Am I being too ambitious with my low light plans?

[Willard]

Hello all, firstly apologies if I have posted this in the wrong section.
Secondly I have been planning a planted tank for some time now & I am on the verge of finally putting plans into action. I have found the info shared here to be a huge help for me.

Anyway, after reading through the various posts on the site I have shelved my grand plans for CO2 injection & settled on a low tech/light set up for starters. I honestly wouldn’t have the time for the high maintenance I now realise is involved in a high light co2 tank. Plus I suppose I am a little lazy as well...

However I patient, and am more than happy to wait for my tank to develop.

I have a Vision 180 with an Eheim 2073 and external heater, along with 2 TMC grobeam strips for a light source.
I will be using a mineralised soil substrate mixed with a bag of JBL aqua-basis I have under the stairs, capped with 2-3 mm sand/gravel.

The question I hope someone will help me with is do I need more light, or am I ok as I am?

I would like a stem plant wall along the back and sides of the tank – I was looking at Rotala rotundifolia, but would something else be better? TGM have Pogostemon erectus in the low light section and that looks nice too.
In the mid ground I would like a grassy lawn, with one or two decent sized rocks and was looking at Echinodorus tenellus.
Finally in the foreground I plan to have Marsilea hirsuta.

Any help, pointers or even suggestions for alternative more suitable plants would be most appreciated.

Regards
Willard

 

[niru]

Hi Willard

and welcome!

If you arent into CO2 at the moment, pogostemon looks ambitious to me. Try Anubias, Amazon Swords, Ergia Densa, Valisneria, Cabomba & Bacopa varieties. M Hirsuta might work as well, but depends on the strain to my knowledge. With low light & importantly no CO2, you can forget "lawn effects" (hope I am wrong here)!

Check this site:

http://www.tropica.com/en/plants/difficulty/easy.aspx

cheers

 

[jack-rythm]

Hi there, I have many low tech tanks and can say that even some medium difficulty plants will flourish. I have 4 30cm cube nanos and have really nice plants and life in there. As for the carpet effect, this is true.. you will struggle if you aim to use cuba or a high difficulty plant like that, but in one of my nanos I have eleocharis parvula and carpets wonderfully. this is an easy plant to grow as long as you deal with it correctly.. I also have another nano set up that I have used riccia as a carpet.. This does not grip onto the substrate though so needs trimming but looks amazing when pearling. I have them on metal grids that can easily be removed for maintenance... here is my nano with the riccia just about to busrt through. my tank is aout 3 months old so far..

 

[Iain Sutherland]

hi willard, low tech can be very rewarding and you will have more light than you can manage with two TMC units, if you look at ian's lournal he runs 2 grobeams high tech very effectively.
http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f= ... &start=190
think you will end up running them on very reduced power, the less light the better in low tech mate.

There are a few carpet plants to choose from, including tennelus, they will just grow very slowly. Riccia is a good bet, im really enjoying dwarf riccia in my sig nano , i almost have a full carpet now

best of luck, just keep the light low or algae will appear.

 

[Willard]

Thanks for the replies, loads of interesting stuff.

Thanks that link is really useful Niru and I will take your advice and avoid the Pogostemon erectus. Would the Rotala be ok?

Jack I hadnt considered eleocharis parvula & will replace the Echinodorus tenellus with that now, thanks for the pointer.

Lastly, Easer, your comments were really interesting. I thought I needed another grobeam strip at least, but instead I'll buy the aquaray controller & dim the ones I have down as you say. The missus will be pleased to hear that, the amount of light thats generated by those grobeams is a little overpowering & enough to light the entire room, never mind just the tank!

Thank for your advice guys, really appreciate it.

 

[Ben22]

hows the tank any update on what plants you went for?

 

[Willard]

Hello Motionless,

I have decided on the eleocharis parvula in the middle and foreground with some rounded stones & cobbles, and Rotala rotundifolia around the back and sides.

I was wondering about planting densities, how many plants would I need? Plants alive do bundles of 25, so I planning on 50 eleocharis & 25 Rotala. Would this be about right or should I get more?

I've spent the weekend trying to fit a back ground. After pretty poor results, I'm in the middle of painting the back of the tank black. Surprisingly the missus doesnt seem to mind all the mess I'm making in the process...

I also picked up the light controller to dim the lights, good bit of kit.