[jocky]

Hey this is Jocky,

I'm new to this forum and to aquascaping. My ultimate goal is to grow an underwater lawn but none of my dwarf hairgrass, (Eleocharis acicularis) is spreading and I've had them for a long time.

I don't use any laterite clay, but do you think it would make a great impact. I also use a simple CO2 fertilizer and I have the light on for 14 hours a day and still no lawn.

What neccessary components am I missing and what am I doing wrong? Are the plants I'm using unsuitable for the job? Help me achieve my goal.

Thank you

 

[AaronT]

Hi Jocky,

In order to accurately answer your questions we'll need some more details about your setup.

What size tank is it?
What light (wattage) are you using?
Are you fertilizing anything?
What substrate are you using?

The more details the better.

 

[jocky]

Well I have a 29 gallon, I don't know what brand tube it is because it just came with the hood that I just bought, but it was designed for a 29 gallon though (new).

I don't have any substrate fertilizers or undergravel heaters, just a simple yeast CO2 fertilizer with the occasional Plant Gro iron fertilizer.
Plants in the tank are 4 echnidorus bleheri, 1 bunch of Cabomba caroliniana, 3 bunches of Limnophila sessiliflora, 4 plants of elecharis acicularis(the plants that I am trying to make a lawn out of.)

 

[jmontee]

Jocky, first of all welcome to APC. My suggestion is to do A LOT of research on this forum about planted tanks.

1. If it is a regular fluorescent tube that came with the tank then it is about 15 watts and you will need at least 75 to 90 watts for a good lawn with these plants. This would give you 2.5 to 3 watts per gallon and it has to be 5000 to 10000K spectrum. 6700K is the most used for planted tanks IME.

2. What do you mean by CO2 fertilizer? Fluorish Excel? If this is true then it should be OK but I would use DIY or pressurized CO2 for a planted tank. For this size the best long term solution would be pressurized.

3. With the correct lighting you will need to add fertilizers for your plants, macro and micro nutrients not just iron. Check out www.rexgrigg.com for fert info and a lot of other important info too.

4. What substrate are you using? If it is just regular aquarium gravel then you will have a hard time getting the stem plants to root well and the echinodorus probably won't do too well either. In any most echinodorus are only suitable for the largest of tanks being that they grow very large when they are kept in appropriate conditions.

Hope this helps and good luck on the planted side. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[AaronT]

jmontee makes a lot of good suggestion. First and foremost your lighting is inadequate. You'll want to look into upgrading to a PC fixture or T5 lighting.

 

[jocky]

Thanks jmontee, I did always thought my lighting was inadequate. But I think i'll settle for a while, I'm going to upgrade to a 75 or bigger soon and when I do I'll make sure to follow your advice. I'll send in pics when I'm done.

 

[jmontee]

Cool I love to see pics of new tanks!! There is always something to learn and new ideas to get!