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I'll keep it on topic and not ask for all the other impossible things I want .

Office tank is a 30 gall long, contains a play sand substrate which I'm very happy with (even after killing a few filters ) and plants. Java fern, java moss, crypts, some but not much hornwort.

Heres the impossible. I want to increase the lighting (the tank is hard to see because of the office lights. Current lighting is 40watts from two 20watt bulbs. I would like to go with something like [link=this]http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=23881;category_id=1853;pcid1=1843;pcid2=" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] but I dont want to change out the substrate.
Obviously I'm going to have more light on a tank that has slow nutrient consumers. What plants could do well in sand, and help keep algae from taking over?

^_^[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

if you dont have a dojo- wisteria does very well

I've found that grass-like plants do well in sand - vals, dwarf hairgrass, sag, etc. Once they're established they grow pretty quickly and may be some help keeping algae at bay.

Last edited by LittleMousling at 20-Apr-2005 13:09

-Molly
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Wisteria does not survive in sand...IME anyway .
Other plants that didnt do well with sand that I've tried are Hygrophelia polysperma, rotala indica.

^_^




[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

OK, so that'll come out to 3WPG, right?

Maybe just don't plant the hygro polysperma, hornwort, wisteria etc. Just leave it floating. The plants that you have and also the ones that have been suggested by no means need 3WPG to thrive, so I don't think it could hurt to have some floating nitrate busters block out a little of that light. With that amount of light and the right amount of CO2 (which you have, right?) any of those stem plants should take off. It also provides a little more security for fish swimming around the surface (that's an added bonus of course)

Anyway, that's probably what I would do - floating stem plants, planted vals/sags/crypts etc.

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Back in the saddle!

I also haven't had luck with Wisteria in sand. But Val seems to do very well, once adjusted.

Vals were something I was going to look into for the home tank. Thought that they wouldnt' like sand though, and hadnt considered them for work. Anyone else confirm vals doing okay in sand?

I will be buying a DIY style CO2 ...either jungle labs or the plant grow one. I would do straight DIY on it but...well...it's the office tank...I don't think I'd be allowed ....and yes I'm coming up with 3wpg....I wouldnt' have worried about it @all except for the fact that I dont have much luck with hornwort and am not sure I can rely on it to be the nutrient sponge I need it to be :%).
T'anks all for the ideas so far .

^_^
[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

Can I ask you a question Babel? I have a 30 gallon that I also want to up the lighting on and that light strip would be perfect for it. Is it supposed to be able to fit your average hood, or do you need to get one of the glass tank cover type hoods? Thanks!

I bought this light for my twenty gallon (obviously a smaller size) but it fit right on top of my old normal hood. I love the light, it is so nice how there is a night light, and the plants loooovvve the high output, they sprang up right when i put the light on.

Thank you hooktor for answering my question. I plan on buying it and if it does not fit on my current hood, then I will just buy a nice glass top for the tank instead. Either way it is a win win situation because my 30 will have the lighting I have been wanting for oh so long!

Babel,

The wisteria doesn't have to be buried/rooted. Tie a rock onto the bottom of the bunch and plop in. Just make sure there's someting in front hiding the bottom and it will look like it's rooted. It will grow just fine. I have one bunch planted this way (no place left to root it
) and one rooted in the substrate. The bunch with the rock holding it down grows better

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Anacharis might just do the job. The stuff likes to float, but it does root....I'm not sure how well it'd root into sand though...

Duckweed would also work. It'll block a little light and provide a little shade. There's some odd 250 species of duckweed if I remember correctly... some grow very fast and are VERY invasive...some grow slow and won't do too much...some are right in the middle. Some are big (3/4" dia)... some are tiny (1-2mm dia)...most are in between. You can do some looking 'round to see if there's a species that would suit yer needs. The little, invasive species tend to be really messy (they sink easily and get stuck in plants and filter intakes and stuff), the larger, less invasive species tend to be overrun easily (especially when you've got some of the more invasive species in the same tank)...

I've personally got a little tiny invasive species, and a medium-large not-so-invasive species in my 29g and both of my 10g's. Well, atleast I HAD some of the larger species in my 29g...the little stuff out-competed it when my nitrates bottomed out

The stuff is good for sucking up excess nitrates and living anywhere...but it can become a nuciance if you let it. I usually take a cup and skim the surfaces of the tanks a couple of times a week to get rid of a lot of the duckweed, and to help keep down the annoying protien buildup or whatnot on the surface

Have fun

Thanks for the additional ideas all...
Bensaf amazingly enough I did just that (well similar) in the "pond" yesterday. Tied some string around a small piece of wisteria..then around some hornwort that keeps getting sucked into the filter...then around some java moss...and let the java moss hold everything down (lets just hope the fish dont' manage to get twisted up in it ...think it's safe though).
I've already bought a glass cannopy for the tank...the one that came with it really cant handle anything but a single bulb fixture...my 20 is like that too although I've got a dual bulb light that I made wedged in over it ...had to make new hoods for both myself.

^_^[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"