bobo

Ooooops!

Been away for a while due to house guests, but I'm back now.

I absolutley think this Club is a great idea.

While one can spend a lot of money on fancy equipment for planted tanks, and Lord knows I have, it doesn't have to be so.

Tanks can be purchased used, plants are almost free here in South Florida, which just leaves lighting and CO2 as the biggest issues cost wise.

Flourescent fixtures in NO T-12 at 48inch lengths are as low as $7.00 at the Depot or Lowe's for a double tube rig with the econo bulbs priced in the $2.00 range. Buy just the endcaps and with only some basic wiring skills one can rig up a T-12 or better yet T-10 light canopy which will provide decent illumination for several tanks in the 20gal sizes.

In spite of all the warnings about letting natural sunlight hit your tanks, I've got several going outside which apparently haven't read those articles. They are doing fine with amazing plant (and fish) growth. Ditto my ponds. After all, we're often the envy of the nation climate wise - why not take full advantage of what Mother Nature freely offers us? I can see light tubes directed into large aquariums as being a totally viable, economically worthwhile, distinct possibility down here

Long term, there's a lot to be said for lower light tanks anyway -- less maintenance, less algae issues, happier fish, lower electric bills. In spite of my facination with stem plant stars like Lud. inclinata and Eusteralis, some of my favorite set-ups rely heavily on Crypts, Java Ferns and Anubias; all of which need no more light than 2 watts per gal - max. Maybe even less.

CO2 can be had cheaply with the DIY sugar and yeast generators.

At our first open house meeting at my crib - I'll demonstrate. Plant trade to follow!

bobo in West Palm

MiamiAG

Welcome back Bob. It's good to hear from you.

We need to wait for Carlos to get down from chilly Chicago so that we can have our first official meeting.

Looking forward to it.

tsunami

I'm actually coming back really soon. Wednesday, March 17th I'll be coming back south to Miami for a week and a half vacation. I leave Sunday, March 21st or so. I volunteer to hold an open house during the summer --I'm unsure of what I will see next week. It can be gorgeous, or it can be horrible. Both have happened.

Carlos

bms

Carlos,

I've looked up some pictures of Ludwigia Repens on the net, that is definitely the plant I have. Now the next question, I usually get the plants from the root, but in reading a bit I found L. Repens propagates via cuttings and seeds... Is it better to just cut the tops of the plants and plant them on my aquarium? Could the fact that I temove them with the root and replant them in my aquarium be detrimental to the plant growing in my aquarium?

I am getting my new camera today, I will post some picts this weekend to see if someone can help me identify the other plant.

Thanks!
~Benicio