To all who use ferts and CO2...

[Fishnut]

I'm not discrediting your methods, but I have never used them in my tanks.  I had trouble with the Tiger Lotus that I got from charlie, but it seems to be making a come back in another tank.

So without ferts and CO2, this is what good lights and fish waste can accomplish in my 27 gallon bowfront   This is my inspiration to those who think keeping plants alive and thriving is complicated.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[BigDaddy]

Can't remember if you were at Karen Randall's presentation or not Fishnut.. but there was an amazing tank in the aquascaping contest that was strictly low light plants.

[kennyman]

Looks pretty good. It is fun to find that balance where the lights are right for availability of nutrients. I'm at 1.5wpg and it seems pretty simple there. Where you at?

[charlie]

I'm not discrediting your methods, but I have never used them in my tanks.  I had trouble with the Tiger Lotus that I got from charlie, but it seems to be making a come back in another tank.

So without ferts and CO2, this is what good lights and fish waste can accomplish in my 27 gallon bowfront   This is my inspiration to those who think keeping plants alive and thriving is complicated.

Tank is looking good fishnut , one thing to note , some plants when they have adapted to a high light & CO2/ fert. enriched tank will suffer more from transplant shock going to a low light / non co2 / fert. enriched tank. This is what i suspect is the case with the lotus you got from me.
Regards

[babblefish1960]

Good for you for sharing this venture into the simpler world of aquatic gardening.  I am afraid that I went with CO2 quite some time ago, and decided after years that there had to be an easier way to enjoy a planted tank.  I dispensed with CO2 and fertilizers to a larger sense, and went completely over to lower lighting and soil.  I am much happier now as I have more time for other things and have been selling plants from this arrangement for quite some years now.  I guess I could never understand why I would want my plants to grow so fast I had to prune every week anyway.  It is so much more relaxing the way you are doing it.  Good job and nice picture.

[Fishnut]

I was wondering about that Charlie!  It makes sense...going through withdraw when the good stuff gets taken away  .  It's got 5 little leaves now though.  I plan on setting up a 10 gallon for my kribs to spawn in, so i'll move it in there and add the laterite I bought.  I hope it will be ok with the curly light bulbs.

Thanks for the compliment Babble.  That's precisely why I never decided to go for CO2.  It seems that I have been able to keep many plants with this type of set-up.  I unintentionally grew a Madagascar Laceleaf plant with a 60 watt incandescant bulb overhanging a tank qith no heater from a desk lamp!  It went into the tank for a couple of weeks while I was re-organising and I was shocked to see the new the leaves were strong and over 12 inches long!  I know there are some beautiful type of plants that would require the CO2 and higher lights, so I might try a SMALL tank with those plants.

kennyman, I'm at the same wattage as you.  One bulb is a Life Glo bulb and the other is a daylight bulb.  What's your tank like?

[kennyman]

kennyman, I'm at the same wattage as you.  One bulb is a Life Glo bulb and the other is a daylight bulb.  What's your tank like?

I have one daylight and one plant/aquarium tube. 40WT12's in a shoplight over glass tops. You can click on the appropriate tank in my signature to go to the specific gallery if you want to see a pic of it. I think they are few months old though. My setup was initially inspired by Babblefish and he gave me advice when I was setting it up. I have about 7 lillypads on my lotus and several submersed leaves. It is thriving in this level of light.

[Fishnut]

The tanks looks good kennyman!  What kind of swordplant is that in the middle?  An Ozelot?

[BigDaddy]

It's either a Leopard or a Queen Marble

[kennyman]

I like how vibrant your red  leaved plants look. I cant keep that I think. Might be the difference in depth. how tall is your tank?

[busdriver]

Thanks Fishnut, I planned on trying c02 in my 75 but I never got around to it.
Can you tell me what plants you have in your planted tank.