new to the hobby - Page 3 - Dallas Ft Worth Aquatic Plant Club DFWAPC

davemonkey · 08-21-2008, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuckintexas

hmmm. you really doubt that this will work?

btw, what does HC stand for?

Hi, I'm sorry to butt in on the DFWAPC forum, but I have experience with HC in lower light and thought I could provide some info.

HC is Hemianthus callitricoides , aka, Dwarf Baby Tears, and needs either high light or moderate light with VERY good CO2 and ferts. I tried this with moderate light in a 50 gal (it sat about 15" from the light source), about 2 WPG of Power Compact Lighting and it all melted out. I did not have CO2 at the time, but my ferts were on par. I tried it later with 2WPG in a 50 gal with CO2 and ferts and it still did very poorly.

I would not try this species again without higher lighting.

-Dave

Again, sorry for butting in.

stuckintexas · 08-21-2008, 02:54 PM

thanks dave. can you suggest a nice lowlight carpet plant?

milalic · 08-21-2008, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milalic

Seems like Tom has you completely convinced. It might be that most people are wrong or doing things wrong. let us know how it goes in low light.

have a great day.

HC = HEMIANTHUS CALLITRICHOIDES

davemonkey · 08-21-2008, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stuckintexas

thanks dave. can you suggest a nice lowlight carpet plant?

The only foreground plant I've had good results with in Low Light is Cryptocpyne. (If you wound up going to the last DFW meeting at TexGal's, you may have seen the Crypt. willisii x lucens 'bronze' , that's what I am currently using.) It grows more slowly than most foreground plants, but it looks great and is very low maintenance. C. willisii or C. lucens are about the same.

Echinodorus tenellus may grow in low light, but it would be better in moderate light. Other moderate light foregrounds that are easy are Marsilea sp. , Lilaeopsis sp. , and Blyxa japonica.

Since your aquarium is taller (am I right in assuming this?), you could use a taller plant for a foreground cover. Anubias 'nana' tied to rocks, A. 'petite' (if you can find enough for cheap enough), a vast array of Cryptocorynes..., you could also use moss as a foreground cover.

stuckintexas · 08-21-2008, 07:54 PM

excellent dave, i will look into those. i do recall reading that moss doesnt need much light. you are right my tank is 26 inches deep and am planning on 3 inches deep of aquasoil amazonia. i love the look of the longer straight and thin leafed plants. i need to look in the plant finder to see what they are called and how well they will grow with the t5ho lighting that i will most likely use...i guess its only 48 watts total...a 10000k bulb along with a 6700k i believe.

would anyone suggest that i start off with some stem plants, fast growers?

these look nice:
HYGROPHILA POLYSPERMA
CRYPTOCORYNE X WILLISII 'LUCENS'
CRYPTOCORYNE UNDULATA
ANUBIAS BARTERI VAR. NANA 'MARBLE'
ANUBIAS BARTERI VAR. NANA 'PETITE'
MICROSORUM PTEROPUS
ECHINODORUS TENELLUS <----exactly the plant i was trying to describe...awesome
BLYXA JAPONICA

stuckintexas · 08-23-2008, 05:07 PM

ok i was told by the guy at the lfs not to start a new tank with crypts.

CherylR · 08-24-2008, 05:24 AM

Which store was it? Mostly we don't listen to them. Fast-growing stem plants include various ludwigia species, limnophilia, cabomba, rotala, also hygrophilia and water wisteria.

Tex Gal · 08-24-2008, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CherylR

Which store was it? Mostly we don't listen to them.

LOL - Cracks me up!

stuckintexas · 08-24-2008, 09:07 AM

The True Percula in SW arlington off little road and I-20. He only works on saturdays and he is their most knowledgeable guy on plants and fish. the whole reason i went in there yesterday was because i knew he would be there. he seemed to know what he was talking about and i really appreciated the 1.5 hours he dedicated to me, obviously he enjoys this stuff. although, i have to say he put so much info on me that i cant remember everything he said, i shoulda taken notes...lol. he really started confusing me when it came to dosing ferts. overall i would say its a good store but a bit pricey (who isnt unless you go online?

)

back to the point, he said the crypts are prone to new tanks because the melt...of course they will grow back but he said "why bother with them until the tank is more established?"

CherylR · 08-24-2008, 11:15 AM

Refreshing as it is to encounter a friendly, caring, honest salesperson instead of whatever teenager happens to be working the fish aisle this week, I still say this person is wrong.

I have been in this hobby 20 years and have never had a crypt melt. Ever. I have yanked 'em up, hacked off half their roots and leaves, rudely stuffed them into another tank, and had them take off beautifully.

I know that others have had massive crypt melts and I know that it has to be heartbreaking. Not to mention messy. But it happens in established tanks as often as new tanks. So I still think what I thunk before: Don't listen to store employees.