FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I actually took the plunge...



The Front: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Katie215512/IMG_2054.jpg

Ludwigia?: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Katie215512/IMG_2052.jpg

Not a clue: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Katie215512/IMG_2059.jpg

A much happier fish: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/Katie215512/IMG_2060.jpg

Bulb is a 14 watt compact flourescent(5,500K).
Tank is a 5 gallon hex.

Do I need any ferts?

Tips and advice appreciated.




I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

its a good start
you do not need ferts but they do help, you can try putting a couple of drops of flourish excel in there every few days.
I think that it is a type of hygro and not a ludwigia, it looks nothing like mine.

-Vincent

Hi! the one you can't identify is a Hygrophila Polysperma, it's a fast grower under good conditions, place it closer to the light and it will grow faster, then you can do cuttings and re plant them it will soon fill your tank, but then you will need some ferts since you only have one fish?

"Hi! the one you can't identify is a Hygrophila Polysperma"

Which one, img 2052 or 2059?

"but then you will need some ferts since you only have one fish?"

Well I plan on adding a few more after the plants settle in. What kind of ferts will i need and how often? I dont want to add to much nutrients to the water column.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

2059 is Hygrophila.

I would not add ferts at first, let it settle for a while, add your fish and see how they grow, if you don't see any growth or symptoms of lack of nutrients, such as yellowing of the leafs, then star with a fertilizer, since you have all stem plants, they will get their nutrients from the water column, fish waste and trace elements from your tap water.

If time passes and you don't see growth, then you can add a liquid fertilizer, there are many brands out there, I use tropica's Master Grow, but that's because it's easier to get here. there are many, I would stay with flourish excell, form seachem.

Thanks!

Can you tell me what 2052 is?

ETA: How fast do aquarium plants grow?! I've been glancing at the tank from time to time and one of the front stems grew at least an inch. It was well below the surface and now it is almost poking out Also, I have wisteria that I got out of those gel packed tubes from Petco and the leaves do not resemble the wisteria leaves Im used to seeing. I think Ive read that their leaves change depending on their environment, could this be the reason the leaves look different?

Phew...so many questions. Haha

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Can you tell me what 2052 is

Your photo number.

For ferts I could stick to Flourish and Flourish Excel. Excel is a carbon source that your plants will like a lot. Flourish is your macros and micros.

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

Your photo number.

I mean the plant species.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

After comparing my plant to H. polysperma, I started to look at other plants as the leaves did not look like H. polysperma.

An admin at plantgeek.net thought it looked like a bacopa and after looking at some pictures online I think it resembles bacopa monnierie(sp?).

I im pretty sure 2052 is wisteria(which means i might be up to my ears in it soon enough).

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Hi, it's hart to nail the specie form the photo, but bacopa has more fleshy and round leaves, no veins on the leaf.

I think both are Hygro.

You also have to consider that most plants are grown emerged, so the leaf is quite different and when submerged they will change again, so just let them be for a while, they all are fast growers, so you will see a lot of that

They also grow towards the light and in some cases will keep on growing out of the surface if you let them, so that's normal, let it grow a bit more, and when the stem is about 3inches longer than you want it, you can trim it an replant it.

Slightly OT:

My hood is supposed to support 11 watt flouro bulbs. For the past 18 months I used a 13 watt bulb without any issues and now Im using a 14 watt bulb. Will that cause me any problems?

ETA: I can take closer pics if neccessary. Looking at pics of bacopa monnieri(Cant spell) they do have a subtle vein running down the center, looking at a pic of it on plantgeek I am almost certain my plant is bacopa.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Hi,
There is always some "rubber" built into those specs,
however, at some point the ballast will over heat or
short out due to a combination of circumstances that over
tax it.

Pushing things electronic is not always a good idea.

Frank


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

Hi,
There is always some "rubber" built into those specs,
however, at some point the ballast will over heat or
short out due to a combination of circumstances that over
tax it.

Pushing things electronic is not always a good idea.

Short of changing the bulb, how do I prevent the bulb from causing problems? It has been difficult to find a CF 11 wats and under. I think my set-up's manual rated it for 11 watts floro and 15 watts incandescent. Why is there such a difference in wattage?

