Planted

[jpjagged]

i have a 38 gal tank with the dimensions 36x12x20 i currently have a 30" single linear strip compact fluorescent light by coral life. it has the the 50/50 bulb in it which is true actinic blue with 10,000K daylight. No Co2 injection, but substrate has fluorite beneath a layer of natural sand. should this be sufficient for growing and cloning plants within my tank or will i need to up the lighting and add ferts...
i usually w/c every 2 days around 70% with straight tap water that is dechlorinated...


and any suggestions (and pics) on what kind of carpet i should use would be great... i want something that stays really tight to the substrate

i would really like to stay away from using co2 and ferts if possible since i am growing out discus in this tank... i don't want to swing the ph as much as possible... ferts are a possibility but i dont want to spend the money on them if i dont have to... i was hoping maybe just upping the lighting and MAYBE cutting back the water changes to around saaay 50% every other day would help...

i do have around 10 plants growing in there right (not including water sprites) now very well but just want to know if i can really go crazy with the planting and aquascaping with this setup or do i need to do more

 

[aaronnorth]

the most compact species are


glossostigma elatinoides - needs high light, CO2, ferts

hemanthius callacthricoides - same as glosso

eleocharis acularis or parvula - medium light, no CO2, needs a basic fert.

marsilea - low light, no co2, no ferts.

there is a subulata specie but this is like a spider plant and is quite large.

for cheap ferts use powders instead of liquids.