Easy Red Plants

[Byron]

So this is what the plant company in California had to say when I asked about red plants as easy to grow as Java & Anubias. I have absolutely no idea how CO2 is used to support the plants.

That is much what I said initially. "Growth light" means sufficient light intensity to drive photosynthesis, more needed for red plants, and ensuring the necessary nutrients are adequate. Liebig's "Law of Minimum" is that plant growth will be full out until some factor is no longer sufficient, then it slows and may even stop. Light is one such factor, as is every one of 17 nutrients that must be sufficient to balance the light.

 

[robmcd]

So this is what the plant company in California had to say when I asked about red plants as easy to grow as Java & Anubias. I have absolutely no idea how CO2 is used to support the plants.

The Importance of CO2 in the Planted Aquarium

The major reason for which CO2 is so important for plants stands in the fact that it is involved in the process of photosynthesis (light into energy)

aquaplantstudio.com

 

[anewbie]

So this is what the plant company in California had to say when I asked about red plants as easy to grow as Java & Anubias. I have absolutely no idea how CO2 is used to support the plants.

Generally speaking ludwiga are not difficult to grow esp when they get some height near the light; but I hate maintaining them; they require proper pruning and frequently the lower steams will break and they have to be replanted. Just too much effort and the primary reason i've given up on steam plants. Two red/purple sword plants are kleiner prince and purple aflame but they are not easy to grow; my kleiner prince has done well for the past 2 years but i have a strong light and co2.
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Also note the bottom part of that image; nutrient rich substrate....

 

[FishHobby99]

That is much what I said initially. "Growth light" means sufficient light intensity to drive photosynthesis, more needed for red plants, and ensuring the necessary nutrients are adequate. Liebig's "Law of Minimum" is that plant growth will be full out until some factor is no longer sufficient, then it slows and may even stop. Light is one such factor, as is every one of 17 nutrients that must be sufficient to balance the light.

Yes! Maybe you can work for that plant company! They’re in California.
i wouldn’t know what sufficient light is. I do have LEDs on all the tanks. The biggest one is a Fluval Aquasky atop my 90 G tank

 

[Byron]

Yes! Maybe you can work for that plant company! They’re in California.
i wouldn’t know what sufficient light is. I do have LEDs on all the tanks. The biggest one is a Fluval Aquasky atop my 90 G tank

I can't offer much advice on "sufficient light" as I know next to nothing of LED. I still have T8 fluorescent tubes over my tanks, and I've been using these since the 1990's so I have experimented a lot and worked out intensity and spectrum for various plants. Watts for example is not an indicator of intensity, unless one is comparing different wattages of the exact same tube/bulb. For example, a T8 Life-Gro 48-inch tube of 34 watts is about double the intensity of an Aqua-Glo T8 tube of the same length, same wattage. Similar differences occur with LED lighting.

BTW, I'm in Canada (CA on the forum); not sure what the abbreviation here is for California which would normally also be CA, but not this time.

 

[FishHobby99]

California is the only CA I knew of until now.
Are the San Juan Islands near you? Spectacular!

Let‘s just say sufficient means they grow well & insufficient means they bite the substrate.

 

[Byron]

California is the only CA I knew of until now.
Are the San Juan Islands near you? Spectacular!

Let‘s just say sufficient means they grow well & insufficient means they bite the substrate.

Yes, on the islands, I'm in Greater Vancouver which is due north of Seattle, WA.

 

[FishHobby99]

Yes, on the islands, I'm in Greater Vancouver which is due north of Seattle, WA.

I took a ferry to the islands when I visited Seattle. Years ago.

 

[anewbie]

Yes! Maybe you can work for that plant company! They’re in California.
i wouldn’t know what sufficient light is. I do have LEDs on all the tanks. The biggest one is a Fluval Aquasky atop my 90 G tank

A standard 90 gallon aquarium is 24 inches high and the aquasky is a mid range led light. I forget the par at 24 inch - i had it written down somewhere but it isn't that great so the bottom of the stems have no chance. If you can get 12 inches or so on them they might do ok but the bottoms will be bare and eventually rot.

The value you typically want to see (and ask about) is par. Your light is not very strong - i forget if you plan to add co2 to your aquarium but if so then you need a stronger light to take advantage of it. I have a wrgb2 on my 120 as well as a fluval plant 3.0 - the wrgb2 is not the most reliable light so you would have to treat it as disposable in a few years but it is about 1.5 stronger than the fluval plant 3.0 and significantly stronger than a aquasky. For cheap strong light you can get 6500k flood lights on amazon for about $23 - They come in 50 and 100 watt and are extremly strong - you would need about 3 to 5 and need some way to hang them - the bad thing is they don't dim or ramp up intensity but they are ip68 and built like a tank.
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The alternative to the wrgb2 is the twinstar 9000 and they are better built and have a better warranty but they do have their own issue - i think the dimmer for them is external extra but they might have a new model that solves that issue or maybe that was kessil (another very strong but expensive light that has to be hung).

 

[FishHobby99]

A standard 90 gallon aquarium is 24 inches high and the aquasky is a mid range led light. I forget the par at 24 inch - i had it written down somewhere but it isn't that great so the bottom of the stems have no chance. If you can get 12 inches or so on them they might do ok but the bottoms will be bare and eventually rot.

The value you typically want to see (and ask about) is par. Your light is not very strong - i forget if you plan to add co2 to your aquarium but if so then you need a stronger light to take advantage of it. I have a wrgb2 on my 120 as well as a fluval plant 3.0 - the wrgb2 is not the most reliable light so you would have to treat it as disposable in a few years but it is about 1.5 stronger than the fluval plant 3.0 and significantly stronger than a aquasky. For cheap strong light you can get 6500k flood lights on amazon for about $40 - They come in 50 and 100 watt and are extremly strong - you would need about 3 to 5 and need some way to hang them - the bad thing is they don't dim or ramp up intensity but they are ip68 and built like a tank.

I have concerns that such intense lighting would bother my cichlids/catfish. Maybe I’d better forget red plants

 

[anewbie]

I have concerns that such intense lighting would bother my cichlids/catfish. Maybe I’d better forget red plants

Well you can add a little colour with crypts like wenditti bronze and there is red flame sword as well as mellon sword plants. The red flame is quite small (and has very little red despite the name); the mellon sword can take advantage of the 24 inches and is reddish all the way.

 

[FishHobby99]

Well you can add a little colour with crypts like wenditti bronze and there is red flame sword as well as mellon sword plants. The red flame is quite small (and has very little red despite the name); the mellon sword can take advantage of the 24 inches and is reddish all the way.

Thanks, I may just do that!

 

[StevenF]

I would recommend red root floater. Itfloats on the surface of the water so it doen't need CO2 and does well with moderate to low lighting. and with brighter light it will shade the rest of the tank.

 

[FishHobby99]

Well you can add a little colour with crypts like wenditti bronze and there is red flame sword as well as mellon sword plants. The red flame is quite small (and has very little red despite the name); the mellon sword can take advantage of the 24 inches and is reddish all the way.

Thanks. I’m going to take a SS of this so I can find it easier later.

 

[FishNturt808]

There’s also oriental sword. It’s not a deep red, but it’s new leaves grow in a reddish color.