How long have you maintained a carpet for?

[Andrew Butler]

I'm wondering how long you have managed to keep a carpet of plants going in your aquarium?
Which plants have you used while doing this etc

Any info appreciated
Andrew

 

[Tim Harrison]

High-energy...
HC Cuba...keep it trimmed to below a couple of cms and it should last forever, given the correct balance of light nutrients and CO2 obs,

Same for MC.

I grew a Iwagumi with dwarf hair grass and that might have gone on forever, except it ran out of gas when I was on holiday and BBA took hold.

I've also grown a mixed carpet of several plants - glosso, stauro, H. tenellum, H. Japan, etc and that also would probably have gone on and on...again it's just a question of maintaining the right conditions and trimming occasionally.

Low-energy...
Mixed carpet of Lilaeopsis spp., C. parva, and E. parvula. It just continued to grow quietly...

 

[foxfish]

When you guys say “should go on forever”, that must only apply if the plant is thinned out or at some stage or it will become so dense it has nowhere to spread?
From my own experience i have found that there is a saturation point, once this point is reached the plant starts to suffer and the density forces the web of roots out of the substrate?

 

[Andrew Butler]

it should last forever

Thanks for your words of experience Tim.
So far in my 600 I have had no problems but I'd like to put a carpet pretty much right across my 900 and if kept on top of I'd like it to last a while.
(Plans in links below with opinions / suggestions welcome)
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads...adow-scape-opinions-please.55786/#post-541380
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/wild-looking-multiple-plant-carpet-suggestion.55690/

From my own experience i have found that there is a saturation point, once this point is reached the plant starts to suffer and the density forces the web of roots out of the substrate?

I have read about a few people having problems with areas of or the whole carpet lifting / floating away from the substrate and your comment on my other thread is partly what made me write this post.
What exactly did you experience and with what plants? Any info greatly received.

Andrew

 

[Tim Harrison]

foxfish is right; like I mentioned above carpets need trimming. Also, periodically cutting out a couple of cms from around the edge and leaving space between the edge of a carpet and the glass sides helps to keep a carpet looking neat and may help in longevity; I use an old credit card to do it.

Plants like HC usually grow laterally to fill any available space and then once that's done start to grow upward. When the carpet gets too thick the roots rot and the whole carpet detaches. I deliberately left this HC carpet to see how thick it would get before lifting; it's about 3-4cm ...

The only recourse then is to divide it up into smaller portions and replant...

MC is a good choice for dry start and if you've had success with it before it's the plant to go for; that is unless you feel like experimenting and trying something else for the sake of gaining more experience...https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/return-of-the-shallow.50172/page-4#post-497881

 

[Andrew Butler]

foxfish is right; like I mentioned above carpets need trimming. Also, periodically cutting out a couple of cms from around the edge and leaving space between the edge of a carpet and the glass sides helps to keep a carpet looking neat and may help in longevity; I use an old credit card to do it.

So if I am to cut the carpet right back once in a while would this also have the same effect or do I need to completely uproot it all?
I already give it a careful trim around the edges with a stanley blade to keep it away from the glass and it also saves scratching the glass with scissors.

unless you feel like experimenting and trying something else for the sake of gaining more experience

I'm always up for a bit of experimentation! That's what this thread is about.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/wild-looking-multiple-plant-carpet-suggestion.55690/

 

[rebel]

high tech carpets are difficult for me beyond 4 months or so. Trimming is so messy.

Go for crypt parva carpet. slow growth = easier upkeep.

 

[Tim Harrison]

So if I am to cut the carpet right back once in a while would this also have the same effect or do I need to completely uproot it all?

You just need to keep it well trimmed. The timing depends on how fast it grows, and that in turn depends on light intensity, fertz, and CO2. In my case MC and HC needed trimming to about a cm every 6 weeks or so.

 

[Andrew Butler]

high tech carpets are difficult for me beyond 4 months or so

I've had one running for 8 months now and it seems to be doing fine

Trimming is so messy.

I've not found it too bad; just trim the carpet, let it float to the surface and scoop it up with a net.

You just need to keep it well trimmed. The timing depends on how fast it grows, and that in turn depends on light intensity, fertz, and CO2. In my case MC and HC needed trimming to about a cm every 6 weeks or so.

I've let it get a bit long once but I cut it back quite hard and it grew back fine again. I'm probably around the 6 week window with my MC.

@Tim Harrison looking at your return of the shallows the carpets has hints of what I'm thinking for my wild carpet.

 

[Zeus.]

Nearly two years so far

 

[DutchMuch]

I'm wondering how long you have managed to keep a carpet of plants going in your aquarium?
Which plants have you used while doing this etc

Any info appreciated
Andrew

so far 2-3 years
DHG mini and DBT

 

[Andrew Butler]

@Zeus I was wondering how long yours had been going now.
@DutchMuch thanks for the input

 

[Keith GH]

Andrew

Its like the perfect garden lawn providing it's maintained correctly many years you could say practically unlimited.
I recently pulled my 30yld+old lawn out to lay the exposed aggregate.

Keith