Will they grow?

Markw · Jun 16, 2009

On my 55gal tank, I am running (2) 24"-20 watt Radionic lights. The tank is 21" tall, but has about 1.5" of sand on the bottom and most of the plants will be anchored to driftwood. Teh question is, if I wanted to put java moss, java fern, and elodia in the tank, would they grow under these lighting conditions? I really love the look of a planted tank and, with four axies, all the plants in the world would help denitrify the waters.

lol

Would these plants grow under these lights? If any other plants would thrive under these conditions, I would love the names of those also.

Thanks.
Mark

Greatwtehunter · Jun 16, 2009

I know this may sound ridiculous but Elodea and Java Moss actually grow better in the tanks that I do not have lighting on except for the room light. Another plant I have had good luck growing is Hornwort, but the needles you have to clean up seems to cancel out the benefits of growing it.

On a side note, with sand at about 1.5 inches deep you might want to keep an out for gas pockets. They are easy to notice cause they will turn the sand black.

Markw · Jun 16, 2009

Ok, so after checking, the sand is only about .76-1". I think I will be taking some of it out, though, for that specific reason. At less than 1 watt per gallon, though, will these plants grow okay? If the lighting is too strong, can anyone offer any other plants that will grow under these conditions?

Mark

flan123 · Jun 17, 2009

Hi!

I'd also recommend 'Cabomba' which is plentiful in my low-light tank!

Cheers, Mike.

Markw · Jun 17, 2009

I have some of the cabomba growing in my tank, I think. They ahve all but died off. I think it may be a little too much light right ontop of them as my 20long isnt so deep, the light shines directly ontop of them. They are still alive, however.

Mark

kenya · Jun 17, 2009

How are you keeping your smaller tank cool enough? I have a 20 long as well and I have one little 15 or 20 watt bulb in a strip light and mine never wants to go below 68F. -_-

"Green Cabomba (Cabomba caroliniana) is the most common, as well as the easiest aquarium subject. By contrast Red Cabomba (Cabomba furcata) is considered to be one of the hardest plants to take care of in the aquarium."

Maybe you had red? All I have right now is one aponogeton plant, and I had to really play with the amount of light it gets. The tank is now on a timer, and it gets 30 minutes of light with about an hour of dark. It stays off between 10 PM and 10 AM.

Do you have pictures of your set up?

Markw · Jun 17, 2009

Well, maybe thats why. I keep my lights off all but maybe two hours a day, it gets a little sunlight so between the sunlight and the light, if I were to keep the light on for too much longer, the tank gets a tad too warm. Without the lights, the tank stays around 69F.

My setup (currently setting up my 55, then this will be a quarentine):

Mark

kenya · Jun 17, 2009

Hmm, mine probably gets a little more than 2 hours collectively.

I would love to get my tank down to like, 65F.

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