Arash's 5 Gallon Planted Update

[arash53]

I am new in FW planted aquarium.
Started to build 5 gallon planted and really need help and advise.




Substrate : 8lb Fluval Shrimp Stratum Substrate.

Filter : Fluval nano internal filter :

Light : Panorama LED Module

Tank is running for two days, and it is crystal clean.

I wonder if someone could refer me to a popular plant database .

I want to plant really short grass in the front something that spread but not grow up.

Thank you in advance for your input.

[vdub]

That's a good start. If you want to plant some grass in the tank, you're looking at dwarf hair grass. But that plant isn't good for beginners. It's a difficult plant requires CO2 and high lighting, or else it'll just melt away. Any type of low growing "carpet" plants, in my opinion, probably isn't the best plant choice for beginners. You're better off starting with some easy stem plants like sunset hygro, hygro. difformis, wisteria, cabamba and hornwort.

[arash53]

Thanks vdub but I think this light its pretty decent for the size and hight of my tank even coral could grow under this LED light, and if CO2 is a must for hair grass I'll build a CO2 DYI system. is there anything else I should concern for low growing "carpet" plants?

[BelieveInBlue]

you could try java fern? or dwarf valisneria? maybe cryptocoryne?

[scherzo]

Did you get the 12 bulb unit @ 8000k?

I can never really figure out the LED compared to t5 or MH conversion thing.

In any case, if you want to do dwarf hair grass you absolutely need strong lighting with co2. The light you have may say that it is good enough for growing corals but they may mean low light corals. This still may not be enough for hair grass. Give it a go and let us know how it goes.

Co2 is a must for hair grass. It will just sit there and do nothing for months if you don't dose ferts and have co2.

If you are doing DIY co2 then make sure you don't agitate the water surface too much to make sure you minimize the amount of co2 you gas off. But you'll have to balance that with having enough flow in the tank so that you don't get algae stuck in between the hair grass. Mine always picked up stuff if I didn't have a powerhead pointing on it. Others may have had different results.

Good luck

[arash53]

Thanks for the info :
My Tank is only 10" hight and 14" long so that module should work,I'll build a CO2 system today and I'll add a powerhead once the grass are settle down a bit.

I saw clover like carpet plant in aquariums , what is the name of this plat and is it also hard to maintain?


Which website or reference I could use to get general info about common and accessible aquarium plant?


Thanks

[lotus]

The plant is Glosso and it needs a lot of light...I have it in my tank with Co2 and medium light and its growing slowly with ADA soil. You can check out Tropica's website and some petstores carry plants from them.

[CRS Fan]

Thanks for the info :
My Tank is only 10" hight and 14" long so that module should work,I'll build a CO2 system today and I'll add a powerhead once the grass are settle down a bit.

I saw clover like carpet plant in aquariums , what is the name of this plat and is it also hard to maintain?


Which website or reference I could use to get general info about common and accessible aquarium plant?


Thanks

The plant in the middle foreground looks to be Marsilea hirsuta (aka dwarf four-leaf clover). It will grow without CO2 (however extremely slowly). Another good carpet option is Staurogyne repens which will grow in non-CO2 and lower light conditions. I have also grown Glossostigma elatenoides using Metricide 14/Flourish Excel as a carbon source !

Hopefully that helps!

Best regards,

Stuart

[TomC]

I have some dwarf hair grass in a 1 or 2 gallon with no heat and a 25 watt incandesent bulb and it grows fine with a daily dose of excel.

[arash53]

Thank you so much for the information

Still trying to find out the best and shortest Foreground plant .

Which is the best choice for small tank 10" x 14" I like it as short as possible?

1-Hemianthus Callitrichoides
2-Dwarf hair grass
3-Marsilea hirsuta
4-Staurogyne repens
5- Glosso