Red Plant suggestions?

[Jason]

Hey everybody,

I was looking for some red plants to add in to my 33 gallon. What would be your suggestions and do you have any avail?

Thanks,

Jason

[PaleoFishGirl]

Red tiger lotus - very red and a very dramatic look for your tank!

[Jason]

I actually just pick up a little one from Toss. It's really nice in the new set up but now I want something that grows a little taller.

[PaleoFishGirl]

That's funny - they grow all the way to the surface in my tank

[BigDaddy]

What kind of lighting do you have over that tank Jason?  Most red plants require better lighting and demand better fert regiments.

A tall stem plant you could use would be A. reinickii... aka Red Temple

or

R. rotundifolia takes on reddish hues in high light, yet provides a more delicate looking backdrop

or

Red cabomba is a hardy, fast growing plant that has a more "featherlike" leaf structure.

All are available in the local stores or through members here in the club

[Jason]

PaleoFishGirl: Thats good to know, How long did it take for yours to grow to that size? Like I said I just got it from Toss and the leaves are only about 1" in size right now.

BD: I have 6 avail slots but only using 4 x 25w 6500K lights (aprox. 3 WPG). I could add two more 25 watts or change to 40w and put out a total of 240Watts (7.3 WPG) but figured that would be overkill. I haven't used any CO2 on the tank yet as I wanted to see how it would do with simply High light and ferts. So far everything I put in there THRIVES, so I thought I'd try my hand at some more difficult "red" plants. I'm going to google your suggestions but do you know of anyone in particular that may have some of there on this board?

Thanks

[artw]

High light and ferts without Co2 could be an issue.   you really need to have all 3 parts of that equation from everything I've seen about plant tanks.   even just adding co2 will work wonders.  I installed a 2 liter bottle of co2 on my tank on Friday and today the java moss and najas grass is twice as big

[Jason]

I have the C02 ready and avail but since I'm new to planted tanks I wanted to know that I have experienced both sides of the coin before I turn the C02 on. I really want to notice the difference. I will most likely wait until my renovation are done and set up the 108g planted built-in before I turn up the C02. I'm just kind of experimenting with different plants for now to see what my likes/dislikes are.

I'll say one thing for sure. Since I've tried planted it makes it very hard to want anything else. It adds so much life.

[BigDaddy]

I have r.rotundifolia... as do many others on the forums

I have a. reinickii... but not enough to part out yet...

Cabomba... I don't have... but it is at the auction regularly

[apistome]

PaleoFishGirl: Thats good to know, How long did it take for yours to grow to that size? Like I said I just got it from Toss and the leaves are only about 1" in size right now.

The first time i planted Lotus, they stayed at the same height for about a month, then exploded with growth. sometimes plants need time to come out of shock from being transplanted.

Like Art said, be careful of the High Light/Fert combo without the CO2, you will end up with an algae problem.

[PaleoFishGirl]

PaleoFishGirl: Thats good to know, How long did it take for yours to grow to that size? Like I said I just got it from Toss and the leaves are only about 1" in size right now.

I'm not even sure - a couple of months.  Like apistome said, once they recover from the shock of transplant, they just take off.  The leaves are starting to fill out and become much larger now, plus I have a couple of floating lily-pad type leaves too.

I'll say one thing for sure. Since I've tried planted it makes it very hard to want anything else. It adds so much life.

I'll second that!

[artw]

me three. I will never go back to Africans.

[Jason]

I'm drawn because I have a nice developing colony of Africans which I find fascinating but there is something so peaceful about a planted community tank. In comes MTS 

[BigDaddy]

me three. I will never go back to Africans.

Closest I ever came to Africans was keeping a pair of Jewels   

[artw]

I turned down charlie's Ram because I do not want cichlids in my tank.  Any cichlids.   I will be picking up my 30 cherry barbs tonight.  My dream of having a planted barb tank is almost complete, muhaha

[darkdep]

Closest I ever came to Africans was keeping a pair of Jewels   

That doesn't count

[artw]

ahah I just got BD's joke now, LOL
Hey APW do you hate plants too?

[darkdep]

Nope, love plants actually.

[succinctfish]

Jason,   we have some red cabomba, if you're interested.

[gonzobluefuzz]

I have the C02 ready and avail but since I'm new to planted tanks I wanted to know that I have experienced both sides of the coin before I turn the C02 on. I really want to notice the difference. I will most likely wait until my renovation are done and set up the 108g planted built-in before I turn up the C02. I'm just kind of experimenting with different plants for now to see what my likes/dislikes are.

Have you thought about using dosing Flourish Excel?  Gets carbon into the water column in another way.  Kinda pricy but does the job.    Just a thought