# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Current plants in First planted tank.



## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

I think I'm getting the hang of this


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

it works just fine







that is a nice tank you have going there. is it a 46 gallon bowfront? could you please give some more information such as lighting, filters, plants, ect.


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

Ok, this is my first forum ever so bear with me if I'm a little slow on the uptake (ie. how do I post a reply without using "Quick Reply"?) 

The specs are:
29 gallons, 145 watts, fluval 204 and marineland powerhead as a DIY CO2 reactor (with soda pop chamber). 

The lights are an ongoing project. Umm.... lesseee..... the plants... well the plants were anything I could get my hands on at various LFS and pet stores. 
Hornwart
Glosso
Swords
Aurea
Pennywort
Anubias nana
dwarf hairgrass
several lily bulbs
apons
lace java fern (I think)
heart shaped leaves sold in a bunch. 
purple leaves sold in a bunch
red leaves sold in a bunch
some riccia that hitchhiked on some java moss so I'm trying to grow about a tablespoon's worth or riccia right now.
jungle and corkscrew vals

I'm not picky. 

So.... going to see how everybody does and then I'll move them as needed (to other tanks if need be). 

oh yeah, for ferts: bottled stuff from the hydroponics store around the corner. 
3/4 flourite and the rest is tiny gravel. 
the rosette plants have grown about 1/2 to 1 inch every two days! 

Do I need to trim the glosso to get it to form carpet instead of little "trees"?


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## imported_shannon (Apr 26, 2005)

very pretty tank, i must say. it's kind of mysterious looking. 

i'm not sure about that glosso...i just started some and i was wondering that myself.


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

Yeah. The glosso thing. I think I do have to trim it cuz it's grown about two inches *upwards* and I tried with another patch and aftre trimming, the leaves got a lo rounder, a deeper green, and more compact. 

Question: Is there a problem with too much growth/ too fast growth???????


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## Hawkeye (Aug 20, 2004)

(The specs are:
29 gallons, 145 watts, fluval 204 and marineland powerhead as a DIY CO2 reactor )

That's 5w/gal allot of light for a tank with just DIY CO2. How long have you have this tank set up? 

What is in the ferts you got from the hydroponics store ? Hydroponic ferts have allot of PO4. 

Hawk


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

I'm still working on the lights thing. Right now, it's in the experimentation phase, but I hope to build a DIY canopy sometime soon. 

Everything is growing like mad and the pearling is pretty cool. 

At last count, there are three baby clown plecos and one baby bulldog pleco, so I've not seen any algae at all. 

By PO4, do you mean Phosphate?


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

So the tank's been up and running for about a week now. Here are some things I've learned

from this forum:
1. glosso should be planted with the stem all the way in.
2. Actinic bulbs are not useful for planted tanks.
3. There can be a lot of chemistry involved, or one can go the "El Natural" route.

from what I've done so far: 
1. chemistry stores and hydroponics stores are coooool.
2. flourite takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to clean.
3. java moss doesn't like too much light (at least, mine doesn't).


What I hope to accomplish:
1. Lush growth.
2. Variety of colors.
3. Observe the growth and reproduction of aquatic plants. 


I've noticed that a lot of people lean towards the Dutch or Amano style aquascapes. I find myself heading in a different direction....


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Well, when you get into aquascaping, you need to keep certain principals in mind, balance, focus, composition, form, depth of field, that sort of thing. In a more free style approach like what you are doing, these principals don't matter a whole lot.

From what I can see, your tank looks great. I love the wood. Can you take a pic from a little further back so we can see the whole tank at once?


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## Ben C (Apr 16, 2006)

Hey Sarahndipidee,

about the glosso... DO NOT TRIM IT. you will just end up with a bunch of leafless-stems. I hope you haven't already cut it!! the reason it grows upwards, instead of carpet-like, is a lack of light. I know you're going to think that with the 5wpg that hawk calculated, that should be sufficient.. but you must make sure that the glosso is not shaded in anyway. if it is, it will grow upwards. Hope this makes sense. 
it really needs to be kept out in the open spaces. 

good luck, and as robert says, some complete photos would be great. I love that wood in there!


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

Oh no!!! Leafless stems!!!!! Haven't cut yet, but will try to do something about the glosso today.

LOL... um, that IS the whole tank. well, the pic with the caption "brighter?" is the whole tank. all 29 gallons of it. 

I know, it's crowded and weird looking, but I like the little caves and shadows.

Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. Really helps to know someone's looking out for us newbies.


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

Well, now that the tanks been running for a couple of weeks, most of the plants look happy as clams. However, Today I noticed one of my compacta swords had brown spots and edges. Not algae, but it looked like how paper looks right before it sets on fire when you focus a magnifying glass on it. My pennywort leaves have grown to about 3 inches in diameter, but they are akso showing signs of brown on the edges.

I searched through the net and the references say it's most likely a shortage of "Molybdenum" 

I'm worried now that with my 5 watts/ gallon and the CO2 injection, my ferts dosing needs to be severely upgraded? 

Am I "pushing" the plants too much?

I'm using Kent products and the trace formula contains something like 0.000009% molybdenum. Should I be adding more???


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

Ok, ok, I'm gonna quit messing with this tank. I took the big wood out and put three cool rocks in. 

And I'm hoping this is a brighter picture than previous. 

How's my progress?


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

I have never heard of that as being a problem before. It is just a trace mineral, so you don't need much. What you are using should be fine. Looks good!


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## sarahbobarah (Sep 5, 2005)

Current plants in tank:

Lindernia rotundifolia
Lysimachia 
Ludwigia Repens
Echinodorus Amazonicus
Elocharis acicularis
Anubias Barteri 'Nana'
Echinodorus Tenellus
Nymphaea lotus 
Vallisneria (giant)
Alternanthera reineckii 
Bacopa caroliniana
Glossostigma Elatinoides
Ludwigia repens
Tonia fluviatilis 
Crinum thaianum 
Hydrocotyle leucocephala 
Hydrocotyle verticillata 
Aponogeton ulvaceus
Isoetes
Acorus Gramineus
and of course, riccia 

I think I got all of it.


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## MATTHEW MAHLING (Dec 1, 2005)

sarahbobarah said:


> Well, now that the tanks been running for a couple of weeks, most of the plants look happy as clams. However, Today I noticed one of my compacta swords had brown spots and edges. Not algae, but it looked like how paper looks right before it sets on fire when you focus a magnifying glass on it. My pennywort leaves have grown to about 3 inches in diameter, but they are akso showing signs of brown on the edges.
> 
> I searched through the net and the references say it's most likely a shortage of "Molybdenum"
> 
> ...


Sarah, My Brazilian pennywort is having the same issue you mentioned above.
When you ever able to correct it? If so. What did you do?


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