"IDzine01" wrote in message
news:NtHWf.9723$Od7.8373@trnddc06...
Hi Guys.

I've always enjoyed aquatic plants in my aquariums but haven't really ever
taken it seriously. Aside from some crypts and java moss that have been
growing beautifully my other plants don't really do well. Even my java
ferns have browned over time.

Can you guys offer me any advice on how to be a better aqua-gardener?

Right now, all my tanks are well established and range from 5.5 gal to 30
gal. The pH is between 6.9 and 7.4 depending on the tank. GH is 10? and KH
is 3?.

I have Coralife fluorescent tubes for lighting, which are all well more
than a year old and need replacing and I use fertilizer pellets made by
aquariumplants.com under most of the plants. The substrate varies in each
tank and includes sand, gravel or flourite.

Do I need a CO2 system and a fancy lighting set up to get better results?
I would consider spending a little more if I thought it was really worth
it.

I appreciate your help.

-Christie

I'm a wannabe gardener too (No not Mister), so hopefully you'll get some
more sage advice. But there are lots of plants that will grow with 2 wpg
(watts per gallon), in which case you won't need CO2. You didn't tells us
how much light you have but I gather it's around 1 watt per gallon.

I went for the other extreme on my big tank (55 g), 4 wpg, CO2, Fluorite and
quite a bit of fertilizer. My fertilizing strategy is a modified version of
PMDD, not quite the Estimative Index, but getting very close. This was doing
quite well for a while, although it's a lot of pruning and I had a few Algae
battles along the way. But now I've got some kind of nutrient deficiency
going on that I haven't figured out yet.

My small tank (10 g) is only 3.6 wpg, which is really less than it seems as
it's only .18 watts per square inch vs. .3 on the larger tank. This tank has
similar plants as the big tank (Swords, Ludwigia and Cabomba), but no CO2.
So far I haven't had to prune this tank, but it's getting close. I've had to
replant the entire Ludwigia forest in the large tank every three weeks in
the past. So you can see the difference high light and CO2 make in the
growth/work. The fertilizing strategy is similar the small tank, although
perhaps a little less aggressive. The Algae is also pretty much under
control in this tank too, although that's more a credit to the cleaning crew
(SAEs,Otos and Snails) and Flourish Excel. I also use Excel in the large
tank,even though it has CO2, as it really seems to help with the Algae.