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choice of plants.

Nick16

Member
Joined
13 Aug 2008
Messages
1,759
Location
Surrey, UK
i have short listed my plants for my rio 240. i will have plenty of light about 3.5 WPG. it will have TPN and TPN+, co2 via a 2KG FE, and fertilser substrate. heres my list.

Sagittaria Subulata
Cryptocoryne Becketii
Cryptocoryne Wendtii
Cryptocoryne Lucens
Vallisneria Spiralis
Alternanthera Reineckii
Marsilea Crenata Dwarf FourLeaf clover
Echinodorus Amazonicus (E. Brevipedicellatus)
Anubias Barterii
Echinodorus Quadricostatus Broad leaf Dwarf Amazon Sword
Tonina Fluviatilas

so what do you think? any comment welcome, there is a mix of foreground, midground and background here. i am having most trouble with my foreground, i know where most plants go in the tank but its selecting the correct ones to go for foreground if you get me. i dont know whether 'A' is better than 'B' or vise versa. just need some help really. Thanks.
 
The only real comment I'd say is that the Vallis prefers harder water whereas the Tonina needs soft water and is rather tricky so I wouldn't try both. Tonina is pretty tricky apparently so maybe best left until the tank is set up and stable.

I think you need some fast growing stem plants to grow rapidly and help get the tank established. Either some easy Rotalas, Cabomba, Hygrophila or similar.

Also you don't need TPN and TPN+; the latter contains everything you need to dose. With 3.5 WPG you are going to be running close to the edge on ferts and CO2 as well. Why are you having so much light to start with? Especially when most of your plants do well in failry low light! I'd look at around 2WPG which will mean everything will happen more slowly in your tank and give you more room for movement.
 
Ed Seeley said:
The only real comment I'd say is that the Vallis prefers harder water whereas the Tonina needs soft water and is rather tricky so I wouldn't try both. Tonina is pretty tricky apparently so maybe best left until the tank is set up and stable.

I think you need some fast growing stem plants to grow rapidly and help get the tank established. Either some easy Rotalas, Cabomba, Hygrophila or similar.

Also you don't need TPN and TPN+; the latter contains everything you need to dose. With 3.5 WPG you are going to be running close to the edge on ferts and CO2 as well. Why are you having so much light to start with? Especially when most of your plants do well in failry low light! I'd look at around 2WPG which will mean everything will happen more slowly in your tank and give you more room for movement.
right, the lighting will be optional, i have 2 T8's putting out a total of 80W, and i will have 2 T5's putting out a total of 108W. so i can have both on, or just the T5's. i already have TPN, so i think i will need the TPN+. plant wise, i have hard water so the tonina is out then. i will look at some of the 3 you suggested although i dont like cambomba as it is too 'bushy' for my liking, and it falls apart to easy. i will look at the others. any other tips will be great, in the meantime, cheers.
 
what do you think would be a good choice for a foreground plant, i would like a carpeting type but have never attempted anything due to having bad light on my tank. i was looking at HC or Glosso. help.
 
You've got the Marsilea. That is basically a slower growing version of Glosso. Otherwise Glosso is good if you give it enough light, ferts, CO2 and flow.
 
i may not use all of the plants listed and therefore they may chop and change. i dont know what best for my foreground. i aim to have the 2 x 54w T5 over the front and the T8's over the back.
 
How deep is the tank? I'm struggling to grow HC in my 400 litre, which is 2foot deep, with 216watts of T5 light over it. It stays alive, but doesn't spread much. I think it's because my tank's deep? I dunno though, I'm no expert. I've never tried glosso.

I'm having success though with dwarf hairgrass.
 
ooooo where sells dwarf hairgrass?, i want to have a look at it. its around 45cms deep for where the water level will be to where the substrate will be. will that be too deep to grow anything? cheers. N
 
I got mine from the green machine's online shop. Arrived in excellent condition, as did all my plants from the green machine.

Don't know the answer to the depth question, I've only ever tried to grow the HC in my 100gal. I'm ripping it out and putting it in my new nano soon. Hopefully I'll have more luck with it in that (it's only 8 inches deep!)
 
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