[plantdude]

im making a 15 gallon tank with either riccia or glossostigma grass plain look. i got the substrate sloped from back to front really steep, and have several large rocks placed in it. i got a Jalli light system on it w/ 110 watts (yes, that is 7.33 watts per gal) on a timer, a pressureized CO2 system and a Fluval 404 filter.

which would look better, the riccia or glossostigma??? and which is easier to grow and maintain??? any help for growing these two plants would be appreciated.

 

[gpodio]

Glosso would be the easiest to maintain, just "mow the lawn" or rip some runners out to thin it out. Riccia likes to float and needs to be kept down, it's more of a pain in my opinion. Both are easy to grow, riccia will grow in lower light than glosso but you don't have that problem. Just burry some stems here and there leaving the tips of the leaves visible, it will spread on it's own. Obviously until you have a full tank of glosso, you will need some other plants to take up nutrients, a bare tank with this much light is going to be trouble. I'd use hornwart, duckweed and frogbit, all floaters so they won't disturb the glosso carpet below and they will also shade it a little which will probably help keep the tank clean during startup.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio

 

[plantdude]

the floating plants sounds like a good tip. however, how much space should i have from the tank surface to the light fixture should i leave??? i dont want to burn the floating plants.

 

[plantbrain]

For your goal, I would suggest 40w/light maybe 55w max.

I would also use a small HOB or a the smallest canister, a 104, or something smaller even.

There is no good reason to have that much light and it will only cause issues in the long run. These plants will grow just fine at 40w and this will place far less demands on maintenance.

More is not better.

Both of these plants grow quite well at 2w/gal FYI.
I've grown both of these plants very well over the long term at this light level. Both grew all over and I had trouble getting rid of them. Other folks have plenty of examples of both plants at lower light also.

Neither requires high light, this is a myth.
Lower light will allow you fewer algae issues and deficiency issues and more wiggle room with dosing, CO2 etc. Grow rates are slower and good.

But you can learn the hard way if that is what you want. Once the plants grow in well you are going to find yourself asking people how to slow them down. Less light is a good method and will make thie tank much more managable in the long term.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[plantdude]

is it possible to start the tank initially with 110 watts and when it starts to grow in, lower the watts to 55 watts (use only one bulb)??? or is it better to just run one bulb the whole time??? if i can get the plants to grow faster, it should eliminate most of the algae.

 

[gpodio]

Actually, it would probably make more sense to have less light at the start and then increase it once the plants have grown in and are able to put it to good use. Still, 110W is way more than I'd use on such a tank, as Tom said, a 55W bulb would be more than enough for your needs.

Giancarlo Podio

 

[plantdude]

thanks for the tips guys...i suppose i just have to use one bulb at a time. saves me money in the long run then. about how much bubbles per sec should i run??? does glossostigma pearl like the riccia too???

 

[Gomer]

Glosso doesn't pearl like riccia.

It isn't about bubbles per second. You actually need to measure KH and pH to know what your "bubbles persecond" will need to be...and at that, you need to play around. There is no BPS rule like WPG (and that is loose too).

And to re-empisize what Tom said, get a MUCH smaller filter. a 404 woulcd create WAY WAY WAY too much current.

 

[plantdude]

i can turn down the 404 so the current is a lot less. but if that fails, i got a 204 that i can put on that tank

 

[Gomer]

you do not want to run the filters restricted...especially that much. A 204 might even be a bit much( 180gph). If you already have it, try it. If you don't have it, but the 104 instead.
JMO

 

[plantdude]

i already got the two filters but i usually pack it full of media (wool, charcoal and bacto-balls) so the filters dont run to its full strength anyways.

my main thing that i was worring about was how to plant the two types of plants. however i think im going to grow glossostigma now after recieving all the great advice. what is the best way to plant them??? seperate the individual stems and plant the seperately or in small clumps???

 

[plantdude]

by the way gomer, that is a beautiful tank in the "tank of the month" that you created. i hope that some day my tanks will be that nice. i cant believe how long it took for that tank to mature...maybe i shouldn't keep changing my layout so often.

 

[Gomer]

Glosso is best if you seperate each plantlet and use tweezers to plant.

And thanks It actually didn't take THAT long to mature...just THAT long to find a final scape for it *L* The actual growing in only took like 3 months.

 

[Sir_BlackhOle]

i have riccia growing like mad floating in my 75 with 2 watts per gallon NO flourescents.