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Plants..., how many?

ForestDave

Member
Joined
12 Nov 2020
Messages
292
Location
Forest of Dean
Hi.
I know it’s a kind of “how long is a piece of string” question. But.... what is the minimum I should be spending on plants for a Fluval Roma 200L tank to be successful. The Tropica plants look amazing but you could probably easily blow £200 or more on a 200L tank with those. I was hoping there would be something like Facebook group of aquascapers selling offcuts cheap or giving away surplus plants but I cannot see one. I don’t want to skimp and get tons of algae so was wondering if there was some sort of recommendation for planting density?
Thanks.
 
Hi all,
was hoping there would be something like Facebook group of aquascapers selling offcuts cheap or giving away surplus plants
When you get to 25 posts the <"For Sale/Swap/Wanted"> Forum becomes visible to you. Some of us always have spare plants, just not anything very exciting in my case.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi
Best purchasing fast growing stem plants that you can use as floaters to help filter your new start aquarium!
Plant some in the substrate also...to keep the substrate healthy.
Then go from there!;)
hoggie
 
Hi
The subject of using fast-growing stem plants as part of a filtering aid has cropped up a few times recently.
This idea as been around for a long time so not new, ....it has benefits especially for a new set - up.

1. Improves water quality.
2. Reduces excess light.
3. Reduces diatoms.
4. Reduces nitrate.
5. Helps reduce algae out-breaks.
6. Indicator of a Nitrate shortage.
7. Oxygenates the water column.
8. Increases beneficial bacteria.

Using fast-growing stem plants as a floating plant filtering aid has always worked well for me!
Although every aquarium is different the application is the same.

The stem plant is stripped of the lower half of the leaves, this is to encourage aerial root growth which in turn draws up excess nutrients from the water column.
The leaves that you have removed are probably emersed leaves, therefore they will be replaced with new leaves and aerial roots as it adapts to surface/underwater life.

Below is an example of Hygrophila sp Difformis with some of the lower leaves removed to encourage aerial root growth.
Hygrophila sp Difformis 2 (Custom).jpg

On the surface.
Hygrophila sp Difformis 3 (Custom) (Custom).jpg


There are a number of fast-growing stem plants that can be used for this purpose, below are some of those I've used in the past.
Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila difformis
Ludwigia palustris
Ludwigia repens
Limnophila sessiliflora
Rotala rotundifolia
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Heteranthera zosterifolia

hoggie :thumbup:

Last edited: 26 Aug 2020
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Hagen Fluval Flex 34 Litre!
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/hagen-fluval-flex-34-litre.56215/
Do! Aqua!
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/do-aqua.33646/
Hogan's alley!
https://ukaps.org/forum/threads/nano-scape-hogans-alley.13791/
Quote
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Last edited:
+1 on Hygrophila polysperma! I got this one as a tag along from plants from a friend and boy does it grow! Especially with CO2, I have to trim it weekly to keep it in check, but it really stands out with a nice light green/golden color that actually becomes pinkish the more light it gets. A beautiful plant when maintained, but definitely serves the purpose of filtering those extra nutrients.
 
I spent a lot of money on plants for my AS900. My thinking was if i'm going to invest so much money on the setup i might aswell plant it as heavy as possilble, especially as i don't plan to rescape for years.

I have minimal algae, most algae blooms last a month you just got to fight through it. You will most likely encouter every algae at some point regardless, it's how you deal with it and how healthy everything is that makes the difference. The scape is 10months old, and packing it with plants has definitely made the difference.

I would say for a 200L heavily planted tank you're looking £150, depends what plants you buy too as ephipytes are expensive in general.
 
Last edited:
Hi
The subject of using fast-growing stem plants as part of a filtering aid has cropped up a few times recently.
This idea as been around for a long time so not new, ....it has benefits especially for a new set - up.

1. Improves water quality.
2. Reduces excess light.
3. Reduces diatoms.
4. Reduces nitrate.
5. Helps reduce algae out-breaks.
6. Indicator of a Nitrate shortage.
7. Oxygenates the water column.
8. Increases beneficial bacteria.

Using fast-growing stem plants as a floating plant filtering aid has always worked well for me!
Although every aquarium is different the application is the same.

The stem plant is stripped of the lower half of the leaves, this is to encourage aerial root growth which in turn draws up excess nutrients from the water column.
The leaves that you have removed are probably emersed leaves, therefore they will be replaced with new leaves and aerial roots as it adapts to surface/underwater life.

Below is an example of Hygrophila sp Difformis with some of the lower leaves removed to encourage aerial root growth.
Hygrophila sp Difformis 2 (Custom).jpg

On the surface.
Hygrophila sp Difformis 3 (Custom) (Custom).jpg


There are a number of fast-growing stem plants that can be used for this purpose, below are some of those I've used in the past.
Hygrophila polysperma
Hygrophila difformis
Ludwigia palustris
Ludwigia repens
Limnophila sessiliflora
Rotala rotundifolia
Ceratopteris thalictroides
Heteranthera zosterifolia

hoggie :thumbup:

Last edited: 26 Aug 2020
Signature1.gif

Hagen Fluval Flex 34 Litre!
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/hagen-fluval-flex-34-litre.56215/
Do! Aqua!
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/do-aqua.33646/
Hogan's alley!
https://ukaps.org/forum/threads/nano-scape-hogans-alley.13791/
Quote
Select for moderation Report Edit History Delete Bookmark Rotate
Thank for your time Hoggie!
That's a reallybrilliant to know.
 
+1 on Hygrophila polysperma! I got this one as a tag along from plants from a friend and boy does it grow! Especially with CO2, I have to trim it weekly to keep it in check, but it really stands out with a nice light green/golden color that actually becomes pinkish the more light it gets. A beautiful plant when maintained, but definitely serves the purpose of filtering those extra nutrients.
Thanks again, that's top of my list now.
 
I spent a lot of money on plants for my AS900. My thinking was if i'm going to invest so much money on the setup i might aswell plant it as heavy as possilble, especially as i don't plan to rescape for years.

I have minimal algae, most algae blooms last a month you just got to fight through it. You will most likely encouter every algae at some point regardless, it's how you deal with it and how healthy everything is that makes the difference. The scape is 10months old, and packing it with plants has definitely made the difference.

I would say for a 200L heavily planted tank you're looking £150, depends what plants you buy too as ephipytes are expensive in general.
Cheers Sammy.
That's a good guide. I think I'll have to get selling some crap on Ebay to up my aquascaping budget! :D
 
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