Friday, January 27, 2012

How do I grow Plants in an aquarium?

I have a 10g aquarium with some fish, and my LFS guy says that i'm in really good shape. My tank is full of fish (roughly 10" of them in total) and my water quality is really good. I've had it for like four months now, and I do 50% water changes every Saturday. My tank has had a very wide variety of plant life, but none of it seems to grow well. Only Java Moss and one other plant are doing well.



Unfortunately, I am not a plant expert, and I don't know the names of all of my plants, (but some are banana plants, some are java moss, one looks like a bunch of tiny lily pads on a cluster of stems, i think i have a bunch of micrograss or mondograss or something, and a few other plants from my LFS.



None of these plants live for long. I have the standard 10g light (20" 120 volts, 19 watts, 60hz) on from 7 in the morning until about 11 at night, and I have a 20g aipump and airstone. What am I dong wrong? Why aren't my plants doing well?

How do I grow Plants in an aquarium?
Have a look here:



http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide.php



This is a good guide to plants. If you look in the section called Non-Aquatic plants, you will no doubt find some that you have seen in the water in fish stores. Not very ethical, is it?



What you want to do is have a look in the section for Low Light plants.



In order for plants to do well, they need nutrients. Your fish provide that. They need light. OK, you need to cut back a bit, as noted above, 10-12 hours, less if algae becomes a problem. They also need a source of carbon. Oops.



Airstones are not used in planted tanks for a very good reason. They agitate the surface and encourage the off-gassing of carbon dioxide (CO2). In contrast, high light heavily planted tanks actually have CO2 injected to keep the level higher.



When plants use the dissolved CO2, they take the Carbon molecule, and release the Oxygen (O2) molecule into the water. By running an airstone, you are actually reducing the potential oxygen levels in your tank.



Plants need the three key elements in balance. If there is a lot of light, a lot of nutrients, but a shortage of carbon, the plants will not thrive.



Use the guide and make sure you are getting plants that can thrive in low light conditions. You have about 2 watts per gallon (WPG). On a ten gallon tank, that is definitely low light. That is not a bad thing at all - whether your light is low or high is irrelevant if you choose the right plants. High light plants will not do well in low light, and most low light plants cannot tolerate high light.



Go to the store and write down the names of the plants they have. Go back home and look them up on plantgeek. Determine which are suitable and go back and buy the right ones.



BTW - Mondo Grass is non-aquatic and cannot live submurged.
Reply:I would suggest you invest in a bag of flourite and use it in the bottom nothing better for making your plants grow. Best investment I made. it needs to be washed before using and takes a while to settle but once it does you can grow a very nice tank!

Good Luck!!
Reply:they make a tank plant plant food that wont hurt your fish conult the store where you got the plants

use the liquid type as the fish may eat the pill type

goodluck
Reply:The first thing I would do is cut back your lighting. 16 hours a day is WAY more than you need... move it down to about 10 hours or you'll likely start seeing a lot of trouble with algae. Secondly, the light you have is probably a standard fluorescent strip, which is not very useful for the plants. Try to replace it with a 5,500-6,700K bulb of the same wattage. These may be sold as "Plant Grow" bulbs, but should have the spectrum listed regardless. Mondo grass is NOT an aquatic plant, and will soon rot if left fully submerged, so consider potting that and growing it as a house plant. I would guess the lily pads on stems is Pennywort*, but it's hard to say.



Simply adjusting your lighting and considering dosing with Flourish Excel (a liquid fertilizer with organic carbon to replace CO2 injection) should be more than enough to get your plants on the right track.



*Pennywort- http://www.akvaristi.org/biotop/amazon/A...
Reply:If you're going by the 2 watt per gallon rule, be aware that this breaks down in smaller systems. There is a minimum light threshold, 2 watts per gallon on a ten gallon is not enough light. That being said, Java Moss, Crypts, Anubias, and Java Fern all grow well in low light tanks. Also, floating plants such as Hornwort will do well. A tank full of these plants looks quite nice. If you decide to upgrade your lighting, be aware that it may cause your tank to heat up rapidly. You'll have to monitor that.


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