# Low light plants?



## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

JanS said:


> Hi Cydric.
> 
> What kind of plants did you buy? If you can get your hands on some fast growers, it will really help eat up the extra nutrients as it gets established. Some of the faster growing ones would be things like giant hygro, najas, or hornwort.
> 
> As for the plec, one thing you might want to keep in mind is that it's better to give them to the store when they're still fairly small. Once they get huge, some of the stores are hesitant to take them.


I bought: 
2 java ferns (Microsorum pteropus)
2 anubias barteri 
2 bolbitis heudelotii

Out of the fast growers you mentioned, are they meant for a low light tank or a c02 tank? Because i'm going with a low light tank w/o c02 and that's why i purchased the above plants. I read up on them a lot and i read that they're slow growers but since i have a low light tank i figured every plant i buy will be a slow grower.

I never thought about what you said about my pleco, tough decision there since i've had my little guy for about 3 years.  I'll give it some thought and decide what is best for my 10 gallon community tank. I sure don't want him in my 29 gallon.

decisions, decisions. :noidea:


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

You can keep hornwort in a low light tank, just let it float. I drape my hornwort over my Bolbitis heudelotii that is near the light and it helps keep the algae off it. I never did have any luck planting the hornwort, the bottom would rot and it would float up, so I just let it stay floating.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

cs_gardener said:


> You can keep hornwort in a low light tank, just let it float. I drape my hornwort over my Bolbitis heudelotii that is near the light and it helps keep the algae off it. I never did have any luck planting the hornwort, the bottom would rot and it would float up, so I just let it stay floating.


hornwort huh? I'll have to look into that next time i visit my lfs which will probably be tomorrow. I'll ask them if they have any.  Thanks CS Gardener, for the tip.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Yes, the hornwort and all of the plants I mentioned do well with low light and no C02, so they would all work for you.

Like cs_gardener, I just let the hornwort float and do it's duty.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Awesome! thanks guys, so much! You've given me plenty of good ideas. I really appreciate that!


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Ok so i bought some more plants for my 29 gallon fish tank today. i bought a hornwort plant and a giant hygro plant. my hornwort plant is pretty big already, if it gets any bigger then it'll take up the whole backside of my aquarium. My giant hygro plant is still pretty small yet but i'm hoping it grows bigger than what size it is now. 

That's a little update.


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## toddnbecka (Sep 20, 2006)

IME, the down side to hornwort is the dead leaves that fall off and carpet the tank as the new ones grow. It's a pain to clean up after...


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

i did notice a little shedding of the hornwort plant when i was planting it into my tank yesterday. It wasn't too bad though. Two of you say you let your hornwort float? does it just float at the top and it survives? Is this what i should do with my hornwort plant too? Right now i have it planted in the back of my tank behind my piece of driftwood. Will the bottom of it rot and then float? I'm completely new to plants the plants i've purchased are ones that people on here have mentioned (hornwort; giant hygro) and what i bought at my lfs (anubias barteri; bolbitis; java fern) that he said would do good in my low light no c02 tank. Should i add anymore plants to my tank? Right now i have planted in my 29 gallon tank is: 

2 bolbitis
2 java ferns
2 anubias barteri
1 hornwort
1 giant hygro
3 newly growing various Aponogeton plants i think all 3 are A. undulatus

is this too much or not enough? can there ever be too many plants? :noidea:


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

You're off to a good start with your plant selection Cydric. 

In my experience, the only time the Hornwort does "shed" like that is if you plant it in the substrate (or if you have SAE's in the tank), so I believe it does much better when it's floating. Some don't think it's the most attractive plant in the world when it's floating, but it does a great job of keeping the tank balanced out when it's new. When it floats it gets nice lush compact growth, so I keep some in my q-tanks, etc. I just don't keep it in tanks with higher light plants that would get too shaded if the Hornwort grows faster than you can keep it thinned out.

As for if it's too many or not enough plants, it sort of depends on what type of a look you're going for. You have a few fast growers in there, so the tank will fill in fairly fast and that's something you'll want to keep in mind for your overall look.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Thanks, JanS, for all your input, it's really appreciated.  I replaced my normal stock bulb with an "all glass 10,000k bulb". Was that a wise choice? I just figure my plants need better lighting than my stock bulb i have. I also tried to let my hornwort float but it just sank to the bottom so i just replanted it. :noidea: I bought some additional plants today:

1 Cabomba aquatica
1 Sagittaria subulata

I put them in the background. The only plant i want to buy next is some java moss to attach to my piece of driftwood. Oh, and i would like some grassy looking plant to put in my foreground to simulate a grassy meadow. Have any ideas there?


