Carpet plant for really deep tank?

[Soil]

Hi!

I've just moved and is starting over with my 132g tank. Its 120cm deep, and I want it lush. Does anyone have an idea what sort of plant would grow at that depth?

I havent decided on lighting, but It will be budget and probably compact fluorescent lamps.

No co2, no ferts

Due to scaping-issues I've decided to use rocks instead of sand/gravel, and the pebbles are 16-32mm.

Most of the plants will be those with rhizomes which I can tie to driftwood, but for the substrate I would like it to fill in over time (quite a long time Im guessing)

Ideas? shoot!

[GeToChKn]

I doubt you're going to get a carpet plant in a very deep tank without much light, CO2 or ferts. I think most carpet plants like a finer substrate too instead of pebbles, nothing for the substrate to hold nutrients for the root systems and runners, which is what most carpet plants are.

I'm trying dwarf hair grass in a 10gal, very shallow to yours by comparison, dual CFL lights over it, Netlea aquasoil, Excel, root tabs and micro fert dosing plus it's stocked with fish and I overfeed a bit to help make macro ferts and in a month, I have a couple of runners. At this rate, it will probably take 6 months to fill in as I'm probably just meeting the minimum requires for the DHG.

With pebbles with no ability to hold ferts, no co2, no ferts, what is going to be very low par in a deep tank, I think you are not going to get much of a carpet.

Maybe someone else has a suggest of a fast growing carpet plant that doesn't need small soil, CO2, ferts or light, but I think if a plant existed, everyone would recommend it everywhere. lol.

[Imi Statue]

Lots of Java Fern!
Mosses

Anything that does not need CO2 or even medium light.

[steven p]

With a nice substrate, valisneria would fill in pretty quickly.

Nobody ever seems to suggest a lot of plants that are slower growing but spread via roots. Vals sends runners, as do crypts and sags. There are plenty of extremely hardy species. You might wanna toss in some fractured clay planting substrate atleast to help them feed, but with patience and practice it is very possible.

here, i'd like to point out that this tank is dirted and in the sun... so it would take longer for a lower light tank that is less fertile. but from day one to approx 3 months later, the few vals in the back have almost made it all the way across the back of the tank.. i wish i would've seen this thread a little bit ago, i gave my vals a good mowing, they choke out almost everything... they established first, out-competing two amazon swords and have choked out plenty of ludwigia and other plants that cannot fix co2 from kh

[GeToChKn]

Originally Posted by steven p

With a nice substrate, valisneria would fill in pretty quickly.

Nobody ever seems to suggest a lot of plants that are slower growing but spread via roots. Vals sends runners, as do crypts and sags. There are plenty of extremely hardy species. You might wanna toss in some fractured clay planting substrate atleast to help them feed, but with patience and practice it is very possible.

Vals' do grow fairly easily with runners but I wouldn't consider them a "carpet" plant as they get 6" for the smaller varieties and 3 feet for the bigger ones.

[steven p]

Originally Posted by GeToChKn

Vals' do grow fairly easily with runners but I wouldn't consider them a "carpet" plant as they get 6" for the smaller varieties and 3 feet for the bigger ones.

i like my carpets shag
edit: his tank is also over a meter deep, plenty of room for even val. americana gigantea

[kuni]

Budget lighting and that sort of depth won't go well together. You might try tying Java Moss to rough rocks and using that to make a carpet of sorts. Even that isn't likely to work if you have a deep tank with low light.

[CPDzeke]

Christmas moss!

[Soil]

Mosses is a good idea! Im not limited to very low light and I can easily get above 120w worth of fluorescent. ... or perhaps that is very low light? The tank is 62x67x120cm, and I will be building some kind of reflector to aim the light straight downwards.

If I do stack moss on the bottom, how does it work? Pruning is impossible, so if it starts growing, will it eventually fill up the whole tank?

The thought of adding vals is growing on me. I think Ill plant tall vals in the back along with the Nymphaea I just got. Im hoping it will stretch up and reach the light needed.


Another idea I got for this is to put a reflector box far down on the side of the tank and have it on a timer for a few hours per day. I worried about algae on the glass tho since the light would be intense, and I wont be able to scrape if off..

[lauraleellbp]

Dwarf chain swords (formerly Echinodorus and now Helanthium sp) and Lilaeopsis mauritinia (if you can get it there?) are the two I'd recommend for carpeting well in low light.

I wouldn't try any of the other microsword or hairgrass species unless you're also putting pressurized CO2 onto the tank. Some of them *might* do ok in low light, but ONLY if they've also got supplemental carbon provided.

[Dtitus1]

Until I got better lights and switched to micro swords I had java moss. The trick to getting it to carpet is to go to Michaels or a craft store and buy some plastic mesh people use to knit. Put a few rocks in there to weigh it down, then put down your moss, then tie the whole thing really tight while wrapping it up with string and tie it.

It won't cover your entire bottom but you can get some nice carpeted areas in your tank this way. And you can pull it up easy to trim and if you have shrimp it'll keep them busy.

[Hoppy]

A tank that tall, an extreme "column tank", is not a planted tank. If you somehow manage to get enough light at the substrate level, you will have extremely high light in the upper half of the tank, and the algae problems that go with that. Also, no one can reach 120 cm (47 inches) down into a tank, especially one that is only about 24 inches across the front and ends, so you can't stick your head and shoulders into the tank. Planting it would be extremely difficult, and pruning and cleaning would be even harder. I think that tank is best suited for fish only, and only barely suitable for that.

[Dtitus1]

I didn't read the dimensions. Definitely fish only, and I'd do no substrate with some serious filtration.

[sssnel]

I had a 32 inch tall column tank. It was very difficult to work with. I put a large piece of wood that hit almost the top of the tank in it. That wood was covered with anubias. The only thing that did well with the coralife fixture I had on it were vals. I had contortion vals and jungle vals. My substrate was MGOPS capped with plain aquarium gravel. I absolutely loved the look of the tank and was very sad when I gave it away. But I wont be doing that again. My friend that has the tank now has only anubias and red root floaters that are doing amazing and the roots get really long. He concentrated his efforts on the hardscape.
Best of luck to you.