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just wondering what type of plants would go well in soft acidic water and create a good visual barrier for line of site in the tank for my rams?

Most plants will grow pretty well in soft water. What I would be more concerned about is amount of light, fertilizer, and CO2 in the tank when picking your plants.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Hi,
I get the impression you are going to use some sort of
plant(s) to form a "divider" running from the front to
back of your tank. I'd use any of the stem type of
plant and plant them in three or four rows (front to back)
and off set the plants between rows so when the plants
have filled in, you cannot see between the plants.

As was mentioned you will need strong enough light to
equate to 2 watts per gallon for this project. The
total wattage(s) of your light(s) divided by the capacity
of the tank. For instance two 20 watt lights = 40 watts,
divided by 20gallons = 2 watts per gallon.

You would want to use Sunlight, or Daylight flourscent
bulbs on the tank. I would not use the "glow" or warm
white or reading bulbs.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

do you really need fertilizer and co2? isnt that if your just after show quality tanks?

frank..
yeah that is what i kind of have in mind although i proly dont need as many plans cos i have a few peices of drift wood? but thats still not the look im after.. well my tank is about 29 gallon and i only have a 20w light but im not after heaps of light i read an article about some plants that did well in dim light?

http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Aquarium_plants.php

Hi,
Well, you can "divide" the tank in a couple of ways.
What you are actually attempting is to give each fish
or group of fish their own territory. You can do that
with hard-scape such as driftwood, or rocks and caves, or
you can do it with plants.

20 watts in a 29G tank is less than a watt per gallon.
That is too little an amount of light for most plants.
You could grow Crypts to form areas and you could "plant"
Anubis on the driftwood, but that's about it. The stem
type plants that I mentioned in a previous post would
require around 2 watts per gallon. With the small
quantity of plants necessary for your project, injecting
CO2 would be unnecessary. It's only when your lighting
reaches the 3 watts per gallon or you are especially
interested in lush plant growth that Carbon, in some form,
is necessary. With low light plants like the Crypts and
Anubis, you won't see a huge explosion of plant growth
as you would with stem plants. Instead with added carbon
and good light, you would see thicker, greener, more
healthy plants, and that change would take place over
months instead of inside of a day. If you would take a
picture of the plant the day you start with the carbon
treatments, and then another a month or two later and
compare them, then you'd notice the difference. Or, one
day the lights come on and "something" catches your eye
about the plants and you suddenly realize how much they
have grown and how healthy they look. With good light
and carbon, the stem plant growth can be measured in
inches per day.

Essentially, plants need light and carbon to grow.
The carbon is the fuel for that growth. If you are going
to drive the plants with large amounts of light, then
you have to increase the fuel for that growth by adding
carbon. Plants can break down the bonds of organic
compounds (molecules) and extract the carbon that they
need under what is "normal" light for them. If they
are subjected to larger than normal amounts of light
(brightness [intensity] and duration) then they cannot
get enough carbon and they will yellow and die off.
You can furnish that excess carbon that they need in two
ways. You can use a liquid such as SeaChem's Excel, or
you can inject the carbon in the form of the gas, carbon
dioxide. You can get the carbon dioxide by either a
DIY system of brewers yeast and sugar and water, or
by a system of tablets that dissolve in water releasing
the gas, or you can go with a pressurized bottle and a two
stage regulator. None of which is necessary with light
that weak.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank..
thanks for the info and help, that is very interesting i totally understand what your trying to explain.. il have a look around in some LFS and see what i can find in the way of Anubis and crypts.. il keep yous posted on what i decide or if i have any more questions thanks

Java Fern and Java moss also are great plants for lower light tanks that can be attached to rock or driftwood like anubias.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Java Fern and Java moss also are great plants for lower light tanks that can be attached to rock or driftwood like anubias.

how do you attach it to the drift wood? do you just tie it on with some string or try and hook the roots around the wood?

There a few ways to attach the plant. I have used rubber bands, fishing line, and zip ties.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

cotton thread that is drak colored works for me... although fishing line, rubber bands, zip ties, those twist tie things (with the metal) and etc work well for short periods of time. although it will take some time to anchor itself. the twist ties are not always best (in fact i don't suggest them unless they are the ones with plastic coating...

most places suggest cotton thread as in the time it takes to be broken down by the bacteria and fish picking at it the roots should have anchored themselves well enough.

-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

thats what i was thinking, thanks il have a look around for some anubus tomorrow and see what i can find, can all the anubus family be attached to driftwood? i was think of adding a sword variety would they be alright in there? plus is there i dwarf variety or one that doest grow too fast or too big?
thanks /:'

Hi,
For you to have any hope of success, you will HAVE to
stick with low light plants. They are plants that will
thrive with a watt or less per gallon. Swords are not
low light plants, and your chances of having one thrive
in your tank are slim to none.

Here is a site that points out all the plants (43) that
will thrive in the existing light on your tank:

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=1&filter=&filter_by=2&page=1

The best way to attach the plants to rocks or driftwood
is to use black cotton thread. You use black because over
time it won't be seen. You use cotton thread because over
time, the thread will rot and fall off - but not before the
plants have rooted to the rock or driftwood.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

frank..

thanks for the heads up, thats why i joined this forum so i wouldn't make a wrong decision..
i appreciate the help from everyone, if i only have a couple or a few plants in my tank is it really nesscesary to feed the plants or fertilize them? or will the be fine without it?
i bought a piece of drift wood with a anubus variety on it the other day too i will post some pics of it on this thred soon im not sure what type it is and would like to know..

Hi,
In tanks that have the normal bio-load and just a few
plants, the chances are that you will not need to use
an overall fertilizer. Some plants need more of one
nutrient than others. Swords, for instance, need more
iron than some others.

I'd go without additional fertilizers and see what the
plants tell you.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

righto that sounds good to me, thanks for the help il let you's know if anything happens