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Note: Since this topic turned to plants, I split it and moved this part here so it gets better coverage in it's appropriate forum.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Thanks JanS.  I started out with fish questions that turned into plant questions. 

So does anyone know why my hornwort plant won't float? It just sinks to the bottom and of course makes a mess of my fish tank floor. I just replanted it.  If i want a grassy foreground, should i just go with a moss? Since this is a low light/low tech plant tank, should i just use taiwan moss or java moss to simulate a grassy forground? I'd still like to attach some sort of moss to my piece of driftwood and then a different moss for my foreground to simulate grass. 

Any suggestions?


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Can anyone suggest anything? I'll try anything anyone throws my way. [smilie=d:


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Hornwort is a true floating plant that never grows roots. This is why if you plant one end of it in the gravel it will eventually rot. The only trouble with growing it as a floating plant is it will block light to the plants below. It grows in very thick, so you will need to thin it out regularly. If you do not thin it out, it can grow on top of itself and the lower levels of plant will die off, shedding the needle like leaves all over the tank. 

Hornwort also has a natural algae inhibitor it releases into the water, it does not mean however you will not have any algae, but it will lessen it to some degree

Dwarf sagittaria and Echinodorus tenellus are both grass like plants and the easiest to grow. It depends on how low is low light for you. In general they will still grow under low light, but slower and smaller. Marsilea, (aquatic four leaf clover) does fairly well under low light.


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## Burks (May 25, 2006)

To simulate grass I'd probably go with Java over the Taiwan. Taiwan can get pretty bushy compared to the stringy Java (in my tank at least).

If you do go with two different mosses be careful. I had my Taiwan and Java mix on accident. Now I got parts of each growing into the main areas. Kind of a pain to take them apart so I gave up.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Like i previously said before, i tried to let my hornwort float but it just ended up sinking to the bottom within seconds. Does anyone know why it did this? I just replanted it back into the substrate but if hornwort doesn't root then it's just going to eventually die in the substrate, right? I'l try thinning out the hornwort is much as possible tonight when i get off work to see if it'll float. If it doesn't i suppose i'll just dispose of it. It did shed needles all over my tank. I hope it's not dead already. I see areas on it with bright green ends but most of it is kind or a darker green, not bright at all. If it sheds anymore i'll have to vacuum out the needles somehow. 

I was warned when i bought the hornwort plant that it sheds, but is it supposed to shed as much as it is/does? All my other plants (anubias barteri; bolbitis; giant hygro; java fern) are covered in this brownish film i think from the hornwort sheddings. I know it's not algae...yet.

Help? ](*,)


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

You can try pinching off the bright green ends and seeing if they'll float. As has been mentioned, its a fast growing plant and the ends should take off. I've had problems with hornwort losing large sections of leaves when moved to a new tank; so I just pinch off the new ends and let them float, then toss the rest. Once established, it shouldn't shed significantly. While I've had great luck growing hornwort in some tanks, it slowly disintegrates in others. Hopefully, the new growth will adapt to your tank as it is a great plant for sucking up excess nutrients and reducing algae.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

cs_gardener said:


> You can try pinching off the bright green ends and seeing if they'll float. As has been mentioned, its a fast growing plant and the ends should take off. I've had problems with hornwort losing large sections of leaves when moved to a new tank; so I just pinch off the new ends and let them float, then toss the rest. Once established, it shouldn't shed significantly. While I've had great luck growing hornwort in some tanks, it slowly disintegrates in others. Hopefully, the new growth will adapt to your tank as it is a great plant for sucking up excess nutrients and reducing algae.


Thanks cs_gardener! I'll be sure to do that tonight when i get off work (you can see how much 'work' i'm actually doing ) When i 'pinch' off the green areas that'll leave me with hardly any hornwort left but if that'll reduce the loss of the leaves then i'm all for it. Thanks for the advice.


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## cydric (Nov 1, 2006)

Ok so when i got home from work, i whipped out the aquarium vacuum and took out all my hornwort plants and pinched off the nice green areas. Well, lots of it STILL sank so i just pitched the parts that sank i only kept 2 pieces that floated. I sucked up soo many dead needles/leaves from the hornwort when i was vacuuming the aquarium floor bed. I couldn't believe how much shedded. I also rearranged a couple plants. I'll take some pictures and post them this weekend so you all will have a better idea on what i'm talking about and hopefully will give me some suggestions on what to do next. :thumbsup:


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