Planting the coldwater, low light tank

Discussion in 'Planted Tanks' started by Zeiphex, Oct 28, 2017.

  1. Zeiphex

    Zeiphex Axolotl

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    Like the title says! I have a barebottom coldwater, low light tank of about 70L. It's barebottom as the occupant will swallow rocks, though I have bought some river sand that I plan to line it with. It's currently got a surface mat of elodia (funny how accessible this stuff can still be despite being blacklisted, although granted I have not seen it for sale in a few years) and hornwort. I had two lovely big anubias and then made the mistake of getting four apple snails as cleanup crew and they ATE. EVERYTHING. Got two left, two years later, as the cold killed off the other two, and the plants have come back. However I'd like to plant this tank up nicely as right now it just looks functional and not decorative at all. I bought some Ludwigia and Rotala today which may or not work since I've heard mixed anecdotal evidence on - they were cheap, so we'll see. I tried to buy java moss but got home and it wasn't in the bag or on the receipt :eek: Anyway, here's a list of the coldwater/low light plants I've managed to come up with - does anyone have anything to add?

    - Anubias
    - Java Moss
    - Java Fern
    - Vallis
    - Hornwort
    - Elodia (blacklisted, handle with care to avoid spreading to water bodies)
    - Ludwigia*
    - Rotala*
    - Amazon Sword*
    - Marimo Moss Balls (NEED to get myself some of these if I can find them!)
    - Hydrocotyle*

    * = May not be suitable depending on conditions
     
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  3. Discusnut

    Discusnut

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    Ive heard mossballs black listed too?

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  4. SalmonAfrica

    SalmonAfrica Batfish

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    I'm not a plant guy, but vallis is really 50/50 when it comes to coldwater. Probably depends on the species you're working with. I had a batch a while ago which was harvested from someone's goldfish pond, and thrived in both cold and warm water (although, admittedly, did better in the tropical tanks). The current batch I have doesn't tolerate the cold at all. I tried to get a few going outside in tubs, and they're struggling immensely, and the smaller plants have gone pale. Bear in mind that I'm in Durban, so it's not nearly as cold as it gets elsewhere.

    I've had Java moss live in cooler water, but it didn't grow very fast at all.
     
  5. OP
    Zeiphex

    Zeiphex Axolotl

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    I didn't even know if they were available in SA at all, but given their hardiness it wouldn't surprise me if they were blacklisted. I found this though? Granted I don't know the company and I see other possibly blacklisted species there too (shrimp, and snails that I have not seen for sale in LFS), plus they seem crazy expensive on aquatic plants in general (R470 for a red Amazon Sword?!).
    https://www.wantitall.co.za/petsupp...guE5ygueUj28IFgznYivzbXIU3TAS2wwaApqaEALw_wcB
     
  6. OP
    Zeiphex

    Zeiphex Axolotl

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    Hm, when I had vallis I found that it broke apart too easily, and I haven't had it again since (that was years ago, and I think the water in that tank may have been too acidic). I was hoping to anchor some java moss to the old driftwood I have lying around from when I had a big tropical tank. But this tank needs to stay alkaline and the wood may lower the pH too much. I'll anchor it to rocks then, I guess - but if it's not going to grow in cold water then I'd have to buy a lot of it and I don't want to break the bank on an experiment. I actually heard that it grows better in cooler water! :confused:
     
  7. SalmonAfrica

    SalmonAfrica Batfish

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    You could try buffer the tank, using either shells, crushed coral, etc., to counteract the effects of the driftwood. See if that works.

    I don't know what temperature my experiment was running at, but this was outdoors and probably fell below the ideal parameters. What temperature were you thinking of going with here?
     
  8. OP
    Zeiphex

    Zeiphex Axolotl

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    Good point, I forgot about that!

    This is indoors, so will be room temperature. It can get quite cold here in winter though - I think I've seen it dip down to about 10 degrees? Maybe a bit above. It gets down to -2 at night outside, I'm glad we don't have to deal with that inside :D
     
  9. Pierré Schoonraad

    Pierré Schoonraad Rainbow Freak

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    Do you realy want this in your tank?fab44e2520c747cfea5854a4534f342d.jpg

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  10. OP
    Zeiphex

    Zeiphex Axolotl

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    Yes! Is there a reason I shouldn't? :lol:
    A lot of people overseas with similar setups to mine have them, and I've always thought they were really beautiful
     
  11. Pierré Schoonraad

    Pierré Schoonraad Rainbow Freak

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    Cladophora algae is not moss. Once you have clado in your tank you will never get rid of it. Hair algae is a walk in the park compared to this bastard

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  12. OP
    Zeiphex

    Zeiphex Axolotl

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    Yikes, I didn't realise! You may have a point! I struggle with thick brown and green algae here since all our water is borehole and seems to contain it. I've heard that the marimo can outcompete other algae though
     

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