Excellent List of Low Light Plants

[James From Cali]

My sugestion would be to look at some of the lotusis like suggested. The ones you buy from petsmart will more than likely grow to be a red brown color. It wouldn't be super bright in color but it does the trick. Also try some of the cryptocoryne wendtii variants(red or bronze/brown will give nice contrast to green)

[Karackle]

Cool, thanks for the suggestions! I'm thinking i'll pick up a larger Crypt wendtii red for the back (i have a small leaved red one in front of the driftwood) and maybe see what i can find for the lotuses, they have a very different look than what's in my tank too

[Myka]

I'm setting up an Asian themed tank. It is only 10g, and is my first planted tank. The lighting is about 1.5 wpg, but I think I'm going to find a ballast to overdrive the bulb. I'm going to see how the tank does before I do that though.

Anyway, without my going through this entire list of plants...does anyone know off-hand which of these plants originate in Asia? So far I have Java Fern, Java Moss, and Hygrophyllia difformis. My LFS has these...anything else may be difficult to find!

[James From Cali]

Any of the Hygrophilas, java ferns and most mosses. Rotalas and lotus plants are another set of plants that can be used.

[Myka]

Awesome, thanks!!!

I haven't seen ANY mosses in town EVER. Apparently they are "hard to get"...?

[Hover408]

Thank you very much for putting this list together and all the debates that came along with it. As a first time planter (well soon to be just need to buy a few more things) this list points me in the right direction as to what plants I should be looking at. I want to run my t5ho 4x80 in my 180 gallon fish tank I hope that that will be enough light (crosses fingers).

[BobB]

Thankyou for the list, what about floating plants. Is CO'2 a must with any of these plants? How much light for a 58G.

[James From Cali]

For a 58g tank I would suggest 1-2 watts per gallon in the 6700k range. The floaters will definitely like the CO2 if you provide it. Any of these plants will do well with CO2 addition, just make sure you have an appropriate balance between light, CO2 and nutrients so you can prevent alga.

[philg]

Very helpful list.Thanks
Phil

[FrostyNYC]

I just want to add that I agree whole-heartedly with Robert H's post on page 10 of this thread. Anyone coming to this low-light plant list should also read his post for reference.

[Homer_Simpson]

Let's keep this in perspective.

Tom Barr is highly trusted and has set up more tanks and experimented with more tank setups(plant types, light levels, ferts, low light, high light) than any of us ever will. Anyone new to the hobby should, therefore, seriously look at his methods and recommendations.

So, how does this relate to James list of low light plants? We can argue based on our individual experiences that some of the plants on the list may or may not be the best choice for a low tech setup, but this does not negate the value and validity of setting up a low tech, low light setup, with proven low light plants. No experienced hobbyist would ever argue that plants in such a setup my not produce huge lush leaves, or grow at astronomical rates like those grown via high tech setups. However, there are many individuals new to the hobby that don't want to mess with EI fertilization 3 times a week, invest in expensive c02 equipment, perform 50% water changes weekly to prevent excess build up of ferts, and continuously trim plants just to keep plants from choking out their tanks. And while light may not be the only contributing factor to algae, I have found from my own experimentation that it is a huge factor. Just try it yourself. Put a bunch of plants in a tank, bomard it with high light, use no c02 and no ferts and watch the algae farm that emerges. This relates to the point that you would be hard pressed to find algae issues to that extent in a low tech tank. You may end up with some diatom algae and green dust algae at the beginning and perhaps some black beard or black brush algae, but in my experience this algae seems to die back in a low tech tank and disappears as the tank matures.

