JarrenB Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Ok, so a few weeks ago I set-up a 90L planted tank with help from the forum. The plan was to let the tank cycle and then add fertilisers and co2 later. anyway it's been a month and the plants are going great almost to good because they are almost hitting the water line and its a deep tank!, do I still need fertilisers etc. or not. The filter has a spray bar so i guess its putting some co2 in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Got pictures? Sounds like it's going great! I don't know how your spraybar could add Co2, wouldn't it do the exact opposite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrenB Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 the tank before (about 4 weeks ago) .... the tank now ... sorry but the fish are a bit camera shy :lol: and here is my current project ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Hi JarrenB, it seems that you have a low-light tank there. Your plants are growing tall, but they are not going to get bushy - because they are all reaching up for the light. If you want your plants to grow thicker & bushier you are going to need to add quite a lot of extra light to your tank. As for CO2, ferts, etc, it's really a matter of achieving a balance between all the elements. I would suggest that adding CO2 or ferts won't do a great deal for your plant growth at this stage, but if you were to add extrea lighting and speed up the plant growth, then it would be time to start thinking about adding the other elements. Once your plants reach the top of the water, prune the top half off then replant the top in the gravel. That will help you get more plants and might help make the existing ones thicken up a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrenB Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 if 20w + the SUN = low light then I give up :-? (the tank is in a bay window that faces north) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 if 20w + the SUN = low light then I give up :-? (the tank is in a bay window that faces north) Oh! I'm surprised! The reason it looks like the plants aren't getting much light is the distance between the leaf nodes. Plants grown in low light conditions have longer lengths of stalk between each set of leaves - and that's what it looks like yours are doing from the pic. In that case, I would definitely chop off the tops of the plants and replant them, and when they thicken up a bit more start gradually adding low doses of general ferts. Make sure you do regular small doses of ferts rather than sudden high doses. If you suddenly add more nutrient to the water than the palnts can use you may end up with an algae bloom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Those plants are all cuttings. I doubt theyd grow quite bushy. Id clump some together. Like today, I bought some stargrass, I bough 10 and bunched them together and look great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrenB Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 hi sorry I forgot to say that the light from pic 1 has been upgaded to a 20w. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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