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Hi,
Fluorescent bulbs are more efficient and use far less
current/wattage to produce the same amount of light that
a comparable incandescent bulb will. In essence an
incandescent bulb is a wire that has one terminal connected
to one lead of the 110VAC wire, and the other terminal is
connected to the other lead. It is a short circuit between
the leads and the current is limited only by the resistance
of what we call the filament wire (usually an alloy of
tungsten). The combination of voltage, resistance, and
current, causes the filament to get red hot or white hot
and gives off huge amounts of heat and light.

With a fluorescent light, or compact fluorescent light, the
A/C cord (lead) is connected to a transformer, called a
ballast, which changes the voltage from 110 to a much
higher voltage and far less current. In each end of the
tube there is a very small filament that is used to heat
and excite the gas trapped within the tube. When the gas
is excited, it glows and will continue to glow until the
voltage is turned off. Once the gas is ionized (glowing)
the filament is turned of and the ionization continues
till the voltage is turned off. With a screw in fluorescent
bulb, the ballast (transformer) is built into the base
and internally wired to the corkscrew florescent tube.
These are currently offered at various wattage outputs
and are terrific replacements for the incandescent bulbs
that regularly come with the smaller aquariums.

While the hood may be rated at 15 watts for an incandescent
bulb, it will handle a 18 watt CF bulb. There is that much
difference in energy consumption between the two types of
bulbs.

These screw in CF bulbs were originally designed to
replace the incandescent bulbs used for reading and
lighting a room. They are labeled Warm, Warm White, Glow,
or Reading bulbs, and put out a soft "glow" so the eyes
are not irritated by the glare. They do not put out light
in the best Kelvin temperature range for plants, or for
viewing our tanks.
The best bulbs for use in an aquarium are labeled
SUNLIGHT or DAYLIGHT, or "TROPICAL SUN." These bulbs
give off light in the 6700K and slightly higher and are
considered by many to be perfect for growing plants, and
viewing our fish.

Here is a site that explains the "K" rating for bulbs:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/page.php?s=KelvinTempExplained

And here is a site that will help you select the best bulb
for your hood and use:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/category.php?category=2086

Hope this helped...
Frank

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

That helped a lot. My bulb is a Daylight bulb, but the Kelvin rating is 5,500(it was the highest they had). The plants are responding well to the lighting.

I just want to make sure the bulb's higher wattage isn't a safety hazard.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Looking at the Marineland online manual for my tank(lost the written one), it says to only use incandescent lighting

I could have sworn the manual said to use 15 watts incan/11 watts fluro. Maybe I'm remembering wrong.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Hi there,
The plant in 2052 picture is called Pennywort,
or scientific Hydrocotyle leucocephala.
Its a fast growing plant that can be planted or left
floating, likes nutrient rich tanks, high light (though
does well down to 1.5 wpg), enjoys c02 if present,
will grow to 24 inches tall, give or take a foot,
and acts like a sponge for absorbing nitrates.
Great plant, I have some in my 10g.
Oh also, in my 10g tanks hood, it used
two 15 watt incandescents, which I replaced
with 2 - 23 watt flourescents. Its had no troubles,
and its been this way for 4 years now.



Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
http://games.atari.com
Http://www.myleague.com/yahtgames

Quick Update:

I couldn't find any seachem ferts at my LFS, so as a temp solution Im using Nutrafin Plant Gro.

Today I added 2.5 ml of it, which according to FerFriend, should be

.1973 ppm Nitrogen
.3421 ppm Iron
.0657 ppm Manganese
.0039 ppm Zinc
.0006 ppm Boron
.0006 ppm Copper (is this enough to kill inverts?)
.0006 ppm Molybdate


How often should I dose?

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

I found a bottle of Flourish today.

Any advice on how to dose would be appreciated.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

I have good results dosing by what the bottle recommends. I believe it is 5 ml for every 60 Gallons. I have a 25 Gallon tank so I add 2.5 ml (rounded up to 30 Gallons) twice a week. This works for me but I do not have any CO2. If I did, I would probably dose every other day.

For you I would dose .5 ml 2 time a week and see if you are getting good growth.

I don't think you need to worry all that much about being exact as long as the plants aren't limited you will be fine.


Rick
See all my pictures at Google Web Albums