[candice&jeff]

Hello everyone,I was wanting to get some sugestions on plants.

I have a 29gallon with Nova Extreme 2x24watt HOT5 lighting, lights are on for about 8 and a half hours a day. (let me know if you think I need to adjust it)

I dose florish excel every other day (3ml) I'm not sure if that is a good dosing scedule so please correct me if you think I need to adjust.

Right now I have Java Fern, Java Moss, Anubias Nana, Marsala Quadrifolia, Cryptocoryne Becketti,Echinodorus Quadricostatus, Echinodorus Bleheri, Sea-Life Aponogeton Bulbs (wal-mart bulbs), 1 Sea life Lily Bulb(wal-mart bulb) and some floaters.

Here's a picfrom about a month ago. I've done a little rescaping and taken out the anarchis on the far right in the back.

Thanks Guys!

 

[candice&jeff]

Bump....

I mainly want some suggestins for tall growing stem plants. Or any plants that you think would thrive in my setup. Thanks again.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Are you running any CO2 on this tank? B/c you'll probably need it sooner rather than later, with that fixture.

Bacopa carolinina, Hydrocoytle leucocephala, and many of the Hygro species could all work in the back for you. Also Rotalas...

 

[DrinkTheYeastMix]

I have the same tank size & light combo, and I have had a tough time growing stems. Especially when I wasn't using co2 or ferts. The only tall growing stem I have right now is Hygro Corymbosa. Love this stuff, and I has nice long leaves - there are pics of it on my journal.

Just a word of caution though, once you start experimenting with co2 and fertilizers you are going to want to get crazy with it and that amount of light is gonna cause problems. It's just enough light to need co2 but not really enough to grow anything TOO demanding.

 

[candice&jeff]

Thanks guys!

I'm not injecting CO2, just adding florish excell every other day, I also dose florish once a week.

Darn I though this was a good light, mabee I should have gon with something else?

edit: drinktheyeastmix I subscribed to your journal.

 

[DrinkTheYeastMix]

It is a good light, you just cant grow anything you want with it. IME it is at an awkward level of light for an 18" high tank, but there are plenty of things that are growing well in my tank right now. I am using DIY co2 though. Water wisteria (hygro something) is doing very well and so is the giant hygro, but a few stems I bought that require high-ish lighting just failed completely.

Yeah I subscribed to every 29g journal I could find when I first got on here haha it's nice to see what others have done with the same amnt of space.

 

[lauraleellbp]

A 29gal is on the large side for DIY CO2, and I really suspect that this may have been your issue more than the light fixture.

I'm about to restart my own 29gal with only 1x24 watts of T5HO... granted I haven't done it yet, but based on my experience with T5HO on other tanks, I think this is a more likely fixture to get by without needing CO2.

Depending on the plants in the tank, you might possibly need to dose Excel every single day if you try and substitute it for CO2.

 

[candice&jeff]

Thanks Laura! I'm reading through your journals now too!

Still open to any suggestions on everything from plants to dosing, I'm still learning.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Hoppy]

T5HO lights will give high light intensity in almost any tank less than 30 inches high, unless you raise that light a few inches above the top of the tank. Two T5HO bulbs with their typical great highly reflective reflectors will let you grow any plant you want to in a 29 gallon tank, but to do so you need good CO2, and a complete menu of nutrients dosed so they are non-limiting of the plant growth. Good CO2 means pressurized CO2 running at the optimum concentration.

 

[candice&jeff]

Thanks Hoppy! I do have the light raised above the tank with the legs it came with. It will be some time before I can afford a pressurized CO2 system, so excell is all I've got for now. I'm going to start dosing daily as suggested.

edit: right now I've been dosing regular florish once a week and florish excel every other day, I'm going to start dosing the florish excel daily. What else do you recommend I do as far as dosing? Do I need to buy the florish trace elements?

 

[DrinkTheYeastMix]

Trace wouldn't be a bad idea but be careful, adding nutrients is going to foster algae if the plants don't have all they need to thrive, which in many cases means co2

 

[FSM]

I have 2x24W on my 29 gallon, raised about 3" by the legs. I'm growing java fern, Ludwigia, and Rotala rotundifolia.

 

[candice&jeff]

Thanks DTYM. Man My head gets to spinning when I start thinking about CO2 and nutrients lol. Hopefully I can find a good balance.

Thanks again for helping me out everyone!!

 

[candice&jeff]

Thanks FSM! I just looked at you tank, it looks great!:thumbsup: