stupid questions alert

[sharn]

hey all, im changing my community (will be community discus tank when they grow up) tank to sand soon and am wanting some advice on plant growing.

now i dont know jack all about plants, my light thingie has only one tube which i dont think is really a growing tube (very bright white daylight tube, can give specs if needed), however i can get another tube to replace it if i need to (to help plants grow better). because of my dicky bracing on my tank (i have two bars running at 90 degree angels to the front of the tank, one on each third, but the glass doesnt lie flat, it stands up) i will need at least 3cm of substrate to cover the damn glass, i have no idea what its for, maybe ug filters? anyway to help the plants grow im thinking of putting a layer of aquatic mix down? but can i put gravel on the bottom, aquatic mix then sand over the top without the aquatic mix leachign through or the gravel rising up? itd end up being approx a 1cm layer of each.

im in no way a plant keeper, so they will have to be able to handle a one tube light, aqautic mix and fertiliser balls/liquid to keep them alive, any ideas for nice plants? im wanting a plant like pygmy chain sword to cover my foreground (is that hard to grow?) or something like that, with taller plants around the edges. id like to keep to a amazon theme if i can.

sorry for all the silly questions guys, feel free to make any suggestions/comments

[jude]

I don't have a lot of luck with the low growing plants because I don't have strong enough lighting - so the low plants either get tall and lanky trying to reach the light or they die off.

You might be better going for plants that like lower lighting - java ferns and anubias are two I can think of but there's plenty of info. on the net.

I think the mix of gravel, aquatic mix and sand is likely to get mixed up in the end, especially with vacuuming. Could you pack the bottom with polystyrene sheets? I know people use them in cichlid tanks to protect the bottom in case a rock topples. If the sheets would show, you could make them a bit smaller than the tank and dribble gravel or sand around the edges to hide them.

Cheers

Jude

[Rob]

Think the main problem you're going to have is insufficient light - a single tube probably isn't enough. I'd have at least a double tube fitting, preferably two double fittings (a total of 4 tubes). I personally wouldn't get the tubes from the lfs (you pay through the nose for them) - you can get tubes from the likes of Bunnings that are just as effective and cost a lot less (you want to get tubes with the codes of either: 86, 865 or 96 (though these are harder to find). Also remember that the tubes should be replaced every 6-9 months. Without sufficient light the plants wont be able to make much use of any fertilisers.

If you keep to a single tube then I doubt you'll get a pygmy chain sword to do much. Plants that can generally handle lower light are Java fern, assorted crypts, vallisneria perhaps, plus a few others (though the fern and crypts are mainly asian rather than south american).

[sharn]

got java fern, val, camboma which was doing great when i had the lights on it (got the 4 way plug full because of discus tank) and some other grass looking plant. i have a wierd metal thing that can hold two bulbs but it doesnt have a on switch :-? guess ill have to get that up and running somehow and get two tubes (and then make me grandpa make me a hood to conceal everything lol)