Tropical Fish Forums

[tat288]

I have a 26 gallon tank with laterite mixed with the sand or fine gravel, with some on top. I have a diy c02 running right into the intake tube of my filter, I have a 10,000k lightbulb and nutrafin plant gro twice a week. I have microsword and dwarf hairgrass in the tank. The microsword doesn't get as much light being behind decoration I have in the tank yet its growing pretty damn good, the dwarf hairgrass on the other hand is a pain in the @$$ and won't grow well at all. I'm note sure what I have to do to get the hairgrass to start a carpet. [/quote]

[nikelodeon79]

[tat288]

I'm using nutrafin plant gro like 2 or 3 times a week, its a t8 bulb the wattage is only like 15 watts but its a 10,000k its the brightest 18 inch bulb I could find...

[tat288]

I was under the impression micro sword needed more light yet its gets less n grows pretty good

[nikelodeon79]

It certainly won't carpet at 15w/gallon. You would need more like 2-3w/gallon along with CO2 to create a nice carpet.
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[JimmyBlues]

When I first purchased microsword and dwarf hairgrass I planted them in a sand
substrate. They were under a T5 light, however, with no nutrients in the substrate the dh quickly turned brown, and the microsword melted.

I began reading up on the importance of nutrients in plant growth and purchased a package of Seachem Flourish plant tabs.

These plant tabs are great for enriching an inert substrate like sand. I purchased a few pots of dwarf hairgrass and added an additional T5 lighting system. Under 4.8 watts of light (6700K and 18000K) the dwarf hairgrass began to carpet my 20 gallon long aquarium.

One day I noticed some microsword starting to grow, which must have survived when most of the microsword originally melted.

The microsword quickly grew along the edges of the aquarium and gradually began to encroach on the dwarf hairgrass.

Since then, growth has been so outstanding that I have been able to use the trimmings from the 20 long in my Mr. Aqua 12 and 13.3 gallon tanks. Given the cost of a pot of dh or microsword these days, it's nice to be able to grow your own when starting new aquariums.

A few weeks ago we were hit in the Northeastern part of the United States with Hurricane Sandy, and went without power for about two weeks.

Interestingly enough, while much of the dh turned brown, the microsword held up very well just on the light coming from the windows in my den.

Now with the power having returned, both are growing nicely again, with the brown dh gradually being pushed out by the newly growing dh.

When I started my 13.3 gallon bowfront tank, I moved one of the T5 lighting fixtures
to the 13.3. I still have about 2.4 watts of light per gallon of water in the 20 gallon long, which works fine.

I also use a uv sterilizer to keep my water clean, since a nutrient rich water table is a breeding ground for algae and all sorts of bacteria.

By killing off many of these organisms, my plants can more readily absorb the nutrients in the water table, which leads to better growth.

There's nothing like an aquarium full of pretty colored fish and lush green plants to set off a room. Especially if you have several tanks full of such vivid colors.

The Flourish plant tabs can be purchased 10 to a box, or 40 to a box, which is a much better deal. Amazon.com carries the 40 box version for a bit over $20.