We were all beginners once...

**doubleace** · 27th Nov 2007, 10:46

if no co2 must we really take those plant that don't need co2 or all plants don't need co2 also can?

**pandaxiong** · 27th Nov 2007, 10:54

Ya....I was also thinking in this area...it is quite hard to say whether this or that plant needs CO2. I believe that plants somehow need CO2 with different levels...for example, the moss needs CO2 also but at a minimum level which need not pump in CO2 as existing water should have some % of CO2... Correct me if I am wrong.

**Shadow** · 27th Nov 2007, 11:03

All plant need CO2, but you can reduce it intake by reducing the amount of light. In other word you need to find plant that suitable for low light if you are planning to have low tech tank. my 2 cents

**livingstone** · 27th Nov 2007, 12:59

Originally Posted by pandaxiong

Ya....I was also thinking in this area...it is quite hard to say whether this or that plant needs CO2. I believe that plants somehow need CO2 with different levels...for example, the moss needs CO2 also but at a minimum level which need not pump in CO2 as existing water should have some % of CO2... Correct me if I am wrong.

Sorry to deviate a bit from the main topic, does it mean that low CO2 and light requirements = low O2 output when the moss is in photosynthesis?

**pandaxiong** · 27th Nov 2007, 13:37

Hmmm....whenever there is light and substantial amt of Co2, plants will still photosynthesis....

6H2O + 6CO2 ----------> C6H12O6+ 6O2

six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen

I hope this help.

**Nevada** · 28th Nov 2007, 03:03

Great improvement! Hope to see more stunning tank of yours in the near future

**ranmasatome** · 1st Dec 2007, 13:13

Wah.. i went trekking for a few days forum becomes 10 pages long..haha..
Anyway..to answer some of your questions..

Originally Posted by benkho

hey...at the final phase 2...your plants on the right were really packed...how did you get them like that? the gravel is just flat to the back right? i am afraid if we put the too tightly they will no get enough place to grow and rot and die...will they??

Packed plants simply means a lot of trimming...well.. most of the time. I used to keep plants just to see how they would react to trimming and try to remember their growing patterns...this is essential when you need to know what kind of plants to plant where... perhaps you wanted a plant at the corner where light isnt enough... what plant to use?? how will it grow and what form will it take in that low light region? i hate to uproot stuff so i grow my plants in a different tank and use those that suit my scape where the light is low... that way.. you won't accidentally plant a plant that grows into a wrong shape or dies becuase there is too little light in that region of your tank. Alot of people don't look at this point... knowing how plants grow and behave in different conditions definitely will help in your scaping and choice of plants to use. Scaping is not just buy plants that look good temporarily and just dump in tank. i think i appreciate it when i look at a scape and know that this person has thoroughly thought out his plant choice and areas of planting...and you can almost tell most of the time that the good scapers know what plants to use where...because they understand plant behaviour. That said... in the high tech tank... almost anything will grow because thats a plant buffet..haha..

For this high tech tank... the gravel was quite flat...it was still a little sloping but not much.

Originally Posted by marle

No c02 even? wow. What about your lighting?

i think what shadow said is right... there is always co2..but i think i know what you mean... i don't intentionally inject co2 into the tank... so if thats the case.. then yes.. no co2. The low tech tank just runs on lights and chiller..haha..

My lighting for the low tech tank is ....hmm.... 24watts?? i think its a standard 2ft. Its doing pretty okay... so far...not much algae problems except for the occasional bba...

**marle** · 2nd Dec 2007, 01:25

chiller dude.. I think thats a very important element for a nice plant growth..

Your scapes are one of the better ones around, maybe AQ should hold their own aquascaping workshop one day..

**valice** · 5th Dec 2007, 16:22

Originally Posted by ranmasatome

Packed plants simply means a lot of trimming...well.. most of the time. I used to keep plants just to see how they would react to trimming and try to remember their growing patterns...this is essential when you need to know what kind of plants to plant where... perhaps you wanted a plant at the corner where light isnt enough... what plant to use?? how will it grow and what form will it take in that low light region? i hate to uproot stuff so i grow my plants in a different tank and use those that suit my scape where the light is low... that way.. you won't accidentally plant a plant that grows into a wrong shape or dies becuase there is too little light in that region of your tank. Alot of people don't look at this point... knowing how plants grow and behave in different conditions definitely will help in your scaping and choice of plants to use. Scaping is not just buy plants that look good temporarily and just dump in tank. i think i appreciate it when i look at a scape and know that this person has thoroughly thought out his plant choice and areas of planting...and you can almost tell most of the time that the good scapers know what plants to use where...because they understand plant behaviour.

Great point on actual aquascaping.
Understanding the plants is very important to good aquascaping.
Different plants grow differently. Some plants just go straight up, while some plants will grow downwards after a while.

And in the style of Nature aquarium, knowing which plants grow downwards and upwards plays a big importance imho. This will then allow you to decide where to place the plant and then how in the end, it will cover certain spots or "ugly" parts.

And "ugly" parts also refers to bare stems. If look closely to ADA tank setups, plants are chosen to "cover" each other's ugliness.

**planted86** · 5th Dec 2007, 23:21

Originally Posted by ranmasatome

Final Phase 2...this tank has since been taken apart as i left for japan around this time as well...so cannot take care of it.

Looking back i can see what i would have done differently in each picture...but i still throughly enjoy these tanks as they have provided a learning source for myself...i hope they help you guys out too..

hi ranmasatome,
whats the plant on the foreground?? the plant that is hugging the ground...

**ranmasatome** · 6th Dec 2007, 02:28

you quoted my entire post..so i am not sure which tank you are talking about..or which phase of which tank...??

You do know that you can edit your quotes to reflect what you want to direct attention to ya?? i'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that you are talking about the 2ft low tech tank...in that case it is spiky moss tied to meshes..

Let me know if i am right so i can edit your post to reflect the right thing... or you can do it yourself...so that it is easier for others to understand...

**planted86** · 7th Dec 2007, 00:11

hi.. so sorry... edited the post already.. it's the last pic.. the plant on the foreground those that are hugging the ground..

**ranmasatome** · 7th Dec 2007, 00:21

Oh.... that brown thing?? its not a plant... its dried leaves... as i said before.. this was an autumn scape...so brown leaves on ground..

**planted86** · 7th Dec 2007, 00:24

ohh... CHEY!!! lol... thought what plant is that... look very unique..

**rwalker** · 8th Dec 2007, 11:22

Hi Ranmasatome,

I would like to check with you the plants you use in your low tech tank.
What is the long leaf red plant at the bottom left corner?
Is the fg plant moss?

Thanks.

**ranmasatome** · 8th Dec 2007, 12:55

hi rwalker...

Yes, the foreground plant is moss... in fact, that is spiky moss.. but in this tank... it grows quite fast...i mean, if you're talking about low tech growth rate..then the spike moss in this tanks grows quite fast... in the 3 months that i was away.. it grew to cover almost everything..haha... i had to do a mass trimming when i got back... in fact, the tank now has no moss because i need a tank that i don't need to trim so often... since i'm not around to maintain it... but in your case, it should be okay to use because you're around more than me to trim it.

The red plant you're talking about is Hygrophila sp from Araguaia.... i can't remember where i got it from but its pretty hard to find these days... if you have a high tech tank, they grow soooooo fast and can be really nice... one of my favourites. But if you put in low tech, just place them in an area of sufficient light and they will do okay.. hope that helps.

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