Water sprite and hygrophila polysperma info please **beginner alert**

[Colin_T]

An iron based fertiliser with trace elements added is what you want. Sera Florena Liquid plant fertiliser is the one I used and I got very good results from it. I did not use CO2 ad only used light and iron fertiliser.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I also hear that FLUVAL flourish is good.

 

[Essjay]

I have water sprite floating in my tank - it just about covers the entire surface. I also have anubias (4 species) java fern, bolbitis and bucephalandra all growing on wood. I only use Seachem Flourish at half the recommended dose.

 

[Retired Viking]

I also use Seachem flourish at 1/2 dose, and give them plenty of light

 

[PheonixKingZ]

So it seems Seachem flourish is the way to go.

 

[Neon1977]

Thanks everyone really appreciate it! I decided on the tropica premium fertiliser in the pump! i know most have said they don't use Co2 in their tanks but iv decided im going to use it only because iv just watched a DIY video on how to produce your own successful non pressurised Co2 and how it works for a small aquarium! link is below on how he made it and how the tank is doing after 55 days of set up! The tank was full of lush colours and greens! Now he used soil which i don't have but im hoping adding fertiliser within my sand before planting will do a good job too! If anyone is interested in watching vids are below! Until i have this up and running i wont be getting the plants!

 

[Colin_T]

Home made CO2 units are reliably unreliable. They start out slow and then produce heaps of CO2 before stopping abruptly. They also produce CO2 24 hours a day and your plants don't use it at night. Unless you have an air pump pumping air into the tank when the lights go out, you can suffocate the fish or cause them to get acidosis (this is caused by a sudden drop in pH).

The only good thing about home made CO2 is you can get drunk off the liquid when it has finished producing gas because the sugar, water and yeast solution produces alcohol.

 

[Neon1977]

Home made CO2 units are reliably unreliable. They start out slow and then produce heaps of CO2 before stopping abruptly. They also produce CO2 24 hours a day and your plants don't use it at night. Unless you have an air pump pumping air into the tank when the lights go out, you can suffocate the fish or cause them to get acidosis (this is caused by a sudden drop in pH).

The only good thing about home made CO2 is you can get drunk off the liquid when it has finished producing gas because the sugar, water and yeast solution produces alcohol.

Ahh in this case I’d take it out at night when the lights go out. And really!? Wonder why this guys tank still did ok after 55 days then!?

 

[Byron]

Ahh in this case I’d take it out at night when the lights go out. And really!? Wonder why this guys tank still did ok after 55 days then!?

There is nothing to say this tank is doing OK, nor that the fish are not feeling the effects of CO2 and nutrient poisoning. A report in Practical Fishkeeping a year or two back concluded that fish are harmed by diffused CO2. It is a slow process (except for the DIY situations that Colin rightly noted) but it is still happening. And we know the continual massive dosing of fertilizers is harmful long-term.

You would never see a scene like either of these aquaria in nature, and that should tell us something. A planted tank that is an aquatic garden is fine, but leave the fish out. If you belong to planted tank forums you will soon discover that few of those high-tech planted tanks have fish.

 

[Retired Viking]

@Byron is spot on, it is a balancing act if you have fish and plants. If the health of the plants is more important than it is best not to have fish. I veiw plants as adding to the look of the tank but more importantly as helping maintain the quality of the water for the fish and improve the fish's lives. I do not use CO2 because of the horror stories of killing off fish and only use 1/2 the recommended dose of fertilizer.

 

[Neon1977]

Thanks people for opening my eyes again! Just said that looks can be very decieveing can’t they! I will stick to easy plants with no co2 for my fishes!! They are more important not how the tank looks! il still make it look gorg without that anyway! Time and effort!

 

[Byron]

Here are a few photos of some of my planted tanks over the last decade. I have never used any form of added CO2 but always balanced light and other nutrients with the natural CO2 produced every night in any aquarium (and then used during the day). I do use substrate tabs for the larger swords, but these do not leech into the upper water column. I also use liquid fertilizer, a comprehensive, minimally--use the response of the plants over a few weeks to adjust amount. I also use moderate (if not low) light, so the plants have ot be those that manage. The fish always come first. Some of the photos are not the best thanks to my cheap digital camera, but the idea gets across.

 

[Neon1977]

Here are a few photos of some of my planted tanks over the last decade. I have never used any form of added CO2 but always balanced light and other nutrients with the natural CO2 produced every night in any aquarium (and then used during the day). I do use substrate tabs for the larger swords, but these do not leech into the upper water column. I also use liquid fertilizer, a comprehensive, minimally--use the response of the plants over a few weeks to adjust amount. I also use moderate (if not low) light, so the plants have ot be those that manage. The fish always come first. Some of the photos are not the best thanks to my cheap digital camera, but the idea gets across.

Lovely lush green, crystal tanks though!! Goes to show there isabsolutely no need for CO2! I’m going to use substrate tabs also with liquid fertiliser but will use it minimum that I need to! I have a low light also so hoping that this will do the trick! thanks for sharing!

 

[Byron]

Lovely lush green, crystal tanks though!! Goes to show there isabsolutely no need for CO2! I’m going to use substrate tabs also with liquid fertiliser but will use it minimum that I need to! I have a low light also so hoping that this will do the trick! thanks for sharing!

Not all plants will thrive or even manage in low-tech/natural systems, but I have stayed with those that did.

 

[Neon1977]

Not all plants will thrive or even manage in low-tech/natural systems, but I have stayed with those that did.

You wouldn’t mind giving me a list of those plants you have found that have thrived please if you don’t mind?