I have two tanks. A 40 gallon high tech with all the bells, toys, and whistles and a 5 gallon low tech setup up(no c02 14 watts daylight pc lighting, and daily dosing of excel). While the plants to grow at an insane rate in the 40 gallon, it is a real PITA keeping on top of the maintenance chores to keep the tank from crashing. I also have a 15 gallon high light, DIY c02, with ADA Aquasoil II. The SAE and Kuhli loach are alive and kicking, but again, it is a PITA, with respect to maintenance because the plants grow extremely fast and I have to keep on top of weekly water changes. In comparison, the 5 gallon is a piece of cake and I am quite happy with the growth rate and the fact that it is very low maintenance. Unlike the 40 gallon and 15 gallon tank, there is more room for neglect with the 5 gallon without issues, not that I would neglect it. The tanks are all algae free and the creatures in all the tanks appear healthy.

If I could do it all over again, based on what I now know and learned from setting up different tanks, I would go low tech, low light with low light plants instead of going high tech. For me, the trade off of having slower plant growth with much less maintenance is well worth not having to ensure high maintenance on a tank to keep it from crashing.

I credit Tom Barr for sharing his low tech approach and would advise anyone new to the hobby, who just wants to grow some plants without a lot of fuss to check out his method. It may not be the only method of setting up a low tech, low light tank, but in my experience it works really well. Choose plants from James excellent list and set up as per Tom Barr's method and you may be surprised as to how easy it is to grow plants without a lot of fuss or trial and error.

http://www.barrreport.com/articles/4...2-methods.html

P.S. and as a side note.

I have a co-worker who is not into planted tanks. He has some java moss in his guppy breeding tank and uses the "stock" lighting(yeah you heard it right, the stock lighting that came with the tank). He takes no special measures, uses no ferts, has only plain old gravel and the java moss is lush green and growing like crazy. We have the same tap water, we have purchased the moss from the same source and I even tried a sample of the one grown in his tank, and I have tried growing the java moss in both my high tech and low tech tanks without success. It starts out green, then gradually turns brown and dies. Go figure. So, yeah it is possible to grow certain plants with only stock lighting and no special requirements whasoever. My co-worker is living proof of that.

[lauraleellbp]

I think James made a good point when he said that different people's results will vary with different plants. Water parameters, substrate, actual CO2 levels, actual PAR values... all of these will vary from tank to tank, even under the "same low wattage."

Personally, I've never had problems keeping Vals in low lighting. Stems like Bacopa carolinina, Najas (several different species), and several Hygros also do well. Stargrass does OK, just I have to really be careful how I keep it trimmed to avoid shading. I'm about to try every Crypt species I can get my hands on to see how they do for me. C. wendtiis I know do fine.

Seeing as it's pretty common goal for someone setting up a low light tank to not have to trim too frequently, IMO slow plant growth is a good thing. I don't mind if my Lotus isn't as brilliant red as my neighbors or if it stays nice and short- I kinda like it that way. My personal plant "standards" are - 1) does it stay alive 2) does it look nice. I'm not that picky, I guess.

I think James' list is a great starting point. People just need to keep in mind that planted tanks are always trial and error- the plant that does great in one tank may or may not in the next (or even in the same tank just in a different spot... ) That's one of the joys and frustrations in working with plants, period- terrestrial or aquatic.

[James From Cali]

Homer and Laura thank you. As I have been away with dealing with school and some issues and havent been here to post for a while I am happy to see that this thread is still looked at from time to time. Thank you.

I agree with Homer about viewing Tom Barrs methods, I simply enjoy reading his stuff. I actually have his Non CO2 method printed out so I have it on me at all times and I could refer people to it.

Laura, I am actually making my 29g a crypt/grass tank. I am just going to use the stock light and no fertilization. I will eventually just have Cryptoryne balanse and lucens(i believe), anubias, and Sagitarria subulata.

I never stated I have tried these plants, I actually done the opposite, and wish for people to experiment with it themselves. I read alot of peoples experiences, whether online or here about it in person.

[James From Cali]

You know reading this I thought it would be appropriate to add this link to one of Tom Barr's other thread about lighting:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/li...igh-light.html

[D-007]

Just read all 11 pages and wanted to say thank you James for taking the time to put together the list. I found it very informative and valuable.

Regards,
D