Using unconventional plants to carpet

1794 Views 19 Replies 11 Participants Last post by aaronbear, Mar 19, 2014

twone21

Discussion Starter · Mar 7, 2014

Hello all, I was wondering if anyone has tried making a carpet out of ludwigia repens in a low trch before? I noticed it barely grows in a low tech and the trimming i put of 1.5inch is almost the same height after a month. Has anyone tried getting a bunch of these trimmings and making a nice thick carpet?

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

Bananableps

· #2 · Mar 7, 2014

That would look very nice. Give it a try and post some pictures!

HybridHerp

· #3 · Mar 7, 2014

the only thing is, if you kept it that short it might not do well since the light would be even lower. However, I say give it a shot.

twone21

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 7, 2014

hmm what do you guys think about using rotala rountifica? It was smaller leaves so can work well as foreground if kept short right?

tipsy mcstager

· #5 · Mar 7, 2014

2

Staurogyne repens

more or less new to the hobby(2006) make a real nice
leafy fore ground plant.
grows like crazy....well in my tanks anyways:smile:

See less See more

twone21

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 7, 2014

damn those look really nice. Are they hard to grow? fast?

tipsy mcstager

· #7 · Mar 7, 2014

very fast and bushy (in my tanks) med to high light i guess? (4 32 w T8 tubes + RGB leds /C02 75 gal

but almost as fast in a 20 and 30 running one and two, (respectively) T8 grow tube no C02

twone21

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 7, 2014

hmmmmmm I want some haha no money right now. I will experiment with the ludwigia and if it doesnt look good than buy those

du3ce

· #9 · Mar 8, 2014

I carpeted my tank with stargrass before

tipsy mcstager

· #10 · Mar 8, 2014

twone21 said:
hmmmmmm I want some haha no money right now. I will experiment with the ludwigia and if it doesnt look good than buy those

haha, i started that with 3 $8.00 packs of those "topfin" off the shelf
plants at petsmart.

twone21

Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 8, 2014

whatttt you mean the one in the tubes?!

tipsy mcstager

· #12 · Mar 8, 2014

no, they are in the little hanging bags on the side of tube rack
(thats thinking most petsmarts are set up the same way)

flukekiller

· #13 · Mar 8, 2014

most likely talking about the tissue cultured plants

Schreckeng

· #14 · Mar 13, 2014

Packages in little tubes they are grown emersed, in gel. You wash the gel off and plant. Very easy.

twone21

Discussion Starter · #15 · Mar 13, 2014

i will be setting up a 7.5 rimless nano with ludwigia and taiwan moss this weekend. I will post pics!

annyann

· #16 · Mar 13, 2014

tipsy mcstager said:
Staurogyne repens

more or less new to the hobby(2006) make a real nice
leafy fore ground plant.
grows like crazy....well in my tanks anyways:smile:

How have I never seen this plant!? Do you have to prune it often to keep it that low and compact?

the_Chad

· #17 · Mar 13, 2014

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

du3ce said:
I carpeted my tank with stargrass before

.oO +1

twone21

Discussion Starter · #18 · Mar 17, 2014

Here is my new setup. Probably 20-30 strands of ludwigia repens

Still waiting for the ludwigia to straighten out. they are still bent over from their positioning before the trim.

See less See more

mach_six

· #19 · Mar 17, 2014

tipsy mcstager said:
haha, i started that with 3 $8.00 packs of those "topfin" off the shelf
plants at petsmart.

I got a pack 2 weeks ago and was able to get 5 clusters out of them. But the leaves on them are quite as large as yours.

They're now Petsmart branded instead of Top Fin.

aaronbear

· #20 · Mar 19, 2014

My tank is carpeted in the middle with pearl weed which normally grows to about 10-14cm tall but I maintain it at about 2-3cm. It has looked beautiful from the start and pearls to an extreme every day but it grows fast and requires trimming at least once a week, usually twice.

See less See more

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.