ingredient on top of those, the most important one by far, is time.
I've been through about fifteen types of plants over the past couple of years, some easy ones too, and they've still failed!
Two that have taken off for me though are val and crypt crispulata. You've just got to try a few and see what works for you.
What's easy to grow for Rocksor, may not be easy to grow for me.
Just like fish, some plants like a certain flow, a certain lineup of dissolved minerals, and very important ....light spectrum.
In both locations I have lived for any length of time, Vallisneria has been easy to grow.
Both places have higher pH, (Milwaukee 7.8, Panama 8.2) and mineral rich (at least 250 ppm Total hardness)
Cryptocorne also worked well, as did some others. As far as light went.....
In Milwaukee, I would scrounge bulbs from a salt water reef aquarist,r he considered spent after 6 months, and would toss, but I found they were great for my plants.
Below Cryptocorne in a Milwaukee tank
Here in Panama i don't use artificial lights at all, only the sun, and I haven't used fertilizers, only supplement are fish wastes.
Val grows great, some others haven't
below, Val in a Milwaukee tank, it grew so well it had to be trimmed
Below a stand of Val, in my Panama tank
I have also found Val likes heavier water current
Below, note how the leaves bend with the current in my former Milwaukee tank (that is also Cryyptocorne in the lower left)
Other species of plants tried, have melted away, from the type water current I use, and my preferred species of fish appreciate.
An Amazon sword I tried had a hard time competing with the Vals, and they forced it into melting.
After a while I planted it in a log to get it closer to light, and away from over competing plants.
I find tannins are sometimes not good for plants, certain blackwater habitats, plants are devoid of aquatic plant species, and only semi aquatic or terrestrial plants survive. When tannins get seasonally inundated with tannins, sonme aquatic plants temporarily melt back, and only semi aquatic grasses like Papyrus thrive.
In the shot above, Papyrus growing above the water surface on the right of the tank.
Just like fish, some plants like a certain flow, a certain lineup of dissolved minerals, and very important ....light spectrum.
In both locations I have lived for any length of time, Vallisneria has been easy to grow.
Both places have higher pH, (Milwaukee 7.8, Panama 8.2) and mineral rich (at least 250 ppm Total hardness)
Cryptocorne also worked well, as did some others. As far as light went.....
In Milwaukee, I would scrounge bulbs from a salt water reef aquarist,r he considered spent after 6 months, and would toss, but I found they were great for my plants.
Below Cryptocorne in a Milwaukee tank
Here in Panama i don't use artificial lights at all, only the sun, and I haven't used fertilizers, only supplement are fish wastes.
Val grows great, some others haven't
below, Val in a Milwaukee tank, it grew so well it had to be trimmed
Below a stand of Val, in my Panama tank
I have also found Val likes heavier water current
Below, note how the leaves bend with the current in my former Milwaukee tank (that is also Cryyptocorne in the lower left)
Other species of plants tried, have melted away, from the type water current I use, and my preferred species of fish appreciate.
An Amazon sword I tried had a hard time competing with the Vals, and they forced it into melting.
After a while I planted it in a log to get it closer to light, and away from over competing plants.
I find tannins are sometimes not good for plants, certain blackwater habitats, plants are devoid of aquatic plant species, and only semi aquatic or terrestrial plants survive. When tannins get seasonally inundated with tannins, sonme aquatic plants temporarily melt back, and only semi aquatic grasses like Papyrus thrive.
In the shot above, Papyrus growing above the water surface on the right of the tank.
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could low nitrate and nitrite starve the plants?
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