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  L# Plant Care Questions
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SubscribePlant Care Questions
kj fishy-finn
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Big Fish
Posts: 385
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Registered: 21-Jan-2004
female usa
how do you go about trimming plants and such etc... also on Tropica.com it gives heights of the plants at full growth, can you plant plants that will grow taller then your tank? or so they have a lot of care issues? or is it ok?

also can anybody provide some info on CO2, is it really needed, and if it is then what is required?

can somebody also tell me about plant fertilizing, what do you do and what do you need???

this would all be a big help to answer many of my questions on plants.

kj fishy-finn <*)))><
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Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:42Profile PM Edit Report 
Untitled No. 4
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Big Fish
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Registered: 07-Nov-2004
male uk
Where to begin?

Yes, there are plants who will grow out of your tank. Many stem plants will pierce the water and go on growing if given the chance. Some plants, bamboo for instance, will grow with their roots submersed and the leaves above water level. There's no problem with plants growing above water, apart from the fact that you can't have a hood and the lights will need to be suspended above the tank. It's not a problem, it just means you will have to have the right setup.

CO2 is not really needed but rather a matter of choice. It is usually associated with high lights tanks as this is when you get the full effect of both lights and CO2, but it's definitely not a must.

Fertilising might not be needed without CO2. It's usually needed with CO2 as plants grow fast and use all the nutrients in the water, so you need to top them up. If you're not going to use CO2 just observe your plants for signs of deficiencie (check this site for signs of deficiencies) and add fertilisers only if it's needed. Adding fertilisers without plants needing them means someone else is going to use them -- algae.

This is just scratching the surface. If you have more in-depth questions just ask, there's always someone here who will happily help.

Last edited by untitled at 24-Jul-2005 16:57
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:42Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
trystianity
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Mega Fish
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Registered: 20-Mar-2004
female canada
It's really impossible to tell you everything you need to know about plant care without writing a 500 page book and even then some things would be left out. The best thing you can do if you're interested in starting a planted tank is do a lot of reading and research about it on your own to learn as much as you can, and then if you have further specific questions pose them to an experienced "plantie."

[link=http://www.google.com]http://www.google.com" style="COLOR: #36af30[/link]

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Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:42Profile Homepage ICQ AIM MSN Yahoo PM Edit Delete Report 
keithgh
 
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*Ultimate Fish Guru*
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male australia au-victoria
kj fishy-finn

I think you should do some serious research work including buying a good plant book. Do several Googles this will certainly help you.

Keith

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Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:42Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
sham
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female usa
How to trim a plant depends on what plant it is. In a smaller tank you would have to trim the plant more to keep it short enough and it may not look good. Again it depends on what the plant is as to how it's trimmed or if it even can be trimmed enough to keep in your tank.

CO2 is useful on higher light tanks(~2wpg or more) to help the plants grow faster. Otherwise it's hard to keep the plant growth ahead of the algae growth. In a lower light tank it's definitely not necessary and can lead to even more algae growth. It is also possible to make a high light tank without co2 and no algae problems but it would take alot of planning.

In a tank with alot of plants or fast growing plants they sometimes use up a certain nutrient faster than it is produced. When the plants start showing a deficiency you add the appropriate fertilizer. I usually refer to [link=http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm]http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nutrient.htm" style="COLOR: #C00000[/link] Adding fertilizer when it's not needed can lead to algae growth.
Post InfoPosted 26-Jan-2006 11:42Profile PM Edit Delete Report 
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