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i recently moved up to a 50 gal tank and only had plants from my old two footer. i have a huge amazon sword( that unfortunately wont send out any runners and sprout more plants) another plant that grows like crazy and recently bought a small bushy plant, but the plants are all plain green and seem a little dull. ive had trouble with a reddish plant before as it wasnt a fully fledged water plant and died in about a week. and suggestion?? i have a dual tube light with two plant light tubes in them. is a CO2 setup needed for lots of plants?? whats the deal with that stuff neway??

I just thought id ask, if any one would be willing to post me some plant snippits or anything. Id be willing to pay for em if anyone wants to.

Last edited by fan fan at 14-Oct-2004 23:26

Hi,

One good alternative to red plants, which need lots of nutrients but specially lots of light could be Alternanthera reineckii also called Alternanthera rosaefolia, this plant is actually undemanding for a red plant, very noble and a fast grower. It also has wonderful contrast with greens. in a low light condition, it will survive, but it will lose some of it's color and become plain green.

Now, the CO2 topic a little complex, so I'll stick to basics or my experience for that matter. It is only advisable to add CO2 in these next conditions:
-If you have really bright light in your tank, and not so fast growing specimens, with a high amount of light plants don't use that much of it, then it can result in an algae bloom, not nice, so in order to avoid this, you add CO2 to encourage plants photosynthetic ability in order absorb that much light and promote growth.

-If you have fast growing specimens, then the CO2 will make them grow lushier and also faster, this is just a matter of esthetics IMO, depends on how you want your plants and tank to look. It will also promote healthier growth and faster grow on slow growing plants. Before adding CO2, I would first go with a regular dosage of liquid fertilizers. Rapid growth in some cases can be a blessing or a curse, pruning your tank plants twice a week, may not be as funny as it sounds.

how many watts are you running in ur tank? yes red plants usually have high light requirments.

Falstaf, about the a.reineckii,

"in a low light condition, it will survive, but it will lose some of it's color and become plain green."

doesnt that kinda defeat the purpose if he wants red plants?

if you want to start using CO2 etc for ur plants you should read as much as u can on in and post Qs if u dun understand things coz there is alot of stuff to consider (balancing the amount of light, fert, and co2 with the types of plants). there is a article on plants in the articles section of this site and there is also some info in the FAQ. best of luck with ur plants!


Last edited by sumthin_fishy at 15-Oct-2004 03:38

does any one know how to get amazon sword plants to reproduce?? ive heard they automatically send out runners and sprout new plants but all my roots seem dead with only about 20 new roots and they never sprout nething. my LFS doesnt have a huge range of plants and the ones they do dont have a name on them they are just sold as "tropical plants" and no one in the shop knows what they are.

sumthin_fishy:

I'm assuming that if his light is good enough to keep an Amazon sword alive, then a.reineckii will do good and keep it's color. Yes the whole point is for it to keep it's color, but since we didn't had the light info then again it's only an assumption.

Your amazon sword will start doing runners once it matures, some do it very fast others take a while, I have a ruby sword and is healthy, but never has done the runner thing, it just keeps growing more and more leaves which is fine with me.

What may really help your sword is to add some iron rich fertilizer tablet near the root system, that is basic for swords to be healthy, also consider that the substrate has to be at least 3in deep, since they develop really large root systems.

Last edited by Falstaf at 16-Oct-2004 05:31

ive had the plant for about 2-3 years. and the root clump seems to contain alot of "dead" brown roots and some gren ones. do i trim the brown ones off?? they look like they are all decomposing.
what do people think of Echinodorus Grisebachii??

Last edited by fan fan at 19-Oct-2004 03:18

Hi,
If you have uprooted the sword, then I'd "swish" out the
root system in a bucket of old tank water. At the same
time, remove the dark, dead roots, and then replant it.

Swords are heavy root feeders. They will grow a large
root system rapidly, and then deplete the area around
the roots, of nutrients. Additionally, when you uproot
any plant, and then replant it, especially in a new tank,
the plant will undergo shock, and have a setback. It will
tend to loose leaves, and "shrink" while it consumes its
stored nutrients, and acclimates to its new surroundings.
The plant will send out runners...if you provide the
right nutrients and light.
I'd suggest some plant tablets, or lateriter balls,
or plant sticks in the substrate, near the root ball.
Also about 2 watts/gallon of light for 10-12 hours.
Your substrate should also be about three inches deep
where the sword is planted.

As far as CO2 injection is concerned, 30 gallon tanks
are about as large as a DIY system can handle with
any "ease". Any larger and DIY CO2 becomes a real chore.
For your tank, a bottled system is necessary, and they
are initially expensive. It is something that you have
to decide. You can have a beautiful tank without the
CO2, or you can have a lush green jungle with it.
That being said, the tank will not be static. The CO2
will cause faster, thicker, growth and to maintain the
"look" that you want, you will have to constantly prune
it and work on it to maintain just the "look" that you
want.

Generally speaking "red" plants all demand higher
watts/gallon than "regular" green plants. 3 watts/gallon
or higher. Also, with the higher wattage, they will need
more nutrients too.

It's your call. Some folks like to "break up" the "look"
of a tank with varying shades of greens and reds, while
others do it by using shades of green and different
leaf shapes.

Just remember that the tank is a "living thing" that
needs constant attention, and will change constantly.
That is why regular water changes, and cleaning, and
pruning, are necessary.

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 19-Oct-2004 08:51

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

is a CO2 setup needed for lots of plants?? whats the deal with that stuff neway??

Not needed but for any tank over 2 to 2.5wpg it's highly reccomended, as it will aid the plants in comsuming all the light that you're providing them, rather then the algae getting to it first .

Two bulbs, on a 50gallon tank...I'm guessing you haven't got much more than 80watts, IME not enough for most plants to do well. While Alternanthera reineckii is a low light red plant it does need closer to 2wpg and up (it's the best grower in my 2wpg tank @home although the wisteria is running a close second )....if you're serious about plants for the 50 IMO you need to work on upgrading the lighting first till you have 2 to 3 wpg @least, as well as consider some CO2.

Depending on what type of plants you're looking @you may also want to consider your substrate. Some plants like frank mentioned feed more from their roots than others.

Good starter plants IME are java fern (low light) java moss (low light) crypts (low to med) water wisteria (med to high light) and the reineckii that was already mentioned (med to high light).

^_^
*Proud member of the Committee for Sig Line Restoration*

Last edited by Babelfish at 19-Oct-2004 10:40

ive done some research on plants (pretty much found the ones i liked the look of and on most sites they didnt have much about lighting, but sain medium to low so i thoguht that was my case!! the three out of the five plants that my lfs can get in are-
Rotala Macrandra
Cryptocoryne cordata
Dwarf Sagittaria
would these be alright?? im also planning on buying some java moss and seeing if i can get it and another plant to take to some driftwood. yet another question, how do u get plants to "take to" the logs?? the fish shops pre made are real expensive (45 aus dollars up to bout 110)