Hi everyone. Hope you are all doing OK
A while ago I asked about growing Hygrophilia Pinnatifida low tech as I was struggling and several of you gave me advice. I wanted to share my recent success.
I’d tried several pots of established plants that just dropped leaves and melted away. I upgraded to much larger 120l tank when my 30l leaked and I needed extra plants.
I went for in vitro plants for cost reasons and I saw they had Hygrophilia Pinnatifida so I got a cup.
It is thriving in my low tech low budget tank. It’s stuffed into crevices in wood. Not glued or tied. It’s greener than I’d hoped but I’m not bombarding it with light, CO2 and ferts. It was in liquid rather than gel in the pot and didn’t struggle when submerged.
I have a low budget led planted tank light running 12 hours but only between 20% and 50% intensity.
No CO2.
The tank is jungle style. Heavily planted with fast growing plants. It’s a bit messy and wild but gives hiding places for shrimp and fry. About 85% of the substrate is planted and there are houseplants growing in hang on the back breeder boxes powered by air-pumps acting as filters
I add 10ml of both ferts solutions made from EI salts (aquarium plant foods recipe) twice a week when I do a 30% water change. I occasionally add more of the floating plants or house
Plants look pale
The substrate is John Innes No3 mixed with the sand and gravel from the old tank and capped with more sand
Stocking levels are low.
15x ember tetras
10 pygmy cories at last count - maybe more. I only bought 6
Loads of cherry shrimps
Food is mainly live baby brine shrimp, daphnia and any mosquito larvae in the water butt. Shrimp get occasional homemade shrimp lollipops and a couple of pellets of Hikari Crab cuisine every other day
Really hard London water
Hope this info helps someone
A while ago I asked about growing Hygrophilia Pinnatifida low tech as I was struggling and several of you gave me advice. I wanted to share my recent success.
I’d tried several pots of established plants that just dropped leaves and melted away. I upgraded to much larger 120l tank when my 30l leaked and I needed extra plants.
I went for in vitro plants for cost reasons and I saw they had Hygrophilia Pinnatifida so I got a cup.
It is thriving in my low tech low budget tank. It’s stuffed into crevices in wood. Not glued or tied. It’s greener than I’d hoped but I’m not bombarding it with light, CO2 and ferts. It was in liquid rather than gel in the pot and didn’t struggle when submerged.
I have a low budget led planted tank light running 12 hours but only between 20% and 50% intensity.
No CO2.
The tank is jungle style. Heavily planted with fast growing plants. It’s a bit messy and wild but gives hiding places for shrimp and fry. About 85% of the substrate is planted and there are houseplants growing in hang on the back breeder boxes powered by air-pumps acting as filters
I add 10ml of both ferts solutions made from EI salts (aquarium plant foods recipe) twice a week when I do a 30% water change. I occasionally add more of the floating plants or house
Plants look pale
The substrate is John Innes No3 mixed with the sand and gravel from the old tank and capped with more sand
Stocking levels are low.
15x ember tetras
10 pygmy cories at last count - maybe more. I only bought 6
Loads of cherry shrimps
Food is mainly live baby brine shrimp, daphnia and any mosquito larvae in the water butt. Shrimp get occasional homemade shrimp lollipops and a couple of pellets of Hikari Crab cuisine every other day
Really hard London water
Hope this info helps someone
