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Need plant ideas for new 30L tall!

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PlatyFINatic

Seedling
Joined
3 Aug 2012
Messages
21
I am in the process of setting up a 30L tall.

I have asked around on here and settled with cat litter as my substrate.

Unfortunately, the lighting is only around 10w

I have a piece of bogwood in there

I could do with some plant ideas, I will be dosing liquid carbon and ferts (Ferts still undecided, any ideas as to which will be a good one to go with?)

The tank is around 40cm high, so the plants will ideally need to be quite tall.

I could do a foreground of crypts and young java ferns, but could I do hairgrass, or is that after high lighting??

So, need some foreground, midground and background plants that will be ok in this kind of set up.

Any input is much appreciated! I would like some kind of carpet if possible
 
cryptocoryne balanse. Eleocharis vivipara. valisneria nana (might not like liquid carbon, sometimes does though)
 
Thank you - would dwarf hairgrass not work? I guess it probably wouldn't but I have to check 😉
 
Anubias can look great in a cube. Ferns and crypts. A moss carpet is probably the most realistic with that small amount of light but with light carbon its achievable. dwarf hairgrass would be slow but you could try it. Can always think about upgrading the light in future if you want quicker growth.
 
Thanks, I don't think I will risk the hairgrass just in case

Will a moss carpet need to be on mesh?
 
you can tie moss onto pebbles etc. If moss grows, hairgrass will too.
 
Probably a good idea. Fissidens Fontanus looks amazing as a carpet. It is best to and easiest to attach it to a mesh yes, then it is all attached and you can move it if needs be, pebbles can be awkward to wrap the string around etc.

darren636 said:
If moss grows, hairgrass will too.
Click to expand...

That is true, However it will be considerably slower and will probably not carpet. Hairgrass should only really be considered as a carpeting plant when in high-tech conditions. I have never seen a successful one without those. Moss will cover over quickly and achieve the effect I think your looking for. 🙂
 
Ok, thanks! I guess I will stay clear of the hairgrass just in case, as I would want it to carpet. Which moss would be best for the job? Would it be java moss, or something different?
 
Save it for a High-tech. You can do it with almost any moss. I would say Java, Flame or Fissidens Fontanus are the three best mosses to use. Personally I would use Fissidens, I saw it in a scape the other day and its stunning, especially in a nano. It grows really dense as well. Mini Pellia would be fun and a challenge, think I'm going to try it in my next nano scape.
 
For a 30l tank it wouldn't cost much at all just to buy a decent substrate, cat litter is awful stuff and too light.

I had hair grass under a 9w light in a 30l and it died, slowly!

Mosses are probably the way to go, and hydro seems to grow anywhere I put it
 
Thanks so much for the replies! I love the look of the Fissidens, I have found some online so will most likely get some of those - I had never heard of them before 🙂

A friend of ours has a mini co2 system on his 60L and I think it is the TMC "Beginners" or "Starters package which is really quite cheap. Something like this:

http://www.swelluk.com/aquarium/co2-and ... googlebase

Is this pack decent. As in, I am not wasting my money if I was to get one? Are these sets any good? Or is it worth investing more? Otherwise, I think I will stick to "EasyCarbo"

Thanks
 
that co2 system looks like a world of hurt to me. Never used it but i reckon it would bring trouble. Cheap though.... Maybe worth a dabble?
 
Glad you like the look of it. There are so many plants, as your just starting out you will discover more and more plants available and more are being discovered all the time. Then you have to decide which ones you want to try and grow.

That co2 system is an utter waste of money my friend. I have tried that diffuser out of interest to see how it works and I still don't understand how it is meant to. It simply doesn't and is rubbish. The canister would run out quickly and then it would be gone. Don't get it. If you are going to get a co2 system (which it is well worth doing long-term if your wanting to take the planted tank hobby seriously and grow all the amazing plants) then you need to spend a couple of hundred quid on a decent kit system such as a JBL one or even an FE system (Fire extinguisher). If you don't want to splash out on a pressurised system just yet then I would stick to liquid carbon.
 
Thanks! I was wrong in the end, it turns out the co2 kit is from "Ista" or something like that. It cost £13 or something from our LFS to buy the package and then £11 for another 3 bottles.

Does this sound right? They bottles are like aerosol cans if that makes a difference. He said he's really pleased with his and that his plants have "Exploded!"

Does anyone have any experiences?
 
Have set it up! Haven't gone with moss! May do in the future - I'm pleased with how it's looking!
 
I will upload a photo, but how do I do so? Do I have to put a link in or can I upload it directly from my computer?
 
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