# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Pictures by natural light



## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

My 150 is coming along slowly. I decided today to take a series of pictures with the lights off, using just the light from the skylights over the tank. Here is one of the photos:










The tank is still stuffed with plants. I count 8 different plants in the picture; dwarf lobelia and saururus cernuus (front), Ludwigia repensXpalustris (?) (rear center), Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (left rear), Lysimachia nummularia (left), Rotala rotundifolia (right rear), Sagittaria subulata and Hydrocotyle verticilata (right).

Roger Miller


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

My 150 is coming along slowly. I decided today to take a series of pictures with the lights off, using just the light from the skylights over the tank. Here is one of the photos:










The tank is still stuffed with plants. I count 8 different plants in the picture; dwarf lobelia and saururus cernuus (front), Ludwigia repensXpalustris (?) (rear center), Gymnocoronis spilanthoides (left rear), Lysimachia nummularia (left), Rotala rotundifolia (right rear), Sagittaria subulata and Hydrocotyle verticilata (right).

Roger Miller


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Feb 3, 2003)

I'll add my voice to p-lvp's and request a full tank shot in the same light. I'd never seen a freshwater aquarium lit by natural sunlight. Are you using light tubes or is this just light from a clear sunlight? The picture looks amazing. 
It's unbelieveable how much our synthetic sunlight affects the appearance of our plants.

I don't know if I'd call the Ludwigia an eyesore, but it's tendency for vertically diagonal growth is pretty tough to incorporate into most aquascapes. I think yours pulls it off very well, though.

-Sam P, BSME
My Website


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by p-lvp:
> (1) How big/tall does your Saururus cernuus get? I have a stand of these plants by our pond; and they get really tall (several feet) and are quite invasive. In fact, I have to thin/trim the thicket monthly to control their rambunctious habits. I wonder if yours is some dwarf variant like the dwarf Lobelia cardinalis.


Nope, it's not a dwarf. Given an opportunity it will gladly grow out of the tank and become quite large. The plant grows slowly when submersed and the stand can be kept low by trimming and replanting the tops. Mine is not invasive. I've only had one plant put out a runner.

Saururus cernuus used to be common in Dutch tanks -- it was even called the Lieden plant, or the "Dutch tank plant." When submersed it is a versatile plant that can be used anywhere from foreground (large tank) to background.



> quote:
> 
> Speaking of which, your Lobelia cardinalis look FANTASTIC. Not only are the internodes really short but the leaves are exhibiting reddish undertones typical of the emmerse form. I would love to see a full shot of the aquarium in its current state.


Thanks. The dwarf lobelia is nice. The photo doesn't really do its color justice. The center of each plant has very good purple undertones.



> quote:
> 
> (2) We've used Lysimachia nummularia (Creeping Jenny) as a ground cover for the pond. We really like how they hug the ground and spilling over the sides of the pond with its round yellow leaves. Like the Saururus cernuus, we never tried growing L. nummularia submerged. Would you disclose their growth habits as observed in your aquarium?


It is a relatively slow-growing stem plant when grown submersed. I doesn't spread out like a ground cover. What I have is a stand of plants about 8" x 18" with 70-80 stems, each individually planted. That would not be possible without forceps.



> quote:
> 
> P.S. IMO, the L. repens is an eye-sore. Then again, I think L. repens is an overall awkward plant. It is by far my least favorite plant.


We all have our own taste in plants. Personally I wouldn't own riccia fluitans.

I think the plant in my tank is actually the hybrid repens X palustris -- not that it should change your opinion. The plant is a beautiful red when viewed from above and definitly not a plant for a small tank.

Roger Miller


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by GulfCoastAquarian:
> I'll add my voice to p-lvp's and request a full tank shot in the same light. I'd never seen a freshwater aquarium lit by natural sunlight.


I have a few more photos I can post, but a full-tank shot is hard to get. The camera and the front of the tank have to be under a blind to keep reflections off the front glass. It would be possible for me to get a full-tank shot, but that will have to wait until some time when I'm actually at home while the sun is fairly high.

In the mean time,there is a full tank shot (night time, with lights on) from a few weeks ago posted in the thread at:
http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/groupee/forums?a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=8006023812&m=9316055543



> quote:
> 
> Are you using light tubes or is this just light from a clear sunlight? The picture looks amazing.
> It's unbelieveable how much our synthetic sunlight affects the appearance of our plants.


As you can see from the thread linked above, the tank is semi-open topped, with PC lighting. The tank sits under two skylights and natural light is a big part of the total lighting. The pictures were taken about 3 in the afternoon with the lights turned off but with the light rack still in place. If the rack is removed completely or if the picture is taken in the late morning then the tank is brighter than shown in the picture.



> quote:
> 
> I don't know if I'd call the Ludwigia an eyesore, but it's tendency for vertically diagonal growth is pretty tough to incorporate into most aquascapes. I think yours pulls it off very well, though.


 Thanks. The other problem is its tendency to grow exposed roots. I think the ludwidgia's growth works in this tank mostly because of the large size of the tank. I don't think I could grow this plant in any of my other tanks.

Roger Miller


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